A rant about having to give credit where it is due

Regular readers know that I hate the tabloid press. Particularly the Daily Mail, closely followed by Rupert Murdoch's Sun, and the now dead and buried News of the World. The only one I don't mind as much is the Mirror, because it peddles less hate and bigotry than the right wing red tops. Most of the time.

However in the interest of fairness I believe the Mail should be praised for one thing: persisting in the campaign to find and bring to justice the murderers of Stephen Lawrence. By very publicly accusing five men of his murder on their front page in 1997 and their ongoing campaign they kept the case in the limelight and not only pushed for two of the five to be convicted yesterday, but also highlighted the otherwise taboo racism in the police force and the public. Significant changes both within the police forces and in criminal justice have come about mainly because of the campaign.

So, for once, their boasting over it is justified. And the rest of us can, for once, say well done Daily Mail. And not through gritted teeth. We can even shout it out loud. WELL DONE DAILY MAIL.

Now, can they tackle the xenophobia and lies and shoddy journalism for the rest of the stories please pretty please.