THE out of control culture of illegal phone-hacking by journalists working for the News of the World cannot be defended.

Fishing expeditions by journalists hoping to pick up information relating to criminal inquiries or gossip about celebrities were unacceptable and have tarnished the reputation of the media.

But there are times when journalists should be able to break the law if their aim is to gather information in the public interest.

Hacking into the phone of 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler when she went missing was an appalling abuse of journalistic privilege.

But wouldn't we all agree that bringing corrupt politicians to justice by hacking into their phones would be a public service?

Sky News has admitted that it illegally hacked emails belonging to members of the public on two separate occasions.

One target was North-East conman John Darwin who faked his own death in a canoe. The other was a suspected paedophile and his wife.

Although it is too early to be sure of the exact circumstances relating to these cases, they fall into a different category to what happened at the News of the World.

Information gleaned about John Darwin was passed to Cleveland Police and, according to Sky News, was "pivotal" to the case. That would clearly be in the public interest and, therefore, responsible journalism.

But, of course, such editorial decisions must be taken with extreme care. The law must only be broken by journalists when there is a clear and demonstrable justification for doing so.

And serving the public interest has to be the only objective.