The arrest of four Sun journalists threatens to open a fresh phase of the scandal surrounding News International
On Saturday morning, the police arrested four journalists who have worked for Rupert Murdoch. For a while, it looked as though these were yet more arrests of people related to the News of the World but then it became clear that this was something much more significant.
This may be the moment when the scandal that closed the NoW finally started to pose a potential threat to at least one of Murdoch’s three other UK newspaper titles: the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times.
The four men arrested on Saturday are not linked to the NoW. They come from the Sun, from the top of the tree – the current head of news and his crime editor, the former managing editor and deputy editor.
Nothing is certain. No one has been convicted of anything. The four who were arrested on Saturday – like the 25 others before them – have not even been charged with any offence. But behind the scenes, something very significant has changed at News International.
Under enormous legal and political pressure, Murdoch has ordered that the police be given everything they need. Whereas Scotland Yard began their inquiry a year ago with nothing much more than the heap of scruffy paperwork seized from the NoW’s private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, Murdoch’s Management and Standards Committee has now handed them what may be the largest cache of evidence ever gathered by a police operation in this country, including the material that led to Saturday’s arrests. …
The role of the former Sun editor Rebekah Brooks is expected to come under fresh scrutiny after four of the paper's current and former journalists were arrested on Saturday in connection with an investigation into corrupt payments to police.
Detectives with Operation Elveden, the Metropolitan Police's investigation into illegal payments to officers, raided the Sun's offices in Wapping, east London, morning after receiving information from News Corp, the parent company of News International, which owns the paper. A serving police officer in the Met's Territorial Policing command was also arrested at his place of work and questioned at a police station.
In a statement, News Corp said: "Metropolitan Police Service officers from Operation Elveden arrested four current and former employees from the Sun newspaper. Searches have also taken place at the homes and offices of those arrested. News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated."
It is understood that staff and management at the Sun had no warning of the operation. The four Sun journalists arrested were Mike Sullivan, the paper's crime editor; the former managing editor, Graham Dudman; an executive editor, Fergus Shanahan; and Chris Pharo, a news desk executive. They all worked under Brooks, who edited the Sun from January 2003 to September 2009, when she became chief executive of News International. ...
Detectives with Operation Elveden, the Metropolitan Police's investigation into illegal payments to officers, raided the Sun's offices in Wapping, east London, morning after receiving information from News Corp, the parent company of News International, which owns the paper. A serving police officer in the Met's Territorial Policing command was also arrested at his place of work and questioned at a police station.
In a statement, News Corp said: "Metropolitan Police Service officers from Operation Elveden arrested four current and former employees from the Sun newspaper. Searches have also taken place at the homes and offices of those arrested. News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated."
It is understood that staff and management at the Sun had no warning of the operation. The four Sun journalists arrested were Mike Sullivan, the paper's crime editor; the former managing editor, Graham Dudman; an executive editor, Fergus Shanahan; and Chris Pharo, a news desk executive. They all worked under Brooks, who edited the Sun from January 2003 to September 2009, when she became chief executive of News International. ...
Despite the repetition of denials, an accumulation of horror stories of tabloid practices has emerged
"Oh no I didn't!" "Oh yes you did!" As good as any Christmas pantomime, the Leveson inquiry into tabloid morals may well have been intended, as its critics allege, to distract attention from the prime minister's own ill-advised links with Rupert Murdoch.
But nevertheless, in the first month of what is due to be a long London run in courtroom 73 at the Royal Courts of Justice, Leveson mostly succeeded in laying on a gripping show. There have been 63 live performers so far.
This is despite the absence for legal reasons of key testimony, including from the News of the World executive responsible for hacking the phone of the murdered Milly Dowler.
Piers Morgan, one-time Mirror editor, proved one of the more theatrical of the oh-no-I-didn't brigade. He gave curt and sulky answers, and tried to blame Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife for a voicemail tape he himself once boasted of hearing. Morgan also lashed out at the Guardian's reporters who unearthed the present scandal, calling them the sanctimonious "bishops of Fleet Street".
His fellow editor Colin Myler, who presided over four years of cover-up at the late News of the World, did at least have the grace to blurt out "I apologise" when accused of deceiving the Press Complaints Commission.
But the overall picture Myler sought to paint was of a saintly process of reform, worthy of any bishop, in which the sinners had long been swept away, and he no longer tolerated misbehaviour.
When he made this claim, "Oh yes you did!" might have been heard at the back of the hall. For he was at once contradicted by a large ex-policeman, Derek Webb.
Nicknamed, rather improbably, the Silent Shadow, Webb's job at the News of the World was to follow people about, the hearing was told. When it became too hot to employ him as a private detective, he explained on oath, he was simply told to get a National Union of Journalists card. This happened under the supposedly reforming editorship of Myler.
The inquiry's lawyers asked Webb whether anything changed at all at the NoW after the new broom succeeded the disgraced former editor Andy Coulson. Webb replied succinctly: "Nothing." ...
"Oh no I didn't!" "Oh yes you did!" As good as any Christmas pantomime, the Leveson inquiry into tabloid morals may well have been intended, as its critics allege, to distract attention from the prime minister's own ill-advised links with Rupert Murdoch.
But nevertheless, in the first month of what is due to be a long London run in courtroom 73 at the Royal Courts of Justice, Leveson mostly succeeded in laying on a gripping show. There have been 63 live performers so far.
This is despite the absence for legal reasons of key testimony, including from the News of the World executive responsible for hacking the phone of the murdered Milly Dowler.
Piers Morgan, one-time Mirror editor, proved one of the more theatrical of the oh-no-I-didn't brigade. He gave curt and sulky answers, and tried to blame Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife for a voicemail tape he himself once boasted of hearing. Morgan also lashed out at the Guardian's reporters who unearthed the present scandal, calling them the sanctimonious "bishops of Fleet Street".
His fellow editor Colin Myler, who presided over four years of cover-up at the late News of the World, did at least have the grace to blurt out "I apologise" when accused of deceiving the Press Complaints Commission.
But the overall picture Myler sought to paint was of a saintly process of reform, worthy of any bishop, in which the sinners had long been swept away, and he no longer tolerated misbehaviour.
When he made this claim, "Oh yes you did!" might have been heard at the back of the hall. For he was at once contradicted by a large ex-policeman, Derek Webb.
Nicknamed, rather improbably, the Silent Shadow, Webb's job at the News of the World was to follow people about, the hearing was told. When it became too hot to employ him as a private detective, he explained on oath, he was simply told to get a National Union of Journalists card. This happened under the supposedly reforming editorship of Myler.
The inquiry's lawyers asked Webb whether anything changed at all at the NoW after the new broom succeeded the disgraced former editor Andy Coulson. Webb replied succinctly: "Nothing." ...
The names of several News of the World journalists who ordered a private detective to hack into mobile phones belonging to six public figures will not be publicly disclosed after Scotland Yard intervened to prevent their publication.
The names were passed to Steve Coogan on Friday by Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the paper, in compliance with a high court order the actor obtained earlier this year.
The names are critical to the phone-hacking investigation because they could show how far the practice was widespread at the paper, which was closed down by Rupert Murdoch last month, despite consistent denials from its owner News Group Newspapers. Coogan is one of several celebrities suing the paper for breach of privacy.
The high court order instructed Mulcaire to reveal who at the paper asked him to illegally intercept messages left on mobile belonging to former model Elle Macpherson, publicist Max Clifford and four others.
Mulcaire, who was employed exclusively by the News of the World, was also told to reveal who at the paper ordered him to target Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, his colleague Jo Armstrong and football agent Sky Andrew.
He was refused leave to appeal against the order earlier this month and handed over the names on Friday, the deadline set by the high court for making the information available.
Law firm Schillings was contacted by Mulcaire's solicitor Sarah Webb of Payne Hicks Beach on Friday and asked not to make the names public. Webb said: "The issues of confidentiality are of concern to the Metropolitan police and we asked Coogan's solicitors not to disclose the information until the Met could consider the matter." ...
The names were passed to Steve Coogan on Friday by Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the paper, in compliance with a high court order the actor obtained earlier this year.
The names are critical to the phone-hacking investigation because they could show how far the practice was widespread at the paper, which was closed down by Rupert Murdoch last month, despite consistent denials from its owner News Group Newspapers. Coogan is one of several celebrities suing the paper for breach of privacy.
The high court order instructed Mulcaire to reveal who at the paper asked him to illegally intercept messages left on mobile belonging to former model Elle Macpherson, publicist Max Clifford and four others.
Mulcaire, who was employed exclusively by the News of the World, was also told to reveal who at the paper ordered him to target Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, his colleague Jo Armstrong and football agent Sky Andrew.
He was refused leave to appeal against the order earlier this month and handed over the names on Friday, the deadline set by the high court for making the information available.
Law firm Schillings was contacted by Mulcaire's solicitor Sarah Webb of Payne Hicks Beach on Friday and asked not to make the names public. Webb said: "The issues of confidentiality are of concern to the Metropolitan police and we asked Coogan's solicitors not to disclose the information until the Met could consider the matter." ...
Fresh evidence has emerged of other voice messages allegedly hacked from the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's by the News of the World.
A report suggested that the former Sunday tabloid newspaper had details of more voicemails left on her mobile phone than originally thought.
The Wall Street Journal said it had obtained earlier print editions of the newspaper from 2002, which made reference to more messages on the missing teenager's phone.
It states that it undertook a review of the News International-owned newspaper and found that early versions on one day contained detailed quotes from three voicemails.
In the final edition, the article only contained one passing reference to a single voicemail.
On 14 April 2002, the News of the World published a story in its final edition about a woman allegedly pretending to be Milly who had applied for a job with a recruitment agency. It suggested that the hoaxer had given the agency Milly's real mobile number, which it used to contact her when a vacancy arose, leaving a message on her voicemail six days after she went missing.
The newspaper later informed the police about the voicemail that it is alleged to have intercepted.
However, the Wall Street Journal has now said that it has obtained earlier editions of the newspaper from the same day, which include an article that makes reference to two further messages left on the phone. ...
A report suggested that the former Sunday tabloid newspaper had details of more voicemails left on her mobile phone than originally thought.
The Wall Street Journal said it had obtained earlier print editions of the newspaper from 2002, which made reference to more messages on the missing teenager's phone.
It states that it undertook a review of the News International-owned newspaper and found that early versions on one day contained detailed quotes from three voicemails.
In the final edition, the article only contained one passing reference to a single voicemail.
On 14 April 2002, the News of the World published a story in its final edition about a woman allegedly pretending to be Milly who had applied for a job with a recruitment agency. It suggested that the hoaxer had given the agency Milly's real mobile number, which it used to contact her when a vacancy arose, leaving a message on her voicemail six days after she went missing.
The newspaper later informed the police about the voicemail that it is alleged to have intercepted.
However, the Wall Street Journal has now said that it has obtained earlier editions of the newspaper from the same day, which include an article that makes reference to two further messages left on the phone. ...
A police detective has been arrested on suspicion of leaking details about Scotland Yard's phone-hacking investigation.
The man has not been charged but he has been suspended by the Metropolitan police.
The Met also on Friday arrested a 35-year-old man, who Sky News named as former News of the World reporter Dan Evans, on suspicion of phone hacking. He has been released on police bail.
Evans was suspended by the paper more than a year ago after being named in a civil case against the now defunct tabloid's publisher, News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, brought by interior designer Kelly Hoppen.
Sue Akers, the force's deputy assistant commissioner, who is leading the investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World, said: "I made very clear when I took on this investigation the need for operational and information security. It is hugely disappointing that this may not have been adhered to."
Akers added: "The MPS [Met] takes the unauthorised disclosure of information extremely seriously and has acted swiftly in making these arrests." ...
The man has not been charged but he has been suspended by the Metropolitan police.
The Met also on Friday arrested a 35-year-old man, who Sky News named as former News of the World reporter Dan Evans, on suspicion of phone hacking. He has been released on police bail.
Evans was suspended by the paper more than a year ago after being named in a civil case against the now defunct tabloid's publisher, News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, brought by interior designer Kelly Hoppen.
Sue Akers, the force's deputy assistant commissioner, who is leading the investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World, said: "I made very clear when I took on this investigation the need for operational and information security. It is hugely disappointing that this may not have been adhered to."
