Watchdogs to watch

What an unsavoury farce. Governmentsponsored Press regulator Impress – funded almost entirely by Max Mosley – has been forced to ban its own boss and two of its board members from regulating major newspapers.

In a ruling apparently not disclosed to the judicial review into the body’s official recognition, it finds the trio broke impartiality rules by tweeting vicious attacks on the Mail and other papers.

Could anything better illustrate the suspect nature of Impress – or the perils of venturing down the path to state control of information?