HEY, have you heard? There’s loads of revelations flying around that the News of the World has been hacking into phones.

The Guardian, on Monday, made the allegations that Milly Dowler’s mobile phone messages were intercepted by the newspaper in 2002 after she was brutally murdered by Levi Bellfield.

Since then the media and, in some cases the public, has gone screwball for bringing the News of the World down.

It’s difficult for me to understand why, when there’s such public disquiet, nothing – ultimately – ever really changes. After all, we have the power to go and march or not buy the newspaper or refuse to visit shops that advertise in the newspaper. No one will do this.

Where was the outrage when Chris Jefferies, wrongly accused of killing Jo Yeates last year by the newspapers, took the Sun and the Mirror to court yesterday for contempt?

Whilst I would never condone what is being alleged, and, if true, is a shocking way to get stories, I can’t help but feel the current uproar will do nothing in the grand scheme of things.

You’ve got to question the roles of the paper and the police. How are private investigators able to this sort of thing? Why didn’t the Press Complaints Commission act in a stronger way back in 2006? And why are News International and certain politicians said to be so cosy together?

Ford pulled their advertising last night, gaining the company many more column inches in other newspapers than the advert in the News of the World ever would. Someone at Ford is probably being patted on the back and being given a new Mondeo as we speak.

Do you remember “Squidgygate”? Tesco advertise in the News of the World, will you be boycotting them?

Where was public outcry in 2006 when Andy Hayman was in charge of the inquiry into the News of the World phone hacking. Now he’s being called back to give evidence again. What happened the first time? Why weren't these things uncovered years after Milly's phone was suspected of being hacked?

Andy subsequently left the police to work for News International as a columnist.

And we know that police officers took cash from journalists to provide information for stories. Where was your uproar then? Were sweeping reforms brought in to the police force?

In 2003 Rebekah Brooks told MPs: "We have paid the police for information in the past."

It’s really a chicken and egg problem. You’re being told all of these things by the media yet one media outlet vilifies the other for doing something that is indefensible. The Mirror, Daily Mail and The Observer have all been caught up to dirty tricks to get stories.

I mentioned Chris Jefferies earlier, yet there is no backlash against the Mirror and the Sun. The same newspapers this morning calling it a SCANDAL.

Yesterday it emerged that News International had given the Metropolitan police details of payments made by News of the World to senior police officers between 2003 and 2007. Andy Coulson was the editor back then and was well-defended by David Cameron when he left as his director of communications.

I can’t help but feel a few thousand angry people won’t change anything when the vast majority of the population is happy with apathy.

Did you get angry when Ryan Giggs paid out for a superinjunction? The News of the World paid out £2 million to suppress evidence in court actions brought by two confirmed victims of phone hacking.

Hugh Grant admitted this week that he knew what the News of the World was up to when former features writer Paul McMullan told him about it over drinks in Dover. Lets all boycott “About a Boy” and “Love Actually” for him not mentioning it on Newsnight.

And hey, what about those fat-cat bankers? They’re making a fortune and still paying themselves bonuses most people can only dream of earning in years of hard work. Are we still boycotting banks or marching on Downing Street demanding change? Most people are stuck on a pay freeze but today we learn food prices are going up and up and are higher than they were this time last year. Are we all striking for a fairer deal?

What about the war? There was a stutter of annoyance that we didn’t really need to go to war because we weren’t under threat and now we’re more concerned with raising money for people whose arms have been blown off then we are questioning government on why we ever went and why we’re still there.

And I don’t remember the same kind of uproar when the phone hacking scandal first came to light in 2006. But of course that was Prince William. It’s different when you’re in the public eye.

And then more celebrities came forward claiming that feared they too had been hacked - John Prescott, Alex Ferguson, Tessa Jowell, Boris Johnson, Max Clifford and Sienna Miller. Even Chris Tarrant.

MPs fiddling expenses - that was big news last year. More than half of them had to pay something back. Yet we still elected some of them straight back into their seats. Don’t get me started on voting apathy.