Akers added: "The MPS [Met] takes the unauthorised disclosure of information extremely seriously and has acted swiftly in making these arrests." ...
Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, has been ordered by a court to reveal who instructed him to access the voicemails of model Elle Macpherson and five other public figures, including Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader.
Mulcaire is due to reveal these details by the end of next week in a move that will throw further light on the scale of phone hacking at the now defunct News International tabloid.
The Guardian has learned that Mulcaire has lost an attempt to appeal against a court order obliging him to identify who instructed him to hack the phones, something he has resisted since February.
Mulcaire, who was jailed in 2007 after pleading guilty to hacking the phones of members of the royal household for the NoW, has been forced into making the disclosure after legal action by Steve Coogan. In February, the actor's lawyers argued in court that if it were proved that the paper had instructed Mulcaire to hack into the phones of the six public figures, it would show that phone hacking was taking place on an industrial scale.
Mulcaire must now name names in relation to Macpherson, Hughes and four others: Max Clifford; the football agent Sky Andrew; Jo Armstrong, a legal adviser to the Professional Footballers Association; and Gordon Taylor, the former head of the PFA. At his trial in 2006 Mulcaire also admitted hacking the phones of five of the six names in Coogan's court order. ...
Mulcaire is due to reveal these details by the end of next week in a move that will throw further light on the scale of phone hacking at the now defunct News International tabloid.
The Guardian has learned that Mulcaire has lost an attempt to appeal against a court order obliging him to identify who instructed him to hack the phones, something he has resisted since February.
Mulcaire, who was jailed in 2007 after pleading guilty to hacking the phones of members of the royal household for the NoW, has been forced into making the disclosure after legal action by Steve Coogan. In February, the actor's lawyers argued in court that if it were proved that the paper had instructed Mulcaire to hack into the phones of the six public figures, it would show that phone hacking was taking place on an industrial scale.
Mulcaire must now name names in relation to Macpherson, Hughes and four others: Max Clifford; the football agent Sky Andrew; Jo Armstrong, a legal adviser to the Professional Footballers Association; and Gordon Taylor, the former head of the PFA. At his trial in 2006 Mulcaire also admitted hacking the phones of five of the six names in Coogan's court order. ...
Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and their former editor Andy Coulson all face embarrassing new allegations of dishonesty and cover-up after the publication of an explosive letter written by the News of the World's disgraced royal correspondent, Clive Goodman.
In the letter, which was written four years ago but published only on Tuesday, Goodman claims that phone hacking was "widely discussed" at editorial meetings at the paper until Coulson himself banned further references to it; that Coulson offered to let him keep his job if he agreed not to implicate the paper in hacking when he came to court; and that his own hacking was carried out with "the full knowledge and support" of other senior journalists, whom he named.
The claims are acutely troubling for the prime minister, David Cameron, who hired Coulson as his media adviser on the basis that he knew nothing about phone hacking. And they confront Rupert and James Murdoch with the humiliating prospect of being recalled to parliament to justify the evidence which they gave last month on the aftermath of Goodman's allegations. In a separate letter, one of the Murdochs' own law firms claim that parts of that evidence were variously "hard to credit", "self-serving" and "inaccurate and misleading".
Goodman's claims also raise serious questions about Rupert Murdoch's close friend and adviser, Les Hinton, who was sent a copy of the letter but failed to pass it to police and who then led a cast of senior Murdoch personnel in telling parliament that they believed Coulson knew nothing about the interception of the voicemail of public figures and that Goodman was the only journalist involved.
The letters from Goodman and from the London law firm Harbottle & Lewis are among a cache of paperwork published by the Commons culture, media and sport select committee. One committee member, the Labour MP Tom Watson, said Goodman's letter was "absolutely devastating". He said: "Clive Goodman's letter is the most significant piece of evidence that has been revealed so far. It completely removes News International's defence. This is one of the largest cover-ups I have seen in my lifetime."
Goodman's letter is dated 2 March 2007, soon after he was released from a four-month prison sentence. It is addressed to News International's director of human resources, Daniel Cloke, and registers his appeal against the decision of Hinton, the company's then chairman, to sack him for gross misconduct after he admitted intercepting the voicemail of three members of the royal household. Goodman lists five grounds for his appeal.
He argues that the decision is perverse because he acted "with the full knowledge and support" of named senior journalists and that payments for the private investigator who assisted him, Glenn Mulcaire, were arranged by another senior journalist. The names of the journalists have been redacted from the published letter at the request of Scotland Yard, who are investigating the affair. ...
In the letter, which was written four years ago but published only on Tuesday, Goodman claims that phone hacking was "widely discussed" at editorial meetings at the paper until Coulson himself banned further references to it; that Coulson offered to let him keep his job if he agreed not to implicate the paper in hacking when he came to court; and that his own hacking was carried out with "the full knowledge and support" of other senior journalists, whom he named.
The claims are acutely troubling for the prime minister, David Cameron, who hired Coulson as his media adviser on the basis that he knew nothing about phone hacking. And they confront Rupert and James Murdoch with the humiliating prospect of being recalled to parliament to justify the evidence which they gave last month on the aftermath of Goodman's allegations. In a separate letter, one of the Murdochs' own law firms claim that parts of that evidence were variously "hard to credit", "self-serving" and "inaccurate and misleading".
Goodman's claims also raise serious questions about Rupert Murdoch's close friend and adviser, Les Hinton, who was sent a copy of the letter but failed to pass it to police and who then led a cast of senior Murdoch personnel in telling parliament that they believed Coulson knew nothing about the interception of the voicemail of public figures and that Goodman was the only journalist involved.
The letters from Goodman and from the London law firm Harbottle & Lewis are among a cache of paperwork published by the Commons culture, media and sport select committee. One committee member, the Labour MP Tom Watson, said Goodman's letter was "absolutely devastating". He said: "Clive Goodman's letter is the most significant piece of evidence that has been revealed so far. It completely removes News International's defence. This is one of the largest cover-ups I have seen in my lifetime."
Goodman's letter is dated 2 March 2007, soon after he was released from a four-month prison sentence. It is addressed to News International's director of human resources, Daniel Cloke, and registers his appeal against the decision of Hinton, the company's then chairman, to sack him for gross misconduct after he admitted intercepting the voicemail of three members of the royal household. Goodman lists five grounds for his appeal.
He argues that the decision is perverse because he acted "with the full knowledge and support" of named senior journalists and that payments for the private investigator who assisted him, Glenn Mulcaire, were arranged by another senior journalist. The names of the journalists have been redacted from the published letter at the request of Scotland Yard, who are investigating the affair. ...
The Liberal Democrat MP, Simon Hughes, is to sue News International over phone hacking at the News of the World, he confirmed on Thursday.
Hughes told the Evening Standard: "It is important now that all those who were clearly the subject of criminal activity help to get to the bottom of what happened during this dark period in British journalism."
Hughes's decision to take legal action against Rupert Murdoch's Sunday tabloid, which was closed last month, is significant because the private investigator employed by the paper has already been convicted of targeting his mobile phone.
Glenn Mulcaire pleaded guilty to hacking into Hughes's messages, along with those left on mobiles belonging to seven other people, in 2006.
That means Mulcaire will be unable to resist complying with any court order Hughes obtains that requires the former investigator to say who asked him to intercept Hughes's messages.
In other cases currently going through the civil courts, Mulcaire's legal team has successfully appealed against such orders by arguing that he would be incriminating himself if he were to comply with them by admitting his guilt.
Mulcaire will not be able to mount the same argument when Hughes takes legal action, against News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, because he pleaded guilty to hacking his phone five years ago.
That could lead to more News of the World journalists being named. Three of the original eight victims named in the 2006 legal action have already sued the paper's owner. ...
Hughes told the Evening Standard: "It is important now that all those who were clearly the subject of criminal activity help to get to the bottom of what happened during this dark period in British journalism."
Hughes's decision to take legal action against Rupert Murdoch's Sunday tabloid, which was closed last month, is significant because the private investigator employed by the paper has already been convicted of targeting his mobile phone.
Glenn Mulcaire pleaded guilty to hacking into Hughes's messages, along with those left on mobiles belonging to seven other people, in 2006.
That means Mulcaire will be unable to resist complying with any court order Hughes obtains that requires the former investigator to say who asked him to intercept Hughes's messages.
In other cases currently going through the civil courts, Mulcaire's legal team has successfully appealed against such orders by arguing that he would be incriminating himself if he were to comply with them by admitting his guilt.
Mulcaire will not be able to mount the same argument when Hughes takes legal action, against News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, because he pleaded guilty to hacking his phone five years ago.
That could lead to more News of the World journalists being named. Three of the original eight victims named in the 2006 legal action have already sued the paper's owner. ...
At the Fox News Chrismas party the year the network overtook arch-rival CNN in the cable ratings, tipsy employees were herded down to the basement of a midtown bar in New York. As they gathered around a television mounted high on the wall, an image flashed to life, glowing bright in the darkened tavern: the MSNBC logo. A chorus of boos erupted among the Fox faithful. The CNN logo followed, and the catcalls multiplied. Then a third slide appeared, with a telling twist. In place of the logo for Fox News was a beneficent visage: the face of the network's founder. The man known to his fiercest loyalists simply as "the Chairman" – Roger Ailes.
"It was as though we were looking at Mao," recalls Charlie Reina, a former Fox News producer..."It's like the Soviet Union or China: People are always looking over their shoulders," says a former executive with the network's parent, News Corp. "There are people who turn people in."
The key to decoding Fox News isn't hosts Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity. It isn't even News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch. To understand what drives Fox News, and what its true purpose is, you must first understand Chairman Ailes. "He is Fox News," says Jane Hall, a Fox commentator for 10 years, who defected over Ailes's embrace of the fear-mongering Glenn Beck. "It's his vision. It's a reflection of him." ...
... The outsize success of Fox News gives Ailes a free hand to shape the network in his own image. "Murdoch has almost no involvement with it at all," says Michael Wolff, who spent nine months embedded at News Corp researching a biography of the Australian media giant. "People are afraid of Roger. Murdoch is, himself, afraid of Roger. He has amassed enormous power within the company – and within the country – from the success of Fox News."
Fear, in fact, is precisely what Ailes is selling: his network has relentlessly hyped phantom menaces such as the planned "terror mosque" near Ground Zero, inspiring Florida pastor Terry Jones to torch the Qur'an. Privately, Murdoch is as impressed by Ailes's business savvy as he is dismissive of his extremist politics. "You know Roger is crazy," Murdoch recently told a colleague, shaking his head in disbelief. "He really believes that stuff."
To watch even a day of Fox News – the anger, the bombast, the virulent paranoid streak, the unending appeals to white resentment, the reporting that is held to the same standard of evidence as a political campaign attack ad – is to see a refraction of its founder, one of the most skilled and fearsome operatives in the history of the Republican party. As a political consultant, Ailes repackaged Richard Nixon for television in 1968, papered over Ronald Reagan's budding Alzheimer's in 1984, shamelessly stoked racial fears to elect George Bush in 1988, and waged a secret campaign on behalf of Big Tobacco to derail healthcare reform in 1993. "He was the premier guy in the business," says former Reagan campaign manager Ed Rollins. "He was our Michelangelo." ...
"It was as though we were looking at Mao," recalls Charlie Reina, a former Fox News producer..."It's like the Soviet Union or China: People are always looking over their shoulders," says a former executive with the network's parent, News Corp. "There are people who turn people in."
The key to decoding Fox News isn't hosts Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity. It isn't even News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch. To understand what drives Fox News, and what its true purpose is, you must first understand Chairman Ailes. "He is Fox News," says Jane Hall, a Fox commentator for 10 years, who defected over Ailes's embrace of the fear-mongering Glenn Beck. "It's his vision. It's a reflection of him." ...
... The outsize success of Fox News gives Ailes a free hand to shape the network in his own image. "Murdoch has almost no involvement with it at all," says Michael Wolff, who spent nine months embedded at News Corp researching a biography of the Australian media giant. "People are afraid of Roger. Murdoch is, himself, afraid of Roger. He has amassed enormous power within the company – and within the country – from the success of Fox News."
Fear, in fact, is precisely what Ailes is selling: his network has relentlessly hyped phantom menaces such as the planned "terror mosque" near Ground Zero, inspiring Florida pastor Terry Jones to torch the Qur'an. Privately, Murdoch is as impressed by Ailes's business savvy as he is dismissive of his extremist politics. "You know Roger is crazy," Murdoch recently told a colleague, shaking his head in disbelief. "He really believes that stuff."
