Stark choice of lying or useless at No 10

RUPERT Murdoch may be described as many things but even his most committed enemies would not list stupid among the adjectives.

The idea that he would have as an editor of one his national newspapers someone who had no idea what was going on and did not know his staff were hacking in to phone conversations by Royals and senior politicians is risible, and that is putting it mildly.

So Andy Coulson's claim that he knew nothing about the phone hacking by News of the World staff, which seems to have been rife on his watch as editor, can only mean one of two things.

Either the man who is David Cameron's communications chief thinks that the British public will believe any old fairy story if it is said loud enough, with a straight face and a certain amount of conviction - which is perhaps all we would expect from the mouthpiece of No 10 after the Labour years of endless spin.

Or Mr Coulson was the worst, most ineffectual and most amateurish editor of any newspaper anywhere in the world in the history of journalism.

Whichever it is the man is now badly tainted goods. The choice appears to be mendacious or useless and neither reads well on a CV for the voice of No 10. If you can't believe a word coming out of the very heart of Government that does not instil confidence in the words of wisdom uttered by the rest of WHitehall.