Lacklustre procedures were put into place by the government and when we discover another MP has fraudulently claimed we get frustrated. But there are no demonstrations. There is no lobbying for more stringent measures.

These days the public have become so desensitised we just nod sadly and move on. The same will happen here. In a year’s time someone will probably get caught hacking a phone. You’ll have a flash of annoyance and it will be gone.

I imagine we’re probably all too busy being annoyed that we’d forgotten we vilified Hugh Grant for having sex with a prostitute in 1995. Now we’re cheering him on for leading the call for newspaper reform.

It's not often I do 124mph down a Kent motorway but yesterday was a bit different.

Sorry officer:

"I had cramp"..."I didn't realise"..."I'm late for a cross-stitch class"..."I wondered why no-one was overtaking me"..."I haven't got my glasses on and couldn't see my speedo" ..."I've got to get my Schitz Shu to the vets"..."My nail's broken and I've got to get to A+E"..."Someone stole my snowman", were all the possible excuses I could have used but I didn't have to - haha, I got away with it!

¬_¬

There's something you need to know.

When you get stopped by a Traffic Officer, your excuse has already been heard at least 5,627,230+ times before and therefore the Officer has a bank of answers to give right back to you including a fine, points on your licence and/or a ticket in most circumstances; friendly advice on some occasions... if you're lucky.

You DO realise you've been stopped for a reason, don't you?  Ignorance is no excuse when it comes to the Law; it really isn't.

No, you're quite right, you weren't speeding but at the end of the day, something is not quite right with your vehicle which you may or may not know.  However, whatever the circumstance, you've chosen to ignore it and the chances are you think you won't get caught, so deep down if you do, your plan is to act dumb, play the fool, deny all knowledge - simplez.  No.

It might be because you have a wobbly/vibrating bumper or that your wheel arches at the rear of your vehicle are half an inch off your tyres or your tyres just look 'odd'.  It might be because your hook-up trailer looks naff.  It might be because you're hogging Lane 2 combined with something else that has caught a Traffic Cops eye and believe me they WILL look and they WILL check.

It might be you have no seatbelt on or your vehicle's MOT or insurance is out of date.  Oh yeah, you can be safe in the knowledge those fluffy, friendly, black cladded, lacy stocking wearing, white capped, hi-vizzed, Bodie and Doyle types know ALL about you before they've stopped you.

It might be because one of your passengers eyeballed a Police Officer the wrong way because he's had one too many Bristol Creams or has smoked the 'wrong' type of Golden Virgina; it could simply be your personalised numberplate doesn't fit your face ...not literally (however, in some circumstances, this could be a blessing).

If you're a foreign driver and you're flouting any of the UK Road Traffic/Safety Laws you won't be ignored like the old days.  You WILL be fined.  So just a friendly tip - make sure you've got plenty of GBP sterling on you, else unfortunately your vehicle won't be going anywhere near to Lithuania, let alone Dover.  Oh, another tip foreign brothers and sisters, don't barter or use your poker playing skills (strip or otherwise) with the Traffic Cops, it DOESN'T work.

No-one is immune to the Law in this country, including me.

Overall folks, what you don't seem to understand is you're getting stopped because you're compromising road safety; your safety, the safety of your loved ones and more importantly the safety of other roadusers around you on the road at any one time - if that's a coach, then ooooo, that's going to be about 60 odd people (someone elses mum, nan, dad, grandad, auntie, uncle, daughter, son, beloved friend).

"IT's Not Going To Happen To Me Syndrome" is a general life philosophy for a large proportion of people however, when IT does happen, there's nothing you can do about it.  You're getting stopped because "IT will happen to you if you don't do something about it" - howzat for a better understanding?  Terminal illness however, is a different story - that's a roulette you can't do anything about.

They're not called The Professionals for nothing.

