Politicians will forget the phone hacking and cringe again | Simon Jenkins

A newspaper faced up to Murdoch, not parliament. Instead of regulation, leaders need the courage to call the media's bluff

The family was rich, ruthless and had the king in its grasp. The nation quaked. But when the fell, the barons' revenge was savage. Hugh Despenser was strung up in Hereford market. His genitals were cut off and roasted before his eyes. His bowels were then torn out, to rid his body of filth. When still conscious, he was hanged close to death, taken d...