Rebekah Brooks's survival strategy

So much of News International's strategy to cope with the phone hacking issue looks as if it can be explained by one thing: its perceived need to protect Rebekah Brooks. No doubt that is the right thing to do; back in 2009 when this writer worked for the Times even the merest reference to Brooks's editorship of the News of the World was stripped out of the copy that made it into the newspaper. It was as if Andy Coulson had been the only editor of the red-top before Colin Myler took over. News International's first strategy, of course, was deny, deny, deny all the allegations. That formed the heart of Wapping's initial response to the hacking allegations as raised by the Guardian two years ago (just as Brooks was being elevated from the Sun to be chief executive). It was Brooks who said that the Guardian "has substantially and likely deliberately misled the British public" – a statement NI later tried to deny she had made when the number of hacking cases mounted up. Since then Brooks has been careful about her public appearances. She does not give interviews on the subject of hacking, while working on the people that matter (well, David Cameron) over dinner. Recall, too, that she declined to appear before the MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee back in 2009, writing in January 2010 that it would be "pointless and a waste of the committee's time" because members were asking questions that did not relate to her time as editor of News of the World. There may be some more pertinent questions now. Then there are today's events. In effect, Brooks, in her email to staff, has announced an inquiry into her own editorship of the News of the World. Here is what she said in that note: I am determined that News International does everything it can to co-operate fully and proactively with the MPS, as we have been doing for some time, to verify the facts so we can respond in a robust and proper way. It is almost too horrific to believe that a professional journalist or even a freelance inquiry agent working on behalf of a member of the News of the World staff could behave in this way. If the allegations are proved to be true then I can promise the strongest possible action will be taken as this company will not tolerate such disgraceful behaviour. I hope that you all realise it is inconceivable that I knew or worse, sanctioned these appalling allegations. Fair enough, but would the public, politicians and shareholders have accepted an inquiry led by Sir Fred Goodwin into the doomed takeover of ABN Amro, or by Tony Hayward examining how he handled the Gulf of Mexico oil spill?