A big thank you to RoSPA Kent for organising Police Shadowing with Kent Police Road Traffic Unit (Coldharbour), especially Graham and Alex for putting up with the old crow in the back - I had a great day; thanks for breaking my racetrack record

ps. No evidence of lacy stockings whatsoever to be fair.

Well, the votes are in and counted. Kent has voted, it seems the turnout is up, and there has been a few changes. Predictably, the Liberal Democrat vote has capitulated in places (most notably Canterbury) and Labour has made gains.

Gravesham is a council Labour are championing this morning with a spectacular win, with Ed Miliband claiming ('the result proves' theory) his party 'are on the come back'. Alas, though; Dartford, Shepway and Medway have seen Labour fail to make any real gains; seats that were on the Labour target list. Conservatives have either maintained control or increased their representation. Thanet has fallen to No Overall Control (NOC), which is disappointing after Harriet Harmen and others visited this week. Labour failed to make, well, easy gains that they were expected to achieve.

Ed Miliband is touring the county and marching through the towns like a victorious Caesar, but it is covering up a modest night for Labour. And that is being kind. The infamous '+1,000 councillors easy' claim has proved to be false. The anti-cut message is not adequate due to Tory gains across the council. Cameron is the true winner in Kent.

More worrying, the Liberal Democrat vote did not move to Labour – it shows signs of the Tories benefiting. Canterbury, for example, has seen the Tories increase their councillors to over 30 with Labour (again) have no genuine presence on the council. Only 3 councillors.

Kent is still blue, and strongly blue, with a few spots of red and yellow.

note: Liberal Democrat leader at Canterbury City Council had this to say on twitter;

@ AlexCanterbury It was like sending your batsmen to the crease only for them to find their bats had been broken by the team captain #libdems

As an asthma suffer I do have a keen interest in air quality and pollution. But Cllr Martin Vye of the Liberal Democrats, do you honestly think a congestion charge for major Kent towns is a solution to my problems?

People need cars in their daily lives. Fact. There is no viable alternative for them and the lack of investment in this countries infrastructure is not the fault of drivers; inexcusable apathy from countless governments are to blame. Kent has some of the worst roads in the whole United Kingdom and the neglection has gone on for far too long.

A congestion charge is not a solution to the problem. I'm still waiting to see the benefits in London, which has not lead to a psychological change in drivers. In fact, Ken Livingston was unpopular for wanting to expanding the charge to other regions of London. Subsquently went on to lose to Boris Johnson in the Mayoral elections. Manchester rejected the preporsal.

It is unpopular and completely unjustified.

Here's some alternatives:

1. Improved road layouts

2. Better junctions

3. Ending the nightmare of poor town management

4. Funding public transport and investing in sufficient vehicles.

The solution is not another tax for over taxed individuals.

It has become a latter-day farce to match anything that Georges Feydeau wrote. Or more strictly it would be funny if it wasn't so stupid.

I speak of the growing scenes of idiocy which have broken out in Allhallows over the past winter.

Followers of this blog will recall the scenes a week ago when the vice chairman was screaming at angry villagers, the clerk was merrily beating a tattoo with the chairman's gavel, people sat for half an hour in a silent refusal to leave, and the parish councillors were openly criticised by neighbouring councillors who had dropped in to see the farce unfold.

The chairman eventually admitted that the only reason they had sought to close the meeting was that it might cause panic in the village if it was known there were checks being carried out on fire escape and asbestos concerns at the Brimp youth club.

No one was interested when the club chairman - who was a fellow councillor - revealed they had had fire checks carried out by the safety team at Dartford.

This week the club organised with Medway Council's asbestos advisors to check the building - and it got a clean bill of health.

One of the club committee (another councillor) was in the Brimp when the clerk, two councillors and a lady from the very same Kent Fire and Rescue team at Dartford walked in to start their own survey a few hours later.

In the late afternoon the council ordered the club to close until further notice. There were no fire safety issues raised.