To watch even a day of Fox News – the anger, the bombast, the virulent paranoid streak, the unending appeals to white resentment, the reporting that is held to the same standard of evidence as a political campaign attack ad – is to see a refraction of its founder, one of the most skilled and fearsome operatives in the history of the Republican party. As a political consultant, Ailes repackaged Richard Nixon for television in 1968, papered over Ronald Reagan's budding Alzheimer's in 1984, shamelessly stoked racial fears to elect George Bush in 1988, and waged a secret campaign on behalf of Big Tobacco to derail healthcare reform in 1993. "He was the premier guy in the business," says former Reagan campaign manager Ed Rollins. "He was our Michelangelo." ...
... But damn it feels good to watch Murdoch get his comeuppance. I didn’t think he would live long enough. And it’s great to see both Murdoch and British politicians realise that no-one is too powerful to face justice. Can Joseph Ratzinger be next, please?
Every day adds more lulz. But the highlight for me was when the Murdoch-tainted Sky News tried to cover the hacking of Murdoch’s Sun website by the gentlemen from Lulz Security.
The sky is failing!
Clueless Sky Papers Pundit 1: Europe’s imploding and he’s still banging on about this.
Clueless Sky News Anchor: I hate to continue about hacking though, but the latest victim to be hacked apparently is the Sun newspaper. Its website has been targeted by Anonymous, which you might remember had links with WikiLeaks, umm…
The Sky is failing
Clueless Sky News Anchor: That was before and…
Clueless Sky News Anchor: That’s what happens when you log in to it now. The Luiz Boat, it says. So you… I don’t know if it’s still like that.
Clueless Sky Papers Pundit 1: Who’s the Louise Boat?
Clueless Sky News Anchor: That’s what it’s like now if you click on now. It’s been tampered with.
Clueless Sky Papers Pundit 2: Some ‘hacking thing‘…
Clueless Sky Papers Pundit 1: Who is Louise Boat?
Clueless Sky News Anchor: I don’t know who Luiz Boat is, but the group is called Anonymous and they hacked into various credit card companies.
Clueless Sky Papers Pundit 2: I mean it’s wrong. You shouldn’t go wrecking websites like that. It’s not funny; it’s not clever. He says! Wait till I’m done tomorrow for saying that. You know, and I hope the Sun get control of it back and get their own stuff up.
With Sky News’s fingers so resolutely far from the pulse of the news, what the hell are we watching? This is at best televised reading aloud, and at worst an ignorance competition. It’s an amazing day when one can say that Fox News understands teh Internets better than someone!...
Ta much, dear BrightKnight
Every day adds more lulz. But the highlight for me was when the Murdoch-tainted Sky News tried to cover the hacking of Murdoch’s Sun website by the gentlemen from Lulz Security.
The sky is failing!
Clueless Sky Papers Pundit 1: Europe’s imploding and he’s still banging on about this.
Clueless Sky News Anchor: I hate to continue about hacking though, but the latest victim to be hacked apparently is the Sun newspaper. Its website has been targeted by Anonymous, which you might remember had links with WikiLeaks, umm…
The Sky is failing
Clueless Sky News Anchor: That was before and…
Clueless Sky News Anchor: That’s what happens when you log in to it now. The Luiz Boat, it says. So you… I don’t know if it’s still like that.
Clueless Sky Papers Pundit 1: Who’s the Louise Boat?
Clueless Sky News Anchor: That’s what it’s like now if you click on now. It’s been tampered with.
Clueless Sky Papers Pundit 2: Some ‘hacking thing‘…
Clueless Sky Papers Pundit 1: Who is Louise Boat?
Clueless Sky News Anchor: I don’t know who Luiz Boat is, but the group is called Anonymous and they hacked into various credit card companies.
Clueless Sky Papers Pundit 2: I mean it’s wrong. You shouldn’t go wrecking websites like that. It’s not funny; it’s not clever. He says! Wait till I’m done tomorrow for saying that. You know, and I hope the Sun get control of it back and get their own stuff up.
With Sky News’s fingers so resolutely far from the pulse of the news, what the hell are we watching? This is at best televised reading aloud, and at worst an ignorance competition. It’s an amazing day when one can say that Fox News understands teh Internets better than someone!...
Ta much, dear BrightKnight
Senior MPs want to question further one of News International's technology suppliers, after the firm responsible for overseeing its day-to-day emails revealed that hundreds of thousands of them had been deleted on a total of nine occasions from the newspaper publisher's server since May last year.
Lawyers acting for HCL, the firm contracted to oversee News International's email system, told the home affairs select committee that it was aware of "nothing which appeared abnormal, untoward or inconsistent with its contractual role" – but went onto to advise MPs to direct further questions to News International.
The law firm, Stuart Benson, acting for HCL, said: "It is entirely for News International, the police and your committee as to whether there was any other agenda or subtext when issues of deletion arose and that is a matter on which my client cannot comment and something you will no doubt wish to explore direct with News International."
Keith Vaz, chair of the committee, said he was most surprised by the deletions and added that the MPs would be seeking further details from HCL, the firm contracted to oversee the News International's 'live emails', typically those less than 15 days old. ...
Lawyers acting for HCL, the firm contracted to oversee News International's email system, told the home affairs select committee that it was aware of "nothing which appeared abnormal, untoward or inconsistent with its contractual role" – but went onto to advise MPs to direct further questions to News International.
The law firm, Stuart Benson, acting for HCL, said: "It is entirely for News International, the police and your committee as to whether there was any other agenda or subtext when issues of deletion arose and that is a matter on which my client cannot comment and something you will no doubt wish to explore direct with News International."
Keith Vaz, chair of the committee, said he was most surprised by the deletions and added that the MPs would be seeking further details from HCL, the firm contracted to oversee the News International's 'live emails', typically those less than 15 days old. ...
... UPDATE: On Wednesday evening the Guardian sent the following reply to Downing St:
Thank you for your response which, you'll be aware, doesn't answer a single one of the 14 questions we submitted. ...
Thank you for your response which, you'll be aware, doesn't answer a single one of the 14 questions we submitted. ...
The Wall Street Journal "could have done a better job" when it published an interview with proprietor Rupert Murdoch in which he said News Corporation had made only "minor mistakes" in managing the phone-hacking scandal, according to the paper's special editorial committee.
In a report published in the Journal on Monday designed to answer critics of its phone-hacking coverage, the committee – set up when Murdoch bought the paper in 2007 – admitted that its journalists failed to cover the scandal as promptly as its rivals. It also offered criticism of a one-sided interview earlier this month, just 24 hours before News Corp lost two of its most senior newspaper executives, including Les Hinton, who was responsible for the Dow Jones newswires.
"[The Journal] could have done a better job with a recent story allowing Mr Murdoch to get his side of the story on the record without tougher questioning," the report said, adding "We have discussed this with the involved editors."
However, in response to a political request for evidence that the US journalists were not involved in wrongdoing last week, the committee found "nothing to even hint that the sort of misdeeds alleged in London have somehow crept into [WSJ publisher] Dow Jones".
In one critical paragraph of the Journal's coverage of a scandal that has rocked the company, the UK political establishment and police authorities, the committee wrote: "The Journal was slower than it should have been at the outset to pursue the phone-hacking scandal story, in our opinion, though it is doing much better now with aggressive coverage, fitting placement in the paper, and unflinching headlines."
Last Friday, two days after Rupert Murdoch and his heir apparent James appeared before parliament, the Journal broke the news that the justice department is preparing wide-ranging subpoenas to gather evidence in the phone hacking case.
The committee had nothing to say about the WSJ editorial published last week that accused journalists at the Guardian and other news outlets for pushing coverage of the phone-hacking story for "commercial and ideological motives".
Much of the committee's evidence seems to have been gathered by asking relevant editors and reporters: "Is anybody putting political, ideological or commercial pressure on you to influence your news judgment?" The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, is "no".
The report comes after the Journal, edited by Robert Thomson, a former editor of the Times in London, has come under heavy criticism from rival media organisations in recent weeks.
New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, who has previously written in support of Murdoch ownership, said: "The Journal was turned into a propaganda vehicle for its owner's conservative views. That's half the definition of Fox-ification. The other half is that Murdoch's media outlets must shill for his business interests. With the News of the World scandal, the Journal has now shown itself willing to do that, too." ...
In a report published in the Journal on Monday designed to answer critics of its phone-hacking coverage, the committee – set up when Murdoch bought the paper in 2007 – admitted that its journalists failed to cover the scandal as promptly as its rivals. It also offered criticism of a one-sided interview earlier this month, just 24 hours before News Corp lost two of its most senior newspaper executives, including Les Hinton, who was responsible for the Dow Jones newswires.
"[The Journal] could have done a better job with a recent story allowing Mr Murdoch to get his side of the story on the record without tougher questioning," the report said, adding "We have discussed this with the involved editors."
However, in response to a political request for evidence that the US journalists were not involved in wrongdoing last week, the committee found "nothing to even hint that the sort of misdeeds alleged in London have somehow crept into [WSJ publisher] Dow Jones".
In one critical paragraph of the Journal's coverage of a scandal that has rocked the company, the UK political establishment and police authorities, the committee wrote: "The Journal was slower than it should have been at the outset to pursue the phone-hacking scandal story, in our opinion, though it is doing much better now with aggressive coverage, fitting placement in the paper, and unflinching headlines."
Last Friday, two days after Rupert Murdoch and his heir apparent James appeared before parliament, the Journal broke the news that the justice department is preparing wide-ranging subpoenas to gather evidence in the phone hacking case.
The committee had nothing to say about the WSJ editorial published last week that accused journalists at the Guardian and other news outlets for pushing coverage of the phone-hacking story for "commercial and ideological motives".
Much of the committee's evidence seems to have been gathered by asking relevant editors and reporters: "Is anybody putting political, ideological or commercial pressure on you to influence your news judgment?" The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, is "no".
The report comes after the Journal, edited by Robert Thomson, a former editor of the Times in London, has come under heavy criticism from rival media organisations in recent weeks.
New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, who has previously written in support of Murdoch ownership, said: "The Journal was turned into a propaganda vehicle for its owner's conservative views. That's half the definition of Fox-ification. The other half is that Murdoch's media outlets must shill for his business interests. With the News of the World scandal, the Journal has now shown itself willing to do that, too." ...
Leading lawyers feel client information may have been intercepted after their names were found in Glenn Mulcaire's file
Owen Bowcott
Monday 25 July 2011
Now it's the turn of lawyers and the legal process to be sucked into the phone-hacking vortex. The Law Society has even suggested justice itself is under threat, implying messages could have been intercepted with the intention of influencing court cases.
Several prominent solicitors fear their mobile phones have been hacked. Some have been formally informed of the risk by police after detectives discovered their numbers among a private investigator's notes.
Graham Shear, of Berwin Leighton Paisner who has represented celebrities such as Robbie Williams and Jude Law, is one of those who has lodged a claim against the News of the World for damages over breach of privacy.
"In January this year I was contacted by senior officers in Operation Weeting [the Metropolitan police inquiry into phone hacking]," Shear said. "They told me that, contrary to what had been said previously, a number of my clients were referred to in documents from [Glenn] Mulcaire's file. My name was among them."
If messages had been intercepted, he said, it would have been a breach of confidential relationship with clients.
The media lawyer Mark Stephens expressed similar anxieties. "I asked [Scotland Yard] if I'd been hacked - they came back to me in 90 minutes and said yes," he told Channel 4 News. "It confirmed my worst suspicions, that I was in Mulcaire's notebook. There is nothing I can do about it, but the important thing is to ascertain which client [was the target] so I can advise them. My concern is for them, not myself." ...
Owen Bowcott
Monday 25 July 2011
Now it's the turn of lawyers and the legal process to be sucked into the phone-hacking vortex. The Law Society has even suggested justice itself is under threat, implying messages could have been intercepted with the intention of influencing court cases.
Several prominent solicitors fear their mobile phones have been hacked. Some have been formally informed of the risk by police after detectives discovered their numbers among a private investigator's notes.
Graham Shear, of Berwin Leighton Paisner who has represented celebrities such as Robbie Williams and Jude Law, is one of those who has lodged a claim against the News of the World for damages over breach of privacy.
