1 MAY 1959, Page 7

`THE PRESS COUNCIL,' Sir Linton Andrews says, 'has rebuked a

number of papers.' Satan, I under- stand, is similarly in the habit of rebuking sin. So long as the Press Council is composed largely of the nominees of the men whose activities it is supposed to be watching, it cannot be taken seriously as a watchdog of the public. What, after all, is the effect of a rebuke? To judge by the flippant retort in the Daily Sketch, following the last report,' nil. It is sometimes argued that though the Council has no power to bite, editors have a wholesome respect for its bark. My impression is that the Sketch quite enjoys the free publicity, and the opportunity to strike back editorially at the Council fuddy