Instead they want to check everything before the club can reopen. This appears to involve intrusive checks for asbestos, electricity, fire. …the list is endless.

Watching the scenes over the past few weeks unfold reminded me of scenes in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Teenagers had gone along to the council meeting to hear the adults rationally discuss the future of their club (and incidentally unanimously state that none of the councillors wanted to close the Brimp). They behaved impeccably as some extraordinary behaviour emerged around them.

At the end of the night there seemed to be some degree of agreement: safety checks would be carried out (and were).

Now the councillors are throwing more than £1,000 at repeating the tests. It could have more usefully used that cash to improve Cross Park, replace its noticeboard, even contribute to the youth activities

It is not a Medway Council responsibility, but the local borough councillor, Phil Filmer, is hoping to bring both sides together. He wants to get them to talk to each other. Because as things stand one cannot help feeling that there is a lack of verbal articulation on the parts of the anti-youth club majority of parish councillors - and a large degree of spite - while on the pro-youth club side there is a defiance brought about by constant abuse.

Of course, next financial year the new council (there are elections in the offing) will be able to spend 43 per cent more than they could this year. That's how much their precept (village tax) is going up. So a few hundred pounds thrown at repeating surveys probably won't worry some.

What Allhallows Parish Council has successfully done is singlehandedly contribute a substantial reason why the national inflation figures are slipping out of control.

It's not finished yet! There's at least one more scheduled council meeting before the cabinet meets.

As one of the comedians of the last century, Robertson Hare, would say: "Oh calamity!"

... and the conjurer's top hat

Watch out for Mr Mistoffelees. He will once again hold centre stage on Thursday night when Medway Council debates the toughest the council has ever produced.

Mr Mistoffelees will once again perform surprising illusions, eccentric confusions and plenty of prestidigitation to make T S Eliot smile and the Old Possums splutter.

As the American poet said: "He'll defy examination And deceive you again."

For the past five months the council has been chopping nearly £30 million from its spending plans.

The finance officers insist there's nothing left to produce any goodies.

Want to bet?

There will be some surprises on the night. After all, Mr Mistoffelees has already produced the political equivalent of seven kittens right out of a hat.

At the Cabinet meeting this week the council's six noticeboards - earmarked for closure because they cost £6,000 a year to maintain - were saved. Only six kittens? - Volunteers will be found to keep them stocked with fascinating facts (that's the seventh and most difficult kitten to conjure up in Medway).

The government may have ordered Medway Matters to be cut back to four editions a year - but that doesn't mean that Mr Mistoffelees will listen. He likes a regular read of what the council is about - and he doesn't have much time for Eric Pickles, the former Tory Leader of Bradford City Council.

THERE has been some pretty astute work going on behind the scenes in a bid to cut costs at Medway Council.

This week the spending proposals were finally brought under control with a £23.5 million funding gap being wiped out.

A few dozen staff (rather than thousands as in some councils) have lost their jobs or will lose them in the coming months. Many prices are going up...but not all of them.

One was left at the end of the press conference with the feeling that some of the budget managers had discovered the need for reality rather than for dream schemes.

We are like some of the sailors who set out in frail wooden craft from Chatham in the days of Queen Elizabeth.

They were bound for who knew where.

Some made it back, some didn't. Fewer still came out of it as well off as when they set out.

In discussions with the finance chiefs, however, what is happening this year is like sailing down the Medway. There are relatively smooth waters compared to what is to come.

Medway Council finances are about to cross the bar into unknown territory.

Radical changes are being planned to the way services are provided. We do not know precisely what those changes will be . If the rumours are right, then people may find themselves under new employers - or losing their jobs later in the year.

It is in the future, but there will be at least £8 million less cash for services next year, and the council has to find ways of stretching the pittance the government gives them.

Preaching about the wrongs of the world can often make a rock star look like a bit of a tool.

Morrissey is viewed as a whining idiot by many, Bob Geldof for all his wonderful charity work comes across as a right moany (insert expletive) and as much as I love his band, U2's Bono has not done himself any favours by jumping on his soapbox over the years.