"In January this year I was contacted by senior officers in Operation Weeting [the Metropolitan police inquiry into phone hacking]," Shear said. "They told me that, contrary to what had been said previously, a number of my clients were referred to in documents from [Glenn] Mulcaire's file. My name was among them."
If messages had been intercepted, he said, it would have been a breach of confidential relationship with clients.
The media lawyer Mark Stephens expressed similar anxieties. "I asked [Scotland Yard] if I'd been hacked - they came back to me in 90 minutes and said yes," he told Channel 4 News. "It confirmed my worst suspicions, that I was in Mulcaire's notebook. There is nothing I can do about it, but the important thing is to ascertain which client [was the target] so I can advise them. My concern is for them, not myself." ...
Media Titan Loses Closest Ally
POSTED July 14, 2011
LONDON (The Borowitz Report) – In a blow that many insiders saw as the last straw for embattled media titan Rupert Murdoch, Satan today returned Mr. Murdoch’s soul to him and demanded his money back.
“Rupert Murdoch has done my bidding for decades, but that relationship is now terminated,” read the terse statement from the Prince of Darkness, who close associates said has been “disgusted” by Murdoch’s recent activities.
Purchased by Satan in Melbourne, Australia in 1951, Mr. Murdoch’s soul is estimated to have a current value of nine dollars (US).
Around the media world, observers were stunned by this latest setback for Mr. Murdoch, who in Satan is losing one of his closest and most powerful allies.
But according to Ian Langramstone, who at his post as the University of Nottingham has studied Mr. Murdoch’s relationship with Satan for years, the slap in the face from the Lord of Misrule should not come as a surprise.
“Satan never wants to be the last one to desert a sinking ship,” said Mr. Langromstone. “He always takes his lead from British politicians.”
In what many saw a tacit admission of the depth of his current problems, Mr. Murdoch today cancelled plans to purchase the remainder of the British government that he does not already own. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
POSTED July 14, 2011
LONDON (The Borowitz Report) – In a blow that many insiders saw as the last straw for embattled media titan Rupert Murdoch, Satan today returned Mr. Murdoch’s soul to him and demanded his money back.
“Rupert Murdoch has done my bidding for decades, but that relationship is now terminated,” read the terse statement from the Prince of Darkness, who close associates said has been “disgusted” by Murdoch’s recent activities.
Purchased by Satan in Melbourne, Australia in 1951, Mr. Murdoch’s soul is estimated to have a current value of nine dollars (US).
Around the media world, observers were stunned by this latest setback for Mr. Murdoch, who in Satan is losing one of his closest and most powerful allies.
But according to Ian Langramstone, who at his post as the University of Nottingham has studied Mr. Murdoch’s relationship with Satan for years, the slap in the face from the Lord of Misrule should not come as a surprise.
“Satan never wants to be the last one to desert a sinking ship,” said Mr. Langromstone. “He always takes his lead from British politicians.”
In what many saw a tacit admission of the depth of his current problems, Mr. Murdoch today cancelled plans to purchase the remainder of the British government that he does not already own. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
A leading tabloid journalist has joined those suing the News of the World for allegedly hacking into voicemails, reviving claims that the Rupert Murdoch-owned paper has been spying on its rivals to steal their stories.
According to the high court registry, Fleet Street veteran Dennis Rice has issued proceedings against the NoW and its private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire. Rice, who is now freelance, was the investigations editor at the Mail on Sunday (MoS) when Mulcaire was at the peak of his activity between 2005 and 2006.
A source familiar with Mulcaire's activities claims that, acting on orders from an NoW editorial executive, he intercepted voicemail messages from Rice and half a dozen other journalists at the MoS. They say that among other targets, the paper was keen to steal stories that Rice was filing from Germany, where England were playing in the World Cup in the summer of 2006, generating tabloid interest in the players' wives and girlfriends.
The same source said that by hacking into voicemails, Mulcaire obtained a password which would have allowed him to access the MoS internal computer system, potentially disclosing all of its email traffic and every story awaiting publication.
Some journalists who have worked for the NoW claim they were also attempting to penetrate the security of the Sun, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and the People.
If proved, the claim could break the alliance of silence which has seen most Fleet Street papers refuse to investigate the scandal. Rice's legal action is only the latest in a number of indications that the claim may be correct. ...
According to the high court registry, Fleet Street veteran Dennis Rice has issued proceedings against the NoW and its private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire. Rice, who is now freelance, was the investigations editor at the Mail on Sunday (MoS) when Mulcaire was at the peak of his activity between 2005 and 2006.
A source familiar with Mulcaire's activities claims that, acting on orders from an NoW editorial executive, he intercepted voicemail messages from Rice and half a dozen other journalists at the MoS. They say that among other targets, the paper was keen to steal stories that Rice was filing from Germany, where England were playing in the World Cup in the summer of 2006, generating tabloid interest in the players' wives and girlfriends.
The same source said that by hacking into voicemails, Mulcaire obtained a password which would have allowed him to access the MoS internal computer system, potentially disclosing all of its email traffic and every story awaiting publication.
Some journalists who have worked for the NoW claim they were also attempting to penetrate the security of the Sun, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and the People.
If proved, the claim could break the alliance of silence which has seen most Fleet Street papers refuse to investigate the scandal. Rice's legal action is only the latest in a number of indications that the claim may be correct. ...
... Grant...described the closeness of successive governments to the Murdoch press as "repulsive" and claimed his films, such as Love Actually, did not rely on publicity in the tabloid press for their success.
"Only one actress spoke to a newspaper in publicising that film. The tabloid press is completely unnecessary in my industry," said Grant.
He added that a film's success was 97% down to a good film, 2% to publicity material such as a trailer and 1% publicity in the press. "Almost no one will talk to the tabloid press," he said.
"People who have a bit of success in life will do anything in the world to avoid talking to a tabloid newspaper."
Warming to his theme, Grant said: "So little do we need the tabloid press that if I won a big libel case against a tabloid I wouldn't [want money], I would want an assurance that they would never mention my name again.
"We don't need them. The sooner they go out of business the better. They rely almost entirely on stealing people's privacy. Those journalists might go back to proper journalism in six or 12 months. They might actually be grateful ... they might feel better about themselves."
He added: "Basically they have all gone down the easy route, especially in the digital age. They just steal someone's privacy and sell it for money." ...
"Only one actress spoke to a newspaper in publicising that film. The tabloid press is completely unnecessary in my industry," said Grant.
He added that a film's success was 97% down to a good film, 2% to publicity material such as a trailer and 1% publicity in the press. "Almost no one will talk to the tabloid press," he said.
"People who have a bit of success in life will do anything in the world to avoid talking to a tabloid newspaper."
Warming to his theme, Grant said: "So little do we need the tabloid press that if I won a big libel case against a tabloid I wouldn't [want money], I would want an assurance that they would never mention my name again.
"We don't need them. The sooner they go out of business the better. They rely almost entirely on stealing people's privacy. Those journalists might go back to proper journalism in six or 12 months. They might actually be grateful ... they might feel better about themselves."
He added: "Basically they have all gone down the easy route, especially in the digital age. They just steal someone's privacy and sell it for money." ...
The Metropolitan police has admitted that during the first four years of the phone-hacking affair it warned only 36 people they may have been targeted by the News of the World's private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.
Scotland Yard's latest inquiry, which was launched in January, is believed to be contacting up to 4,000 people whose names and personal details were found in Mulcaire's possession during the original police investigation in 2006.
The disclosure of the number – which Scotland Yard had previously insisted on keeping secret – exposes the Met to the complaint that it breached an agreement with the director of public prosecutions that it would warn all "potential victims" in the affair.
It will also revive criticism that it has consistently played down the scale of criminal activity commissioned by the News of the World.
Scotland Yard has previously repeatedly refused to disclose the number of victims it had warned, rejecting applications under the Freedom of Information Act on the grounds that releasing it would necessarily disclose the identities of those warned, and that this would breach their privacy.
However, in a sharp change of policy, the Met's acting deputy commissioner, John Yates, volunteered that during the 2006 inquiry police had warned 28 people they may have been victims; and that after the Guardian revived the affair in July 2009 they warned eight more.
In a letter to John Whittingdale, chairman of the culture, media and sport select committee, Yates – who was responsible for dealing with the hacking affair for nearly 20 months – gave no explanation for the failure to inform more than 36 potential victims. He said: "I have accepted that more could and should have been done in relation to those who may have been potential victims." ...
Scotland Yard's latest inquiry, which was launched in January, is believed to be contacting up to 4,000 people whose names and personal details were found in Mulcaire's possession during the original police investigation in 2006.
The disclosure of the number – which Scotland Yard had previously insisted on keeping secret – exposes the Met to the complaint that it breached an agreement with the director of public prosecutions that it would warn all "potential victims" in the affair.
It will also revive criticism that it has consistently played down the scale of criminal activity commissioned by the News of the World.
Scotland Yard has previously repeatedly refused to disclose the number of victims it had warned, rejecting applications under the Freedom of Information Act on the grounds that releasing it would necessarily disclose the identities of those warned, and that this would breach their privacy.
However, in a sharp change of policy, the Met's acting deputy commissioner, John Yates, volunteered that during the 2006 inquiry police had warned 28 people they may have been victims; and that after the Guardian revived the affair in July 2009 they warned eight more.
In a letter to John Whittingdale, chairman of the culture, media and sport select committee, Yates – who was responsible for dealing with the hacking affair for nearly 20 months – gave no explanation for the failure to inform more than 36 potential victims. He said: "I have accepted that more could and should have been done in relation to those who may have been potential victims." ...
... Successfully forging the belief that tabloid journalism is a worthwhile use of your brief time on this planet must require a mental leap beyond the reach of Galileo. This is one reason why so many tabloid stories are routinely peppered with lies – if their staff didn't continually flex their delusion muscles, a torrent of dark, awful self-awareness might rush into their heads like unforgiving black water pouring through the side of a stricken submarine, and they'd all slash their wrists open right there at their workstations. The newsroom hubbub would be regularly broken by the dispiriting thump of lifeless heads thunking on to desks. Each morning their bosses would have to clear all the spent corpses away with a bulldozer and hire a fresh team of soon-to-be-heartbroken lifewasters to replace the ones who couldn't make it, whose powers of self-deception simply weren't up to the job. Who couldn't cope with the knowledge that they were wasting their lives actively making the world worse.
And now – on top of all of these trials and indignities, on top of the harrowing leukaemia-of-the-soul their career choice inflicts upon them – now their job has got even harder. Because for a while, at least, wasting your life actively making the world worse was relatively easy. You could pay someone to root through someone's dustbins. Then, when the early mobiles arrived, you could get a £59 frequency scanner and sit outside a soap star's flat, surreptitiously recording their calls. And when phones went digital, there was the voicemail wheeze, which made life even easier. You could sit at your desk illegally invading the privacy of strangers just by pushing buttons.
But now, having abused all those tricks, like they abused their talent – not for any noble cause, but to find out which girlband member snogged which boyband member – those easy games are up. And it couldn't have come at a worse time: with plummeting sales, the need for sensational stories is higher than ever. All of which means all those people wasting their lives actively making the world worse will now have to expend colossal effort in order to do so: like prisoners forced at gunpoint to dig their own graves – but with a rubber shovel.
There is no fate more tragic. Pity them. Pity them hard.
And now – on top of all of these trials and indignities, on top of the harrowing leukaemia-of-the-soul their career choice inflicts upon them – now their job has got even harder. Because for a while, at least, wasting your life actively making the world worse was relatively easy. You could pay someone to root through someone's dustbins. Then, when the early mobiles arrived, you could get a £59 frequency scanner and sit outside a soap star's flat, surreptitiously recording their calls. And when phones went digital, there was the voicemail wheeze, which made life even easier. You could sit at your desk illegally invading the privacy of strangers just by pushing buttons.
But now, having abused all those tricks, like they abused their talent – not for any noble cause, but to find out which girlband member snogged which boyband member – those easy games are up. And it couldn't have come at a worse time: with plummeting sales, the need for sensational stories is higher than ever. All of which means all those people wasting their lives actively making the world worse will now have to expend colossal effort in order to do so: like prisoners forced at gunpoint to dig their own graves – but with a rubber shovel.
