What they should have said...

"We find that there was no breach at all by a cross over, multiple appeal radio station which caters late at night to a student audience which appears to be amused by silly and bad taste jokes. However there was a massive breach of morality and common sense by the Mail which deliberately stoked up righteous indignation in order to raise circulation. Furthermore there was a huge abandon of proper responsibility by the BBC in not backing presenters and staff and allowing talent and executives to take blame for something that never happened.

If we had any power (like the PCC we don't) we would ban the Mail from publication for a week (that would hurt it) and fire the DG of the BBC and tell the BBC Trust to grow up, develop backbones and hire someone who doesn't think Courage is just a beer".

I got in trouble at school for writing something in the girls loo about a teacher. It was only a prank and the few people who saw it found it very amusing but it was against the rules, and the teacher was quite annoyed at being a target.

I wouldn't do it now, though, because I grew up.

I agree, what Brand and Ross did was bullying of an old man and very offensive. It was over-exagerated by the mail and everyone else, but it was still out of order. Even Brand and Ross admitted it was wrong

complete madness..an enquiry into a phone call.

A simple apology to Manuel would have sufficed.

I went to a Time Out party just 10 days ago for Russell Brand here in Sydney. He seems like such a delightful bloke and in interviews has been so funny. He had a man in a gorila suit as a bodyguard.

The phone prank was probably his least funny moment..perhaps that's what upset the BBC !

Brilliant column in the Guardian this week about Shearer.