TALK OF THE TRADE : More complaints for Wakeham

Lord Wakeham, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, returns from a week's holiday amid growing anxiety that the former Cabinet minister is in the wrong job. The PCC, still struggling to establish its authority, has been in a virtual state of interregnum since he took over from Lord McGregor, at a salary of £76,000, in January.

The Association of British Editors (ABE), in its newsletter, points to its "parlous state of flux", and continuing controversy about Sir Bernard Ingham's possible appointment. It calls for wider consultation about who joins the body with groups such as the National Union of Journalists, the Institute of Journalists and, of course, the ABE.

Lord Wakeham was picked to fight off any attempt to introduce a broad privacy law, because of his links with government and his belief in self- regulation. It now appears that the Government has backed down from publishing a privacy White Paper. That drink in the Last Chance Saloon has lasted a long time.