There is no fate more tragic. Pity them. Pity them hard.
The News of the World reacted to the unexpected arrest of one of its most senior reporters by clearing his desk.
Despite the paper having promised that it would co-operate fully with police inquiries, executives descended on the desk of former news editor James Weatherup moments after learning of his arrest. Under the eyes of their legal team, they bagged up notebooks, papers and recording machines and removed them "via our lawyers", a firm whose identity the publisher refused to confirm.
A few hours later, the police arrived and took the bags to Scotland Yard.
The unexpected arrest of Weatherup, one of the most senior journalists at the News of the World, at his home leaves little room for doubt that the new police team investigating the phone-hacking scandal is determined to succeed where its much-criticised predecessors failed.
It was three weeks ago that the News of the World dumped a vast archive of data at Scotland Yard's door – a trove that has turbo-charged the Met investigation.
The data, which comprises millions of emails from everyone at the newspaper – and which the NoW previously claimed had been lost – could implicate the paper in more instances of malpractice than have been previously suggested.
There are 8,000 emails relating to Sienna Miller alone. An examination of their contents could reveal that many more public figures were also targeted by the newspaper, in addition to the 24 who are already bringing legal actions, including football agent Sky Andrew and the former culture secretary, Tessa Jowell. ...
Despite the paper having promised that it would co-operate fully with police inquiries, executives descended on the desk of former news editor James Weatherup moments after learning of his arrest. Under the eyes of their legal team, they bagged up notebooks, papers and recording machines and removed them "via our lawyers", a firm whose identity the publisher refused to confirm.
A few hours later, the police arrived and took the bags to Scotland Yard.
The unexpected arrest of Weatherup, one of the most senior journalists at the News of the World, at his home leaves little room for doubt that the new police team investigating the phone-hacking scandal is determined to succeed where its much-criticised predecessors failed.
It was three weeks ago that the News of the World dumped a vast archive of data at Scotland Yard's door – a trove that has turbo-charged the Met investigation.
The data, which comprises millions of emails from everyone at the newspaper – and which the NoW previously claimed had been lost – could implicate the paper in more instances of malpractice than have been previously suggested.
There are 8,000 emails relating to Sienna Miller alone. An examination of their contents could reveal that many more public figures were also targeted by the newspaper, in addition to the 24 who are already bringing legal actions, including football agent Sky Andrew and the former culture secretary, Tessa Jowell. ...
Detectives investigating illegal news-gathering at the News of the World are planning to question Rebekah Brooks, the paper's former editor who is now Rupert Murdoch's chief executive in the UK, according to police sources.
The revelation came on the day that Brooks denied to MPs that she had "knowledge of any specific cases" of police officers being paid for information by any newspaper – despite having told MPs eight years ago that her journalists had paid officers in the past.
It is understood that Brooks now faces questioning from Operation Weeting, Scotland Yard's third attempt to investigate the interception of voicemail messages by News of the World journalists. At the same time, the Guardian has established that during an earlier inquiry Scotland Yard was so concerned by allegations that the paper was paying bribes to serving officers and other key workers that it tapped Brooks's telephone. Police found no evidence that she had committed any offence.
The tapping of her phone was carried out with a Home Office warrant early in 2004 as part of an inquiry by Scotland Yard's anti-corruption command into allegations that the News of the World was bribing serving officers, buying confidential data from the police national computer and making regular cash payments of up to £1,000 a week to employees of phone companies who were selling information from the accounts of public figures.
The paper's then assistant editor (news), Greg Miskiw, is believed to have been arrested and questioned. Four men were convicted of selling information from the police computer to the News of the World and other papers. But neither Brooks, Miskiw nor anyone else from Fleet Street was charged. ...
The revelation came on the day that Brooks denied to MPs that she had "knowledge of any specific cases" of police officers being paid for information by any newspaper – despite having told MPs eight years ago that her journalists had paid officers in the past.
It is understood that Brooks now faces questioning from Operation Weeting, Scotland Yard's third attempt to investigate the interception of voicemail messages by News of the World journalists. At the same time, the Guardian has established that during an earlier inquiry Scotland Yard was so concerned by allegations that the paper was paying bribes to serving officers and other key workers that it tapped Brooks's telephone. Police found no evidence that she had committed any offence.
The tapping of her phone was carried out with a Home Office warrant early in 2004 as part of an inquiry by Scotland Yard's anti-corruption command into allegations that the News of the World was bribing serving officers, buying confidential data from the police national computer and making regular cash payments of up to £1,000 a week to employees of phone companies who were selling information from the accounts of public figures.
The paper's then assistant editor (news), Greg Miskiw, is believed to have been arrested and questioned. Four men were convicted of selling information from the police computer to the News of the World and other papers. But neither Brooks, Miskiw nor anyone else from Fleet Street was charged. ...
Sir Gus O'Donnell, the cabinet secretary, blocked an attempt by Gordon Brown before the general election to hold a judicial inquiry into allegations that the News of the World had hacked into the phones of cabinet ministers and other high-profile figures. ...
Phone hacking: Rupert Murdoch 'urged Gordon Brown' to halt Labour attacks | UK news | guardian.co.uk
Rupert Murdoch used his political influence and contacts at the highest levels to try to get Labour MPs and peers to back away from investigations into phone hacking at the News of the World, a former minister in Gordon Brown's government has told the Observer.
The ex-minister, who does not want to be named, says he is aware of evidence that Murdoch, the chairman of News Corporation, relayed messages to Brown last year via a third party, urging him to help take the political heat out of the row, which he felt was in danger of damaging his company.
Brown, who stepped down as prime minister after last May's general election defeat for Labour, has refused to comment on the claim, but has not denied it. It is believed that contacts were made before he left No 10. The minister said: "What I know is that Murdoch got in touch with a good friend who then got in touch with Brown. The intention was to get him to cool things down. That is what I was told."
Brown, who became increasingly concerned at allegations of phone hacking and asked the police to investigate, had claimed that he was a victim of hacking when chancellor. He made Murdoch's views known to a select few in the Labour party.
In January, it was revealed Brown had written at least one letter to the Metropolitan police over concerns that his phone was targeted when he was still at the Treasury.
Suggestions that Murdoch involved Tony Blair in a chain of phone calls that led to Brown have been denied by the former prime minister. A spokesman for Blair said the claim was "categorically untrue", adding "no such calls ever took place". The allegation will, however, add to concerns about the influence Murdoch wielded over key political figures at Westminster and in Downing Street.
It will also raise further questions over the decision by David Cameron to appoint Andy Coulson, a former NoW editor who resigned over phone hacking, as his director of communications. ...
The ex-minister, who does not want to be named, says he is aware of evidence that Murdoch, the chairman of News Corporation, relayed messages to Brown last year via a third party, urging him to help take the political heat out of the row, which he felt was in danger of damaging his company.
Brown, who stepped down as prime minister after last May's general election defeat for Labour, has refused to comment on the claim, but has not denied it. It is believed that contacts were made before he left No 10. The minister said: "What I know is that Murdoch got in touch with a good friend who then got in touch with Brown. The intention was to get him to cool things down. That is what I was told."
Brown, who became increasingly concerned at allegations of phone hacking and asked the police to investigate, had claimed that he was a victim of hacking when chancellor. He made Murdoch's views known to a select few in the Labour party.
In January, it was revealed Brown had written at least one letter to the Metropolitan police over concerns that his phone was targeted when he was still at the Treasury.
Suggestions that Murdoch involved Tony Blair in a chain of phone calls that led to Brown have been denied by the former prime minister. A spokesman for Blair said the claim was "categorically untrue", adding "no such calls ever took place". The allegation will, however, add to concerns about the influence Murdoch wielded over key political figures at Westminster and in Downing Street.
It will also raise further questions over the decision by David Cameron to appoint Andy Coulson, a former NoW editor who resigned over phone hacking, as his director of communications. ...
The Glenn Beck—Britney Spears Connection
by Randy Shaw‚ Apr. 08‚ 2011
Glenn Beck and Britney Spears made big news this week, though their media-driven careers are in different stages. Beck announced on April 6 that he would be leaving his FOX News show by the end of the year, while that same day found Spears returning to the top of Billboard’s charts for the sixth time with her latest album, “Femme Fatale.” Beck and Spears are both creations of a media environment that rewards outrage and scandal over talent and intelligence, and then punishes those it promotes for lacking such attributes (also see Snooki, Jersey Shore). While the media finally backed off on Spears when it became clear that her mental and emotional disabilities were real, it continues to promote Beck’s unhinged apocalyptic rants (a gender double standard also applied to Charlie Sheen). Just as the media brought Spears down and then promoted her resurrection, Beck’s departure from FOX will sets the stage for a widely heralded career rebound in which his problems are “put behind him” and his opinions given renewed credibility.
The Media Promotes Dysfunction
In Paddy Chayefsky’s 1976 visionary film, Network, Peter Finch plays news anchor Howard Beale, who in the course of suffering an emotional breakdown becomes a national sensation by asking viewers to stick their heads out their windows and shout “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more.” Glenn Beck clearly modeled his career after Beale, who in the film gained his own show that quickly became the top-rated.
When I first saw Beck’s act on CNN, I could not believe that he was allowed on any national network, particularly one that claimed to have editorial standards. But Beck soon became a national icon, with his racism, sexism and anti-immigrant attacks accepted by the mainstream media as part of his “populist” appeal.
Beck’s “talent,” what separated him from the pack, is engaging in bizarre behavior that would get him fired from almost any job outside the media or entertainment world. Like Snooki, he rose to fame precisely because people cannot turn away from a train wreck. Such unpredictability, the sense that you never know what Beck will do or say next, and better, that even he does not know, drove Beck to the top. ...
by Randy Shaw‚ Apr. 08‚ 2011
Glenn Beck and Britney Spears made big news this week, though their media-driven careers are in different stages. Beck announced on April 6 that he would be leaving his FOX News show by the end of the year, while that same day found Spears returning to the top of Billboard’s charts for the sixth time with her latest album, “Femme Fatale.” Beck and Spears are both creations of a media environment that rewards outrage and scandal over talent and intelligence, and then punishes those it promotes for lacking such attributes (also see Snooki, Jersey Shore). While the media finally backed off on Spears when it became clear that her mental and emotional disabilities were real, it continues to promote Beck’s unhinged apocalyptic rants (a gender double standard also applied to Charlie Sheen). Just as the media brought Spears down and then promoted her resurrection, Beck’s departure from FOX will sets the stage for a widely heralded career rebound in which his problems are “put behind him” and his opinions given renewed credibility.
The Media Promotes Dysfunction
In Paddy Chayefsky’s 1976 visionary film, Network, Peter Finch plays news anchor Howard Beale, who in the course of suffering an emotional breakdown becomes a national sensation by asking viewers to stick their heads out their windows and shout “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more.” Glenn Beck clearly modeled his career after Beale, who in the film gained his own show that quickly became the top-rated.
When I first saw Beck’s act on CNN, I could not believe that he was allowed on any national network, particularly one that claimed to have editorial standards. But Beck soon became a national icon, with his racism, sexism and anti-immigrant attacks accepted by the mainstream media as part of his “populist” appeal.
Beck’s “talent,” what separated him from the pack, is engaging in bizarre behavior that would get him fired from almost any job outside the media or entertainment world. Like Snooki, he rose to fame precisely because people cannot turn away from a train wreck. Such unpredictability, the sense that you never know what Beck will do or say next, and better, that even he does not know, drove Beck to the top. ...
News of the World phone hacking victims get apology from Murdoch
Confession that practice was rife is likely to cost News International millions of pounds in compensation
Confession that practice was rife is likely to cost News International millions of pounds in compensation
The actor Leslie Ash has spoken out for the first time against the Metropolitan police for failing to investigate claims that a private investigator working for the News of the World had hacked into her mobile phone, even though the force had held evidence since 2006 that he had targeted her along with her husband and two children.
Ash, a former star of Men Behaving Badly, told the Guardian: "I feel I've really been let down. I can't understand their behaviour at all." Ash and her husband, the former footballer Lee Chapman, are suing the News of the World for breach of privacy after the Met confirmed in January that in a 2006 raid on the investigator Glenn Mulcaire, it had seized notepads in which he had recorded their mobile phone numbers and those of their two sons.
