DURING his inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press, Judge Leveson suggested police whistleblowers take their concerns to an internal hotline rather than to reporters.
Even by the standards expected from such inquiries this was derisory because we have a right to know about public service failures and a free press is the only mechanism to ensure we do.
Phone hacking was already a crime and those who engaged in it could be prosecuted so there was no need for the war of attrition between police and press which led to the Coulson fiasco ("Crown defends decision to try Coulson for perjury", The Herald, June 4).
From failing UK institutions such as the NHS and care homes to international fiefdoms such as Fifa and the IPCC, it is clear that corruption thrives wherever free speech is muzzled.
Rev Dr John Cameron,
10 Howard Place, St Andrews.
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