It appears that somebody at the United Kingdom's Daily Mail had a really bad night's sleep last night. And the first thing he saw when he woke up was the word "Google."

"Why is No.10 in thrall to this parasitic monster?" asks a Mail Online screed.

"No. 10," of course, refers to the Downing Street HQ of that country's Prime Minister, David Cameron. The "parasitic monster" in question comes from Mountain View, California, and is apparently in charge of the wholesale ransacking of British music, landmarks, and literature.

"Google has become a global predator ruthlessly gobbling up potential rivals such as YouTube and 'stealing' the creative work of writers, film makers and the music industry," the tirade warns.

"The monster," The Mail adds, "undermines investment in the very creative industries that have become such an important part of our national prosperity, and employ hundreds of thousands of people."

Just switch on the computer

Just look at what this ruthless brute has done to Britain's latest song sensation, the 21-year-old Adele (who, apparently unaware of her digital manhandling, has her own official page on YouTube).

One only has to switch on the computer, call up the Google search engine and type in the name of a star like Adele to understand why the digital channel is such a threat to the UK's performers, and for that matter our whole creative industry. Nine out of the first ten websites which pop up on Google's search engine are run by pirates who have downloaded Adele's output and offer it online far more cheaply than official copyrighted sites and High Street retailers.

We googled Adele's name and got (1) her official site, (2) her official site again, (3) her MySpace page, (4) a bunch of news stories about her, (5) YouTube videos, (6) her Wikipedia page, (7) her concert listings, (8) reviews for an "Adele's Hair Design," (9) Adele (the singer) photos, and (10) her Facebook page.

Cocooned

But never mind these irrelevant details. The question is why the government is appeasing this global roué, poised "to throw away decades if not centuries of intellectual copyright while at the same time lobbying governments all over the world in a bid to drive a coach and horses through the laws."

Why isn't Cameron moving full steam ahead with the Digital Economy Act, "which seeks to protect the nation's intellectual property from thieves"?

Apparently, the PM is "cocooned in his Downing Street bubble with his Google cheerleaders," most notably strategy director Steve Hilton, who is married to Google's head of Communications, Rachel Whetstone.

It's all coming together now.

"Will the Government only be satisfied when every last independent book publisher and specialist music store has been closed, our recording industry hollowed out and investment in brilliant new artists—capable of taking on the world—has been eliminated," The Mail ruefully wonders. No doubt that that's exactly the plan.