Despite holding that information, which Ash said includes phone numbers for her GP, bank and a teacher at her sons' school, Scotland Yard failed to tell her that she was a target.
"The police were actually withholding evidence," she said. "I've been brought up to trust the police. It's not a good time for the police at the moment."
Ash became a regular in the headlines as soon as she appeared in the hit laddish comedy Men Behaving Badly, but tabloid pressure reached its peak when cosmetic surgery left her with inflamed lips in 2003 and when she contracted a form of MRSA in hospital the following year.
Her family feared she would die. Now Ash says that messages left on mobile phones belonging to her and her children at that time were used by newspapers. ...
Ash, a former star of Men Behaving Badly, told the Guardian: "I feel I've really been let down. I can't understand their behaviour at all." Ash and her husband, the former footballer Lee Chapman, are suing the News of the World for breach of privacy after the Met confirmed in January that in a 2006 raid on the investigator Glenn Mulcaire, it had seized notepads in which he had recorded their mobile phone numbers and those of their two sons.
Despite holding that information, which Ash said includes phone numbers for her GP, bank and a teacher at her sons' school, Scotland Yard failed to tell her that she was a target.
"The police were actually withholding evidence," she said. "I've been brought up to trust the police. It's not a good time for the police at the moment."
Ash became a regular in the headlines as soon as she appeared in the hit laddish comedy Men Behaving Badly, but tabloid pressure reached its peak when cosmetic surgery left her with inflamed lips in 2003 and when she contracted a form of MRSA in hospital the following year.
Her family feared she would die. Now Ash says that messages left on mobile phones belonging to her and her children at that time were used by newspapers. ...
The former news editor and current chief reporter from the News of the World have been arrested on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting mobile phone voicemail messages.
Ian Edmondson and Neville Thurlbeck had voluntarily presented themselves at different London police stations this morning and were arrested. It was expected their homes would be searched by officers at midday.
Scotland Yard has confirmed that two men, aged 50 and 42, "were arrested this morning after attending separate police stations in south-west London by appointment".
"They remain in custody for questioning after being arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to Section 1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977, and unlawful interception of voicemail messages, contrary to Section 1 Ripa [Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act] 2000," the briefing added.
"The Operation Weeting team is conducting the new investigation into phone hacking. It would be inappropriate to discuss any further details regarding this case at this time." ...
Ian Edmondson and Neville Thurlbeck had voluntarily presented themselves at different London police stations this morning and were arrested. It was expected their homes would be searched by officers at midday.
Scotland Yard has confirmed that two men, aged 50 and 42, "were arrested this morning after attending separate police stations in south-west London by appointment".
"They remain in custody for questioning after being arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to Section 1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977, and unlawful interception of voicemail messages, contrary to Section 1 Ripa [Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act] 2000," the briefing added.
"The Operation Weeting team is conducting the new investigation into phone hacking. It would be inappropriate to discuss any further details regarding this case at this time." ...
The News of the World has revealed that its computers have retained an archive of potentially damning emails, which hitherto it had claimed had been lost.
The millions of emails, amounting to half a terabyte of data, could expose executives and reporters involved in hacking the voicemail of public figures, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott, actor Sienna Miller, and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
The archived data is likely to include email exchanges between the most senior executives, including former editor Andy Coulson, who resigned as David Cameron's media adviser in January, as well as three former news editors – Ian Edmondson, Greg Miskiw, and Neville Thurlbeck – implicated in the affair by paperwork seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who was on the News of the World's books. Edmondson was sacked in January. Miskiw and Thurlbeck were interviewed by police last autumn. No charge has been brought against any of them. Coulson and the three former news editors have all denied all involvement in criminal activity.
MPs on the home affairs select committee are likely on Tuesday to ask about the emails to John Yates, acting deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, when they question him over allegations he misled parliament in evidence he gave about the number of hacking victims originally identified by Scotland Yard. Yates told the committee six months ago the Met had only identified "10 to 12" individuals in a 2006 inquiry because the Crown Prosecution Service advised it to adopt a narrow legal definition of what constituted an offence. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has said that prosecuting counsel never adopted this narrow definition.
Several News of the World journalists have since been linked with phone hacking after victims began legal battles, raising questions about why Scotland Yard failed to conduct a more comprehensive inquiry. Only one reporter, former royal editor Clive Goodman, was convicted of a crime along with Mulcaire. Both men were sentenced to jail terms in January 2007. ...
The millions of emails, amounting to half a terabyte of data, could expose executives and reporters involved in hacking the voicemail of public figures, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott, actor Sienna Miller, and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
The archived data is likely to include email exchanges between the most senior executives, including former editor Andy Coulson, who resigned as David Cameron's media adviser in January, as well as three former news editors – Ian Edmondson, Greg Miskiw, and Neville Thurlbeck – implicated in the affair by paperwork seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who was on the News of the World's books. Edmondson was sacked in January. Miskiw and Thurlbeck were interviewed by police last autumn. No charge has been brought against any of them. Coulson and the three former news editors have all denied all involvement in criminal activity.
MPs on the home affairs select committee are likely on Tuesday to ask about the emails to John Yates, acting deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, when they question him over allegations he misled parliament in evidence he gave about the number of hacking victims originally identified by Scotland Yard. Yates told the committee six months ago the Met had only identified "10 to 12" individuals in a 2006 inquiry because the Crown Prosecution Service advised it to adopt a narrow legal definition of what constituted an offence. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has said that prosecuting counsel never adopted this narrow definition.
Several News of the World journalists have since been linked with phone hacking after victims began legal battles, raising questions about why Scotland Yard failed to conduct a more comprehensive inquiry. Only one reporter, former royal editor Clive Goodman, was convicted of a crime along with Mulcaire. Both men were sentenced to jail terms in January 2007. ...
The extraordinary public clash between the Metropolitan police and the director of public prosecutions during which each side has implied that the other has misled parliament continued with controversial claims before a Commons committee.
The quarrel continued as new claims were made that private investigators working for newspapers may have targeted the families of Milly Dowler, the Surrey schoolgirl who was abducted and murdered in March 2002, and of Holly Chapman, one of the two 10-year-old girls murdered by Ian Huntley in Soham in August 2002.
The Met-DPP clash continued at a special session of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, where Scotland Yard's acting deputy commissioner, John Yates, conceded for the first time that the original 2006 inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World should have done more, and that police had failed to do enough for victims of hacking.
Asked if he accepted that the affair had seriously damaged the reputation of the Metropolitan police, he said: "I would certainly say that it has been very challenging for us. We are working extremely hard to put that right."
But it was his evidence on the legal advice provided by the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, that was most controversial. The immediate focus of the dispute is an arcane point of law.
Its underlying significance is the light it may shed on the question of whether Scotland Yard has tried to hide the truth about the number of people whose phones were hacked by journalists and private investigators working for the NoW.
In his evidence, Yates listed a series of occasions on which prosecutors had advised police that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (Ripa) made it an offence to intercept voicemail only if the message had not already been heard by its intended recipient.
He said this advice had been given repeatedly during the original inquiry in 2006: "It permeated every aspect of the investigative strategy." It was on this basis, Yates added, that he had previously told parliament that police had found only 10 to 12 victims of the hacking, even though the emerging evidence now suggests there were many more.
Yates's evidence directly clashes with a written submission from Starmer last October to the home affairs select committee. Starmer said the question of how to interpret Ripa had not arisen during the original inquiry.
Prosecutors had attached no significance to the point in preparing charges or presenting the facts, he said. "It is evident that the prosecution's approach to Ripa had no bearing on the charges brought against the defendants or the legal proceedings generally," he wrote. ...
The quarrel continued as new claims were made that private investigators working for newspapers may have targeted the families of Milly Dowler, the Surrey schoolgirl who was abducted and murdered in March 2002, and of Holly Chapman, one of the two 10-year-old girls murdered by Ian Huntley in Soham in August 2002.
The Met-DPP clash continued at a special session of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, where Scotland Yard's acting deputy commissioner, John Yates, conceded for the first time that the original 2006 inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World should have done more, and that police had failed to do enough for victims of hacking.
Asked if he accepted that the affair had seriously damaged the reputation of the Metropolitan police, he said: "I would certainly say that it has been very challenging for us. We are working extremely hard to put that right."
But it was his evidence on the legal advice provided by the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, that was most controversial. The immediate focus of the dispute is an arcane point of law.
Its underlying significance is the light it may shed on the question of whether Scotland Yard has tried to hide the truth about the number of people whose phones were hacked by journalists and private investigators working for the NoW.
In his evidence, Yates listed a series of occasions on which prosecutors had advised police that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (Ripa) made it an offence to intercept voicemail only if the message had not already been heard by its intended recipient.
He said this advice had been given repeatedly during the original inquiry in 2006: "It permeated every aspect of the investigative strategy." It was on this basis, Yates added, that he had previously told parliament that police had found only 10 to 12 victims of the hacking, even though the emerging evidence now suggests there were many more.
Yates's evidence directly clashes with a written submission from Starmer last October to the home affairs select committee. Starmer said the question of how to interpret Ripa had not arisen during the original inquiry.
Prosecutors had attached no significance to the point in preparing charges or presenting the facts, he said. "It is evident that the prosecution's approach to Ripa had no bearing on the charges brought against the defendants or the legal proceedings generally," he wrote. ...
The growing number of public figures suing the News of the World won a major high court victory when a judge said Scotland Yard must hand over a mass of phone-hacking evidence that has never before been disclosed.
The ruling by Justice Geoffrey Vos, who was appointed this week to handle the 14 phone-hacking cases currently going through the courts, means the Metropolitan police will be forced to pass reams of documents seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the News of the World, to lawyers acting for the politicians, celebrities and football figures who are suing the paper. They include Sienna Miller, Paul Gascoigne, Steve Coogan and the former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
Vos ruled on Friday that the Met must give unredacted documents – including Mulcaire's emails, address and contacts books, and phone bills – to another hacking victim, the football agent Sky Andrew. The decision sets a precedent for the other hacking cases and has far-reaching implications for the NoW, police and other litigants. It will lead to a flood of hacking documents being released to other claimants, all of whom are seeking copies of papers seized by police in a 2006 raid on Mulcaire's home. ...
The ruling by Justice Geoffrey Vos, who was appointed this week to handle the 14 phone-hacking cases currently going through the courts, means the Metropolitan police will be forced to pass reams of documents seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the News of the World, to lawyers acting for the politicians, celebrities and football figures who are suing the paper. They include Sienna Miller, Paul Gascoigne, Steve Coogan and the former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
Vos ruled on Friday that the Met must give unredacted documents – including Mulcaire's emails, address and contacts books, and phone bills – to another hacking victim, the football agent Sky Andrew. The decision sets a precedent for the other hacking cases and has far-reaching implications for the NoW, police and other litigants. It will lead to a flood of hacking documents being released to other claimants, all of whom are seeking copies of papers seized by police in a 2006 raid on Mulcaire's home. ...
Phone hacking: Panorama to name sixth journalist in News of the World scandal | Media | The Guardian
The News of the World phone-hacking scandal is set to reach a new peak of embarrassment for the paper and for Scotland Yard with the naming of the sixth and most senior journalist yet to be implicated in illegal news-gathering.
A BBC Panorama programme claims that Alex Marunchak, formerly the paper's senior executive editor, commissioned a specialist snooper who illegally intercepted email messages from a target's computer and faxed copies of them to Marunchak's News of the World office.
The embarrassment is heightened by the fact that the target was a former British army intelligence officer who had served in Northern Ireland and was in possession of secrets which were deemed so sensitive that they had been suppressed by a court order.
Rupert Murdoch's News International, which owns the News of the World, has claimed repeatedly that only one of its journalists – the former royal correspondent, Clive Goodman – was involved in illegal news-gathering. When Goodman was jailed in January 2007, Scotland Yard chose not to interview any other journalist or executive on the paper.
And Panorama reports that the illegal interception of emails happened in July 2006, when the prime minister's former media adviser Andy Coulson was editing the paper. ...
A BBC Panorama programme claims that Alex Marunchak, formerly the paper's senior executive editor, commissioned a specialist snooper who illegally intercepted email messages from a target's computer and faxed copies of them to Marunchak's News of the World office.
The embarrassment is heightened by the fact that the target was a former British army intelligence officer who had served in Northern Ireland and was in possession of secrets which were deemed so sensitive that they had been suppressed by a court order.
