Choosing words carefully

Two news stories yesterday caught my eye, for quotes that could have come straight from the mouth of Alistair Campbell or Max Clifford.

Part 1

"By finding this shipwreck and telling the story of its loss, we pay tribute to the brave merchant sailors who lost their lives." So said marine archaeologist Neil Dobson on the discovery of the wreck of the SS Gairsoppa, sunk by a U-boat in 1941 with the loss of 84 lives. Bravo Mr Dobson. How ever can we thank him and his colleagues from Odyssey Marine? Oh, I don't know, but an 80% share of the estimated £150m of silver on board should do it.

Part 2

"We want to stay for another 30 years. We want to do what is legal and right." So said Dale Farm resident Kathleen McCarthy. "Legal" and "right" - two words not usually associated with travellers' activities. Putting 51 caravans on a former scrapyard without planning permission is certainly not "legal". I'm surprised the Dale Farm crowd are putting up such a fuss about being moved on. Apart from the fact it seems strange to define yourself as travellers but stay put, hasn't Basildon run out of drives to tarmac by now?