Yet in some cases it can be noble. When Wyclef Jean ran for the presidency of earthquake ravaged Haiti last year, it came across as a genuine bid to help his homeland in its hour of need.

So make what you will of these comments made to me yesterday by Richard "Fazer" Rawson of Camden hip hop group N-Dubz, pictured left, about the anti-government protestors in Egypt who want the president of 30 years Hosni Mubarak to step down immediately.

"To be honest with you I think the last time I watched TV was a month and a half ago man but I heard something about riots and people getting killed.

"People have got to see we are on the brink of a revolution.

"Look at what David Cameron did with cutting money to universities and the riots that happened in London. Things are about to change.

"People are not going to stand for it man. We are in a different society. Things could get dangerous."

The musings of a philosopher on modern society or the rantings of an out-of-touch pop star who doesn't know any better? For once, I am not making any judgements.

For anyone interested, N-Dubz are playing Margate's Winter Gardens on Monday, April 11 and London's O2 Arena on Saturday, April 30. Tickets on 0844 811 0051.

The full interview with Fazer will be in What's On in April.

****

Talk about striking while the iron is hot! No sooner had the news broke that Jessie J's new single Price Tag had hit No1 on the iTunes chart than she announced she was bringing forward the release date of her debut album Who We Are.

Price Tag was released a little over 48 hours ago but has already raced to the top of the midweek charts. Her debut single Do It Like A Dude is still lodged in the top 10 after peaking at No2, which certainly makes the move understandable.

But the speed and scale is pretty impressive. She is bringing the release date a whole month forward to Monday, February 28. Bringing a release date forward is pretty rare in the music business. The last act to do so were Take That with their latest album Progress but it was only moved a week ahead of schedule.

“Stomp Stomp, I’ve arrived” was Jessie’s battle cry on Do It Like A Dude. Whatever you make of her music, you wouldn't want to bet against the Critics Choice Brit Award and BBC Sound Of 2011 Poll winner sticking around for a long time to come.

OMNIBOLOGISTS (yes, bus spotters do exist) will be eagerly awaiting the appearance of a doubledecker back on the local bus routes.

It has been "up North", being painted as an overall advert promoting the third bid for City status for Medway. It is expected to take to the roads on Monday, a cool blue and white statement by Arriva Southern Counties that it, too, supports city status.

The question for everyone backing the bid is how strong is the support from the community.

I make no secret that I support the bid. I also make no secret of the fact that I was strongly opposed to merging the two authorities.

The enthusiasm for Rochester's lost status as a city (it was thrown away, actually) should convince anyone that being a city is special to the community.

The opposition to what is being proposed should also convince some that the two boroughs should never have been merged.

I grew up in Gloucester (a city thanks to Good King Richard III, complete with its market, river and cathedral). Just down the road was Cheltenham.

The feuding was as legendary as the differences between Gillingham and Rochester. They were equally as unrealistic.

But in both instances they are indicative of local pride.

Medway has been around for 13 years and the opposition to its creation has largely died - maybe killed by the fait accompli. It has lived through some difficult times. Those are about to get tougher. The government has taken away powers, cut budgets yet insists councillors must continue to care for those in difficulty.

***

The Primary Care Trusts are about to be scrapped which makes one wonder... why has the Medway Maritime NHS Foundation Trust invested in a new logo?

When I asked this morning I was told it was the decision of the chief executive, Mark Devlin. But staff in the press and PR office had not been let in on the rationale.

I was told: "It cost absolutely nothing. It will only appear as and when we run out of old stocks of paper."

In fact, in a discussion that lasted only a couple of minutes at most, I was told five times that it cost nothing to design and produce it.

What was the thinking behind the logo ("Medway Maritime - Making a difference / Great Heathcare for a growing community"), I asked.