Rupert Murdoch's News International, which owns the News of the World, has claimed repeatedly that only one of its journalists – the former royal correspondent, Clive Goodman – was involved in illegal news-gathering. When Goodman was jailed in January 2007, Scotland Yard chose not to interview any other journalist or executive on the paper.
And Panorama reports that the illegal interception of emails happened in July 2006, when the prime minister's former media adviser Andy Coulson was editing the paper. ...
A man cleared of murder can be named as a private investigator with links to corrupt police officers who earned £150,000 a year from the News of the World for supplying illegally obtained information on people in the public eye.
Jonathan Rees was acquitted of the murder of his former business partner, Daniel Morgan, who was found in a south London car park in 1987 with an axe in the back of his head. The case collapsed after 18 months of legal argument, during which it has been impossible for media to write about Rees's Fleet Street connections.
The ending of the trial means it is now possible for the first time to tell how Rees went to prison in December 2000 after a period of earning six-figure sums from the News of the World.
Rees, who had worked for the paper for seven years, was jailed for planting cocaine on a woman in order to discredit her during divorce proceedings. After his release from prison Rees, who had been bugged for six months by Scotland Yard because of his links with corrupt police officers, was rehired by the News of the World, which was being edited by Andy Coulson.
The revelations call into question David Cameron's judgment in choosing Coulson as director of communications at 10 Downing Street in May 2010. Both he and the deputy prime minister had been warned in March 2010 about Coulson's responsibility for rehiring Rees after his prison sentence.
Nick Clegg had been informed in detail about Jonathan Rees's murder charge, his prison sentence and his involvement with police corruption – and that he and three other private investigators had committed crimes for the News of the World while Coulson was deputy editor or editor.
In September 2002 the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with police corruption and illegal newsgathering. But since April 2008 the press have been prevented from revealing Rees's connections with the News of the World, or placing it in the context of News International's denials about any knowledge of illegal activity on behalf of the company. ...
Jonathan Rees was acquitted of the murder of his former business partner, Daniel Morgan, who was found in a south London car park in 1987 with an axe in the back of his head. The case collapsed after 18 months of legal argument, during which it has been impossible for media to write about Rees's Fleet Street connections.
The ending of the trial means it is now possible for the first time to tell how Rees went to prison in December 2000 after a period of earning six-figure sums from the News of the World.
Rees, who had worked for the paper for seven years, was jailed for planting cocaine on a woman in order to discredit her during divorce proceedings. After his release from prison Rees, who had been bugged for six months by Scotland Yard because of his links with corrupt police officers, was rehired by the News of the World, which was being edited by Andy Coulson.
The revelations call into question David Cameron's judgment in choosing Coulson as director of communications at 10 Downing Street in May 2010. Both he and the deputy prime minister had been warned in March 2010 about Coulson's responsibility for rehiring Rees after his prison sentence.
Nick Clegg had been informed in detail about Jonathan Rees's murder charge, his prison sentence and his involvement with police corruption – and that he and three other private investigators had committed crimes for the News of the World while Coulson was deputy editor or editor.
In September 2002 the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with police corruption and illegal newsgathering. But since April 2008 the press have been prevented from revealing Rees's connections with the News of the World, or placing it in the context of News International's denials about any knowledge of illegal activity on behalf of the company. ...
The money came pouring in. Jonathan Rees worked from a dingy office in south London. He lived in a cramped flat upstairs. He was divorced, overweight and foul-mouthed but his business was golden: he traded information. His sources may have been corrupt. His actions may have been illegal. But the money kept coming – from one golden source in particular. As Rees himself put it: "No one pays like the News of the World do."
There was only one problem with Rees's lucrative business. He had caught the eye of Scotland Yard's anti-corruption command who strongly suspected that he was paying bribes to various serving officers and, with great care and some skill, they had managed to place a covert listening device inside his office.
It was that bug which recorded him gloating about the pay he received from the News of the World. It also recorded the vivid detail of an empire of corruption, run with casual ease by Rees and his business partner, Sid Fillery – and liberally greased with cash from the News of the World and other Fleet Street titles. The News of the World alone was paying him more than £150,000 a year.
The listening device was placed in Rees's office in mid-April 1999. It did its job for only six months. In that short time, it provided one highly revealing chapter in a long tale of promiscuous criminality. Further chapters were provided by three other private investigators, all of whom worked separately for the News of the World, all of whom finally ended up in court, all of whom were publicly linked with illegal news-gathering.
Over the following years, the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with corrupt police and the procurement of confidential information for the News of the World; the Sunday tabloid's assistant editor is believed to have been arrested and accused of paying bribes to police and other key workers, although he was never charged; the paper was named in a London court as the paymaster for the purchase of information from the police national computer; Rees was jailed for a conspiracy to frame an innocent woman and then accused of conspiracy to murder.
And yet the man who became the prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, has always maintained in evidence to parliament and on oath in court that he knew nothing of any illegal activity during the seven years he spent at the top of the News of the World. The entire story unfolded without ever catching his eye. In the same way, the prime minister and his deputy were happy to appoint Coulson last May to oversee the communication between the British government and its people, even though they were already fully aware of all the essential facts.
It begins with the bug....
There was only one problem with Rees's lucrative business. He had caught the eye of Scotland Yard's anti-corruption command who strongly suspected that he was paying bribes to various serving officers and, with great care and some skill, they had managed to place a covert listening device inside his office.
It was that bug which recorded him gloating about the pay he received from the News of the World. It also recorded the vivid detail of an empire of corruption, run with casual ease by Rees and his business partner, Sid Fillery – and liberally greased with cash from the News of the World and other Fleet Street titles. The News of the World alone was paying him more than £150,000 a year.
The listening device was placed in Rees's office in mid-April 1999. It did its job for only six months. In that short time, it provided one highly revealing chapter in a long tale of promiscuous criminality. Further chapters were provided by three other private investigators, all of whom worked separately for the News of the World, all of whom finally ended up in court, all of whom were publicly linked with illegal news-gathering.
Over the following years, the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with corrupt police and the procurement of confidential information for the News of the World; the Sunday tabloid's assistant editor is believed to have been arrested and accused of paying bribes to police and other key workers, although he was never charged; the paper was named in a London court as the paymaster for the purchase of information from the police national computer; Rees was jailed for a conspiracy to frame an innocent woman and then accused of conspiracy to murder.
And yet the man who became the prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, has always maintained in evidence to parliament and on oath in court that he knew nothing of any illegal activity during the seven years he spent at the top of the News of the World. The entire story unfolded without ever catching his eye. In the same way, the prime minister and his deputy were happy to appoint Coulson last May to oversee the communication between the British government and its people, even though they were already fully aware of all the essential facts.
It begins with the bug....
Nick Davies, the Guardian journalist who revealed the News of the World had made a series of legal payments to hide the full extent of the phone-hacking scandal, wrote to the paper's former editor Andy Coulson on 23 February last year.
He put a series of allegations to Coulson, who was then head of the communications for the Conservative party. At the time of Davies' letter, the Guardian could not reveal the full extent of the phone-hacking affair because one of the private investigators who had worked for the paper was facing a murder charge.
The email containing the charges was sent two months before the general election. Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg – later to be prime minister and deputy prime minister – knew about the allegations. Despite that, Cameron appointed Coulson as his director of communications in Downing Street in May 2010. Coulson resigned in January this year. ...
He put a series of allegations to Coulson, who was then head of the communications for the Conservative party. At the time of Davies' letter, the Guardian could not reveal the full extent of the phone-hacking affair because one of the private investigators who had worked for the paper was facing a murder charge.
The email containing the charges was sent two months before the general election. Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg – later to be prime minister and deputy prime minister – knew about the allegations. Despite that, Cameron appointed Coulson as his director of communications in Downing Street in May 2010. Coulson resigned in January this year. ...
For America's beleaguered liberals, Monday's New York Times reports what sounds like a dream come true: Fox News is considering parting company with Glenn Beck, the rococo conspiracy theorist who inspires those on the swivel-eyed right and infuriates anyone to their left.
According to the New York Times's media correspondent David Carr, unnamed Fox News executives are said to be "contemplating life without Mr Beck" when the conservative shock jock's contract ends in December.
Some dismiss this as part of the rough and tumble of contract negotiations going on between Fox and Beck. But others point to Beck's sagging viewing figures - especially his loss of a million viewers for his daily one-hour show in the past year - from an average of 2.9 million in January 2010 to 1.8 million in January 2011 - as more to the point, with Beck's increasingly paranoid stylings said to be driving away more moderate viewers and high profile advertisers.
Democrats and others on the left would like to hope that it's Beck's outrageousness that has brought him to this impasse, and they may have a case. Beck has recently got Fox News into hot water on some sensitive subjects. One was a long rant against George Soros - in itself hardly a crime as the wealthy liberal philanthropist is a favourite target of the Fox News commentariat. Beck, though, went too far, and cast Soros, a Holocaust survivor, as: "Here's a Jewish boy helping send the Jews to the death camps."
That controversy had barely died down when Beck launched himself at Reform rabbis, equating them to "radicalized Islam," for which he later apologised. (That statement, like most of Beck's more outrageous claims, came on his syndicated radio show, not on Fox News, although his high profile means it reflects upon the channel.)
In between, Beck has been labelling Google as somehow orchestrating a single world government via its overthrow of regimes in North Africa (no, really), while at the same time the same set of regime changes also spells out the dawn of a sinister new Islamic Caliphate.
The NYT's Carr suggests that liberal protests has little to do with Fox News having coolness towards giving Beck a new contract...
According to the New York Times's media correspondent David Carr, unnamed Fox News executives are said to be "contemplating life without Mr Beck" when the conservative shock jock's contract ends in December.
Some dismiss this as part of the rough and tumble of contract negotiations going on between Fox and Beck. But others point to Beck's sagging viewing figures - especially his loss of a million viewers for his daily one-hour show in the past year - from an average of 2.9 million in January 2010 to 1.8 million in January 2011 - as more to the point, with Beck's increasingly paranoid stylings said to be driving away more moderate viewers and high profile advertisers.
Democrats and others on the left would like to hope that it's Beck's outrageousness that has brought him to this impasse, and they may have a case. Beck has recently got Fox News into hot water on some sensitive subjects. One was a long rant against George Soros - in itself hardly a crime as the wealthy liberal philanthropist is a favourite target of the Fox News commentariat. Beck, though, went too far, and cast Soros, a Holocaust survivor, as: "Here's a Jewish boy helping send the Jews to the death camps."
That controversy had barely died down when Beck launched himself at Reform rabbis, equating them to "radicalized Islam," for which he later apologised. (That statement, like most of Beck's more outrageous claims, came on his syndicated radio show, not on Fox News, although his high profile means it reflects upon the channel.)
In between, Beck has been labelling Google as somehow orchestrating a single world government via its overthrow of regimes in North Africa (no, really), while at the same time the same set of regime changes also spells out the dawn of a sinister new Islamic Caliphate.
The NYT's Carr suggests that liberal protests has little to do with Fox News having coolness towards giving Beck a new contract...
Daily Star reporter quits in protest at tabloid's 'anti-Muslim' coverage
Richard Peppiatt admits producing fictional stories about celebrities and accuses tabloid of inciting racial tensions
Paul Lewis
Friday 4 March 2011
The Daily Star has been accused of printing fictional stories by a disgruntled reporter who has resigned over its "hatemongering" anti-Muslim propaganda.
In a resignation letter, Richard Peppiatt said he was leaving after the Star gave sympathetic coverage to the far-right English Defence League last month.
Peppiatt admits producing a number of fictional stories about celebrities during his two years at the tabloid, a practice he implies was sanctioned by his seniors.
The reporter, who was once made to dress up in a burqa, now accuses the paper of inciting racial tensions and Islamaphobia. "You may have heard the phrase 'the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil sets off a tornado in Texas'," Peppiatt wrote to the proprietor, Richard Desmond, in a letter seen by the Guardian.
"Well, try this: 'The lies of a newspaper in London can get a bloke's head caved-in down an alley in Bradford.' If you can't see that words matter, you should go back to running porn magazines." ...'
Richard Peppiatt admits producing fictional stories about celebrities and accuses tabloid of inciting racial tensions
Paul Lewis
Friday 4 March 2011
The Daily Star has been accused of printing fictional stories by a disgruntled reporter who has resigned over its "hatemongering" anti-Muslim propaganda.
