How Very Dare You

I still don't like Hugh Grant much as an actor but he continues to play a blinder in the hacking inquiry.
His insinuation of hacking by Mail on Sunday (and in time other papers) was inevitable. I expected their response to be somthing like, "Associated Newspapers deplore any suggestion of hacking of public figures by individual members of the organisation. The circumstances of the case raised by Mr Hugh Grant will be fully investigated. We continue to co-operate fully with the Leveson Inquiry."
But no. That's it would have said if the company lawyer wrote it. But I get the impression it was pennd by someone senior in the editorial department when they gave Grant both barrells accusing him of "mendacious smears driven by his hatred of the media."
Grant has been shown to be pretty formidable at putting his case and has done so in good-humoured yet robust way. None of his assertions have yet to be disproved and it is extremely hard to see why a reasoned individual with a firm grasp of the facts and the processes would suddenly and maliciously invent pure lies before a legal inquiry. The MoS also "utterly refutes .... they got any story as a result of phone hacking."
Permit me to reserve judgement on that one - like Leveson will.