Media Quotes of the Week: From reporter waits five years to quiz Trump on lies to PR soft soaps journalist in bid to promote cleaning products

Huff Post White House correspondent S. V. Dáte, who asked Donald Trump: "Do you regret all the lying you have done to the American people,"on Twitter: "For five years I've been wanting to ask him that."

Tim Shipman in the Sunday Times [£] on the MP accused of rape: "MPs are public servants and in the same way that you would want to know if a local GP was arrested over sexual misconduct claims, the same should apply to MPs. The fear seems to be that allowing greater publicity would encourage political and personal enemies to make vexatious complaints. In my experience, those considering making a complaint about an MP were profoundly reluctant to do so, precisely because of who they would be up against. Most chose not to do so. What this case and others before it show is that the current system for dealing with MPs who are accused of wrongdoing simply doesn’t work."

Matthew d'Ancona on Twitter: "Baffled to hear the brilliant @PhilipJCollins1 is leaving @thetimes - big loss to the paper of a truly original thinker, writer and wit. He’ll thrive elsewhere."

Philip Collins on Twitter: "I'm baffled too. Maybe they thought that now there is no chance of a viable Labour party there was no need for a .... oh no, can't be that...Thank you to everyone who has said kind things about the writing I did for The Times and will now do elsewhere. I've always wanted to be thought too left wing but never thought I would achieve it."

Ray Snoddy on Mediatel on Philip Collins leaving The Times: "One journalist moving on, however talented, is hardly going to bring democracy to its knees but it might stand as a symptom of a narrowing of public discourse, a new intolerance of views that don’t quite fit. Ironically, the Labour leader Keir Starmer, whom Collins probably approves of, stirred up a Twitter storm of opposition by daring to write an article for the Mail on Sunday."

Gulnoza Said, Committee to Protect Journalists' Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in a statement: “Belarusian authorities should stop the brutal treatment of journalists who have been reporting on post-election protests and allow them to work freely and safely. Detained journalists should be released, those injured should be provided access to medical treatment, journalists’ equipment should be returned, and all representatives of the press should be treated with respect.”

Society of Editors executive director Ian Murray in a statement: “It is essential that journalists the world over as well as our politicians voice their support for our media colleagues who are struggling to provide the people of Belarus with accurate and impartial coverage in their country.We urge the authorities in Belarus to ensure the safety of journalists who are simply going about their legal employment.”

Private Eye on Twitter: "Here’s one Covid figure that the government can’t adjust downward – Private Eye is actually selling as many copies as we were this time last year - an average of 231,073 copies!...Our editor Ian Hislop says: 'Thanks to the public for their fantastic response to our 'Fork out to Help Out' offer of a FULL PRICE copy of the magazine to EVERY reader who buys it'."

Scottish Sun editor Alan Muir in a message to readers after the paper's front page on the Stonehaven rail crash showed a picture of the train’s driver and the scene of the accident with the headline 'death express': "I'm writing today to apologise. Wednesday was a tragic day for Scotland, and the headline on the front page of our paper in relation to the terrible train accident caused further distress. For that, I am truly sorry. My team and I work hard every day to give you a product of high standard - but this time I made a mistake. At a time when family, friends and colleagues are grieving the loss of their loved ones, the last thing they need is something else to add to their grief. It would never be my intention to cause any deliberate upset or harm, especially in such terrible circumstances. I got it wrong on this occasion and can only apologise for that. We value our loyal family of readers very much and I personally thank you for continuing to support us."

Chichester Observer sports ed Steve Bone on Twitter: "Email of the day: Hi Steve, I discovered you through your work at Chichester Observer and I must admit it’s quite impressive! I just could not help but reach out to you directly. We have come up with a home appliance that is set to make scrubbing clean easy and faster than ever."

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