Justice and the Ritz
As Lord Denning put it, “justice in the country is open to all, like the Ritz Hotel”. This seems increasingly true of Mohammed al-Fayed and his pursuit of what appears to be a conspiracy theory. I do wonder whether someone who brands Prince Philip a ‘Nazi’, including under direct and specific questioning, before saying that “it’s time to send [Philip] back to Germany from where he comes”, is necessarily going to be the best person to indulge with this gigantic folly. Some of al-Fayed’s other choice comments include “You want to know his original name - it ends with Frankenstein.” He is actually a member of the house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.
“An odious exhibition of journalists dabbling their fingers in the stuff of other people’s souls” was how Lord MacGregor, then chair of the PCC, described coverage of the marriage of Charles and Diana. The same description seems particularly appropriate of the conduct of many of the newspapers, not least the Daily Express, have endlessly dug over the story, reporting any whisper of hearsay and, at times, what seems like the ramblings of a bloke in a pub in South London. Worryingly, even the BBC feel the need to mention this non-story on the front page of their international edition. Given that al-Fayed seems unlikely to shut up, we may have to deal with this for some time yet.
xD.
February 19th, 2008 at 10:43 am
The Ritz in London is not open to people in jeans or shorts. The Ritz in Paris, however, may have a different policy.
February 19th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
You’re evidently more familiar with the Ritz than I am…