"I can't tell you what the motivations were for Mark to ask the Trust to do it .... but it hasn't cost us anything." I was advised.

***

The council spending cuts are beginning to cut deep.

The tourism and heritage manager, Simon Curtis, is not to be replaced when he leaves. His is one of a number of high profile posts that are to be erased in the latest round of cuts.

The real challenge for councillors is that the number of council and scrutiny meetings they hold are to be cut back. That's because the clerks are being cut. (They do the majority of the work, ranging from collating reports to writing them, researching specialists for scrutineers to examine to making sure there is enough tea and coffee to keep the councillors awake.)

No tourism manager - Whatever next?

The planning application is in the post: convert the Castle to a tower block.

***

One person fighting to stay on the scene is the Mayor of London, Boris "Fly from Kent" Johnson.

It seems the only logical reason why he should be proposing a £40 billion floating island airport or, alternatively, the restoration of the scrapped plan for the Hoo peninsuila to become Heathrow Two. He is due to stand for re-election in the Spring.

Anyone who has seen the man in action on things like Have I Got News For You might think he is a buffoon.

Be that as it may, he is a serious danger to our way of life. It only needs one cabinet member to say there is some sense in what he says for the life of Medway to be changed for ever.

The Honourable Member for Thanet North, Roger Gale, has given a stark warning that the youngest MPs might depart from a career in politics due to the new expenses system causing "exceptional difficulties.”

Recent reports have given us bizarre insights into new MP's sleeping in their Westminster office, too scared to file a claim for a hotel room. “There are young members in Kent who are having exceptional difficulties and cashflow problems, partly because they’ve had to pay thousands of pounds for their offices and Ipsa is very slow at paying them back.“ said Gale and went on to complain that MPs had to take huge page cuts (from previous careers) to become an elected representative. Charlie Elphicke , newly elected MP for Dover, agrees with the assessment and fundamentally believes the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is too extreme. Almost punishing Members of Parliament. Some readers might even think that is justified.

Of course, the complaints are legitimate and worthy of serious consideration but MP's need to understand the anger felt by voters. The grotesque greed was so widespread that Parliament was becoming a kleptocratic state within its own right. I cannot foresee the IPSA become altered again – it would be highly unpopular and political suicide for the government to consider it. And I cannot see the public having any desire to pay Members of Parliament even more.

Roger Gale might be wise to live with the birth pains and the allow the new foundations to strengthen. Especially in this new age of austerity. Complaining about expenses and your entitlements might not be a voting winning.

Thumbing through the Kent County Council budget proposed for 2011/12 is quite eye watering in segments. Administrating numerous local services has always proved rather difficult across local government, but Mr Pickle enjoys the prospect of Mr Carter achieving all targets without £58 million worth of grants.

To countervail this, inexorable dismantling and reorganisation to the our county's budget has occurred in recent months. Or, better known as, cuts.

Cutting staff few staff delivering supports services has managed to save the local purse in the region of £20 million. An ambiguous reference to “better procurement – savings £11 million) left me perplexed and pondering what on Earth it meant. This mystical and cryptic initiative translates into basic English; that the Council will achieve its operations and requirements on the cheap.

Cuts to programs Policy changes will save a further £36 million years. Sadly we are spending £770 million on the “Building Schools for the Future Program”, which is the worse public program conceived by the last administration. Grotesquely bureaucratic, poor time management and far too timid and inept – this program should have died a slow painful death.

With the budget raising countless references to pressure on social services and care, I do not know why the coalition doesn't privatise the operation. Yes, rather unpopular and might unleash fears of privatisation of the NHS – which does have its benefits, btw – but private social care would allow liberation for local budgets. But alas, private social care shall be laid to rest, for now, until another blog post.

KCC Leader, Paul Carter, seemed a bit too optimistic. There will be significant pain, but the KCC is administrating the medicine as humanly as possible. Mr Pickle, on the other hand, might need a revaluation on grants to local government, unless he wants a serious of mini-California's to deal with.