Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

Dear Jan Moir,
Rarely has a single article by a newspaper columnist caused such a stir.  The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) received more than 25,000 complaints, a record number, after you wrote about Stephen Gately’s death, describing events leading up to it as “sleazy” and “less than respectable”.  The article, published on 16 October, six days after [...]

“The terrorists have won.”
- Alex Deane, barrister and director of campaign group Big Brother Watch, responding to the news that passengers using Heathrow and Manchester airports have been told that they will no longer be allowed to board their flights if they refuse to submit to full-body scans.  The advanced imaging technology (AIT) scanners went into operation [...]

“If they really think it’s worth spending vast sums of money on these measures then [the Government] should be footing the bill, not the consumer.”
- Charles Dunstone, chief executive of Carphone Warehouse, as Government ministers admit that proposals to suspend the internet connections of those who repeatedly share music and films online will leave consumers with a [...]

According to Ian Burrell at the Independent, not very!:
Baroness Buscombe, the new chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, has ambitions for her organisation that go beyond the traditional newspaper companies.  She wants to examine the possibility that the PCC’s role should be extended to cover the blogosphere, which is becoming an increasing source of breaking [...]

Dear News of the World and the Daily Mail,
There is a part of me that expects such low standards from both of you that I shouldn’t really be surprised when your behaviour appalls me.  That said, I’m not so much surprised as I am disgusted at your apology to the England football manager Fabio Capello and his wife [...]

Dear Iain Dale,
Well done for spotting yet another attempt by journalists to infiltrate the Conservative Party yesterday.  For the third time in two years, a newspaper has attempted to plant a mole inside the party to gain access to inside information.  However, your conclusions about the evils of phone hacking and journalist infiltration might need [...]

Dear Andy Coulson,
I have no idea how you’re going to feel as you wake up this morning.  The BBC and most newspapers are still running with the allegations of phone-tapping at the News of the World, although David Cameron openly gave you his support yesterday – making your job safe, for now at least.  The [...]

Dear Lisa Greenwood,
Although a lot of people have lost their jobs during the recession, your sacking was not recession-related in the slightest.  After posting an anonymous message about Hazel Blears on the internet at the height of the furore over abuse of the second home allowances, you have been fired from your job as office [...]

Dear Nightjack,
Your quest to protect your identity is at an end, sadly.  Despite your best efforts, Mr Justice Eady refused to protect your anonymity and you now have your name splashed across the papers this morning.  Needless to say there is some concern about the implications of this case for other anonymous bloggers in the UK, but [...]

Without doubt my favourite image from Google Street View submitted to the BBC in their feature on bizarre images caught by the new service.  That said, Google has apparently been hit by a “wave of privacy complaints” after Street View was launched.  They said yesterday that it had removed scores of photographs from the site, including [...]

Dear Sarah Palin,
That was supposed to be it, the end, the finale, bye bye.  Your humiliating stint as VP candidate in the Presidential election was supposed to send you a message about your suitability for being one of the most powerful people in the world.  Not only are you refusing to give up on your Presidential ambitions, you’ve dragged [...]

Dear Tom Harris,
Openly admitting to agreeing with Labour MPs is not something I do lightly.  I spend the majority of my time distancing myself from our faltering government and the sleaze allegations that seem to reveal themselves with alarming regularity these days.  On Monday evening, the Commons voted to change the rules on the publication [...]

Dear Jeremy Hunt,
It’s fair to say that the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) is not the most highly respected organisation in media circles.  Newspapers consider it more of an obstacle than anything else.  As Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, I wondered if you had any plans to do anything about this, especially in light of the media frenzy over [...]

Dear Matt Lewis,
Waking up on a Saturday morning is difficult enough for most people, but for you waking up today must be a pretty horrible experience.  Almost every paper has run with the story about your questionable decision to dress up as a dead Madeleine McCann at a fancy dress party, with the Daily Mail [...]

Dear Paul Dacre,
Not content with being in the unfortunate position of editing the Daily Mail, you have chosen to dig an even deeper hole for yourself today by accusing a High Court judge of bringing in a privacy law against the British press by the back door.  You seem to think that Max Mosley’s victory in [...]

Dear Sienna Miller,
Seeing as the financial crisis and the Brand/Ross debacle continue to bore everyone, it was interesting to see your landmark legal action about the paparazzi get some coverage today.  Unlike Russell Brand being an insensitive, vulgar and obnoxious idiot, I find your legal case genuinely interesting and it is an issue that I [...]

Dear Max Mosley.
Yikes.  Even though you are a powerful man as boss of Formula 1’s governing body, this really was a bit of a shocker.  Being caught with a prostitute is one thing, but being caught with five prostitutes engaging in a sado-masochistic ‘Nazi orgy’ was probably a bit of overkill.  Should anyone care?  Well, [...]