Hacking phones, bribing cops - it seems nothing is off limits for the sleazy tabloid pack.
But despite the growing backlash, one particularly sordid and unethical journalist has so far managed to escape unscathed.
Don't be fooled by his boyish charm and innocent looking white dog.
This amoral hack thinks nothing of breaking into homes, stealing private property and hounding innocent members of the public halfway across the globe to get his grubby little hands on a scoop.
Worse still, he's been doing it right under the noses of Singapore's cinema-going public.
Yes, if you're looking for an example of the gutter press at its grubbiest, look no further than Tintin.
Hergé's chubby cheeked adventurer may seem harmless enough, with his comfy sweaters and baggy brown slacks. In reality, he's even more slippery than the Brylcreem on his pointy ginger quiff.
If you've watched this cartoon baddie in action over the past week or so, you’ll know exactly what I mean. First, he sneaks into the home of Mr Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine – illustrious descendent of the celebrated pirate Red Rackham. As if that's not bad enough, he violates the poor man's privacy even further by trying to pinch his model ship.
The Gallic gum-shoe goes on to illegally intercept Mr Sakharine's telegrams, before harassing him again and again – eventually following him all the way to Morocco. He even tricks a drunken sea captain into helping him plumb the depths on behalf of his downmarket rag Le XXe Siècle.
All the time, he has the cops in his pocket – in particular, two bumbling English detectives who seem more interested in tipping him off than solving crimes.
Had mobile phones been around in 1930s Belgium, Tintin would no doubt have hacked them too.
Forget Hugh Grant – if the British media ethics inquiry wants a glimpse of the true face of tabloid harassment, what better witness to call than the long-suffering Mr Sakharine?
To be fair, Tintin has a number of defences up his knitted sleeve. For a start, he's not real. And even if fictional characters were included in the rogues' gallery of disreputable journalism, our boyish Belgian may not even be the worst offender.
What about Lois Lane?
The brunette bombshell is without doubt the world's least observant reporter. How she failed to notice that Clark Kent looks exactly the same as Superman, but with glasses on, we'll never know. Had Britain's privacy-hungry celebrities only thought of the spectacles trick, they could have saved themselves all those long nights spent fleeing the paparazzi.
Anyway, Lois is definitely not above using her looks to snare a story. The ultimate honey trap, she does her best to flatter and cajole her way into Superman's pants – worn outside his tights, of course. Meanwhile, all she really wants is to unmask his true identity, although she never stops to ask whether this gross invasion of his privacy is in the public interest. What's worse, I've not seen her get her notebook out once.
Lois has only one real rival when it comes to fictional hackettes – the Daily Prophet's Rita Skeeter. Yet although this dastardly reporter from the Harry Potter series has many loathsome qualities, I have to admit I quite like the fact that she works for a newspaper with pictures that move. Yes, when it comes to new media journalism platforms, our Rita's well ahead of the game.
Which brings us back to reality, and her creator J.K. Rowling, who gave evidence at the inquiry last week. Given what she told the panel about her own experiences at the hands of the media, it's obvious that Rita's character is not quite as far fetched as people may have assumed. In fact, some might say the real life hacks are even more devious than anything a novelist could dream up.
Whatever your take on Britain's tabloid scandal, as more and more shocking allegations emerge, one thing's becoming increasingly clear - in the world of newspapers, truth really is stranger than fiction.