In a resignation letter, Richard Peppiatt said he was leaving after the Star gave sympathetic coverage to the far-right English Defence League last month.
Peppiatt admits producing a number of fictional stories about celebrities during his two years at the tabloid, a practice he implies was sanctioned by his seniors.
The reporter, who was once made to dress up in a burqa, now accuses the paper of inciting racial tensions and Islamaphobia. "You may have heard the phrase 'the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil sets off a tornado in Texas'," Peppiatt wrote to the proprietor, Richard Desmond, in a letter seen by the Guardian.
"Well, try this: 'The lies of a newspaper in London can get a bloke's head caved-in down an alley in Bradford.' If you can't see that words matter, you should go back to running porn magazines." ...'
There is still a way to win this Murdoch media war
Vince Cable may have lost out over the BSkyB decision, but by fighting from the backbenches he could yet achieve victory
Polly Toynbee
Friday 4 March 2011
As certain as the sun rises in the sky was it that the owner of the Sun would be granted ownership of Sky outright. Few are surprised – but that doesn't stop most being shocked. Rupert Murdoch did what he has always done – defied regulators, governments and tax authorities to carve himself an anti-competitive market dominance with an unmatched global concentration of media power. Think how tightly he grips US politics between his Fox News foghorn and the Wall Street Journal.
In the next four years BSkyB will earn half of all UK television revenues – rising thereafter. Sky's turnover is nearly twice that of the BBC's, whose licence fee has been cut – as urged almost daily by Murdoch's papers. Watch his empire's earnings multiply as packages bundle together monopolistic sports, TV archive and film rights, combining advertising and sales offers across newspapers, their websites and all digital platforms, and making it impossible for new competitors to enter the market. Britain has the weakest media laws, weaker by far than America's.
Desperately needing growth in a stricken economy over-dependent on finance, the government praises Britain's successful creative industries. But News Corp is a dead hand, fostering little new UK talent or creative risk-taking, relying on ready-made successes from elsewhere. This is no way to nurture that industry.
The man who pretends to be a great free marketeer has built an empire almost entirely out of circumventing competition to throttle free markets. That is what Adam Smith warned businesses will do unless commerce is well-regulated by governments to keep healthy markets open. The paradox ignored by this government is that entrepreneurial capitalism needs a strong state to thrive: once markets ossify into monopolies, cartels, corruptions, briberies and intimidation of law-makers, they stagnate. That's why third world dictatorships fail economically. ...
Vince Cable may have lost out over the BSkyB decision, but by fighting from the backbenches he could yet achieve victory
Polly Toynbee
Friday 4 March 2011
As certain as the sun rises in the sky was it that the owner of the Sun would be granted ownership of Sky outright. Few are surprised – but that doesn't stop most being shocked. Rupert Murdoch did what he has always done – defied regulators, governments and tax authorities to carve himself an anti-competitive market dominance with an unmatched global concentration of media power. Think how tightly he grips US politics between his Fox News foghorn and the Wall Street Journal.
In the next four years BSkyB will earn half of all UK television revenues – rising thereafter. Sky's turnover is nearly twice that of the BBC's, whose licence fee has been cut – as urged almost daily by Murdoch's papers. Watch his empire's earnings multiply as packages bundle together monopolistic sports, TV archive and film rights, combining advertising and sales offers across newspapers, their websites and all digital platforms, and making it impossible for new competitors to enter the market. Britain has the weakest media laws, weaker by far than America's.
Desperately needing growth in a stricken economy over-dependent on finance, the government praises Britain's successful creative industries. But News Corp is a dead hand, fostering little new UK talent or creative risk-taking, relying on ready-made successes from elsewhere. This is no way to nurture that industry.
The man who pretends to be a great free marketeer has built an empire almost entirely out of circumventing competition to throttle free markets. That is what Adam Smith warned businesses will do unless commerce is well-regulated by governments to keep healthy markets open. The paradox ignored by this government is that entrepreneurial capitalism needs a strong state to thrive: once markets ossify into monopolies, cartels, corruptions, briberies and intimidation of law-makers, they stagnate. That's why third world dictatorships fail economically. ...
The chairman of the right-wing current affairs channel, Fox News, Roger Ailes, has been named in court documents as the previously anonymous executive who allegedly tried to persuade a fellow boss at News Corporation to lie to federal investigators over a crucial Washington appointment.
The New York Times reported court documents had become available that for the first time name Ailes as the mysterious executive involved in the allegations. The claims were initially made in November 2007 by Judith Regan, one of Rupert Murdoch's rising stars in News Corporation until she was dismissed the previous year in a row over her decision to publish a book with OJ Simpson.
In her unfair dismissal claim against her former employers, Regan claimed that a News Corporation senior executive had tried to secure her silence during the process to vet Bernard Kerik as the US head of homeland security. Regan had been having an affair with Kerik, and she alleged in her lawsuit that the unnamed executive had wanted her to keep quiet about it during the vetting procedure in order to protect Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who had appointed Kerik as New York police commissioner and was Kerik's main supporter. Giuliani was at the time considering a run for the White House in 2008 and the revelations could have rubbed off adversely on him.
The identity of the executive has long been a topic of speculation in New York media circles. Now, according to the New York Times, the mystery is solved as Ailes is named in a separate court case in 2008.
The court documents reveal his identity and, even more sensationally, say that there is a tape recording of Ailes's conversation with Regan in which he seeks to secure her co-operation. However, there are no transcripts of the conversation. ...
The New York Times reported court documents had become available that for the first time name Ailes as the mysterious executive involved in the allegations. The claims were initially made in November 2007 by Judith Regan, one of Rupert Murdoch's rising stars in News Corporation until she was dismissed the previous year in a row over her decision to publish a book with OJ Simpson.
In her unfair dismissal claim against her former employers, Regan claimed that a News Corporation senior executive had tried to secure her silence during the process to vet Bernard Kerik as the US head of homeland security. Regan had been having an affair with Kerik, and she alleged in her lawsuit that the unnamed executive had wanted her to keep quiet about it during the vetting procedure in order to protect Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who had appointed Kerik as New York police commissioner and was Kerik's main supporter. Giuliani was at the time considering a run for the White House in 2008 and the revelations could have rubbed off adversely on him.
The identity of the executive has long been a topic of speculation in New York media circles. Now, according to the New York Times, the mystery is solved as Ailes is named in a separate court case in 2008.
The court documents reveal his identity and, even more sensationally, say that there is a tape recording of Ailes's conversation with Regan in which he seeks to secure her co-operation. However, there are no transcripts of the conversation. ...
So many messages are being examined by Scotland Yard's phone-hacking inquiry that it is difficult to identify every mention of a celebrity's name among "hundreds of intercepts", lawyers for the police have claimed.
The proliferation of legal actions generated by complaints against the News of the World is also in danger of congesting the courts with "parallel claims", the judge hearing applications for disclosure in three cases has implied.
Official recognition of the scale of the problem came as three more alleged victims of the practice of hacking into voicemail messages sought high court orders granting them access to documents that may substantiate claims for damages. Lawyers for Paul Gascoigne, George Galloway and Mick McGuire, former deputy chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, were granted permission to see relevant sections of transcripts.
The notebooks are among material seized by the Metropolitan police from the convicted private investigator Glenn Mulcaire who was employed by the newspaper.
Gascoigne and McGuire's applications were supported by Newsgroup Newspapers, owners of the News of the World, because, the court heard, the company "wishes to show it was not involved in the interception of information" relating to them.
Explaining the need for efficient case management, Mr Justice Vos told the court: "There have been numerous parallel applications with different counsel and solicitors ... raising identical or nearly identical points". He wanted to avoid duplication, he said.
At least 14 cases were already before the courts, agreed Jeremy Reed, counsel for Gascoigne and McGuire. There is speculation there will be many more, he added.
Lawyers for Gascoigne requested that any intercepted messages "about him or concerning him" should be included in the disclosure order because private information about his medical treatment had been obtained by hacking into other people's phones.
Edwin Buckett, representing the Met, said that would mean the police "having to listen to every transcript to see if Mr Gascoigne is mentioned". There are "hundreds of intercepts", he said. "It makes it so wide, it's difficult to comply with."
The judge ordered the police to hand over anything in the transcripts that was "about or concerning" Paul Gascoigne.
The names of more journalists may appear after the judge ordered that ''redactions'' – the blanked-out sections in the transcripts handed to the claimants – should not hide the names of employees of the News of the World.
The three claimants were also granted access to information on breaches of privacy gathered by the Information Commissioner's Office during its Operation Motorman inquiry into the matter. ...
The proliferation of legal actions generated by complaints against the News of the World is also in danger of congesting the courts with "parallel claims", the judge hearing applications for disclosure in three cases has implied.
Official recognition of the scale of the problem came as three more alleged victims of the practice of hacking into voicemail messages sought high court orders granting them access to documents that may substantiate claims for damages. Lawyers for Paul Gascoigne, George Galloway and Mick McGuire, former deputy chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, were granted permission to see relevant sections of transcripts.
The notebooks are among material seized by the Metropolitan police from the convicted private investigator Glenn Mulcaire who was employed by the newspaper.
Gascoigne and McGuire's applications were supported by Newsgroup Newspapers, owners of the News of the World, because, the court heard, the company "wishes to show it was not involved in the interception of information" relating to them.
Explaining the need for efficient case management, Mr Justice Vos told the court: "There have been numerous parallel applications with different counsel and solicitors ... raising identical or nearly identical points". He wanted to avoid duplication, he said.
At least 14 cases were already before the courts, agreed Jeremy Reed, counsel for Gascoigne and McGuire. There is speculation there will be many more, he added.
Lawyers for Gascoigne requested that any intercepted messages "about him or concerning him" should be included in the disclosure order because private information about his medical treatment had been obtained by hacking into other people's phones.
Edwin Buckett, representing the Met, said that would mean the police "having to listen to every transcript to see if Mr Gascoigne is mentioned". There are "hundreds of intercepts", he said. "It makes it so wide, it's difficult to comply with."
The judge ordered the police to hand over anything in the transcripts that was "about or concerning" Paul Gascoigne.
The names of more journalists may appear after the judge ordered that ''redactions'' – the blanked-out sections in the transcripts handed to the claimants – should not hide the names of employees of the News of the World.
The three claimants were also granted access to information on breaches of privacy gathered by the Information Commissioner's Office during its Operation Motorman inquiry into the matter. ...
Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the News of the World phone-hacking case, passed phone intercept information to several individuals working on the tabloid's news desk, the high court heard today.
The private eye – who was on a £100,000-a-year contract with the News of the World – was quoted in court documents as saying that he dealt with so many people on the news desk at the tabloid that he cannot recall precisely who received certain items of information.
Mulcaire's admission, if true, was "devastating" to the News of the World's long-held insistence that phone hacking was the work of a "lone, rotten journalist", Jeremy Reed QC told the court.
Reed was representing Sky Andrew, a football agent who is suing the paper's immediate parent, News Group Newspapers (NGN) for breach of privacy over phone hacking.
Mulcaire was jailed for six months in 2007 for hacking into phones belonging to staff at Buckingham Palace, along with the News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman.
However, in that trial the court also heard that Mulcaire hacked into the phones of high profile individuals such as publicist Max Clifford and supermodel Elle Macpherson, as well as Andrew.
Earlier this year, Mulcaire also said in court documents that he had been instructed by Ian Edmondson, the assistant editor (news) at the tabloid, to intercept Andrew's voicemails. Edmondson was initially suspended, and has now been sacked.
Today's case saw lawyers for Andrew lodge a claim against the Metropolitan police, seeking greater access to heavily redacted documents released by the force to his legal team. ...
The private eye – who was on a £100,000-a-year contract with the News of the World – was quoted in court documents as saying that he dealt with so many people on the news desk at the tabloid that he cannot recall precisely who received certain items of information.
Mulcaire's admission, if true, was "devastating" to the News of the World's long-held insistence that phone hacking was the work of a "lone, rotten journalist", Jeremy Reed QC told the court.
Reed was representing Sky Andrew, a football agent who is suing the paper's immediate parent, News Group Newspapers (NGN) for breach of privacy over phone hacking.
Mulcaire was jailed for six months in 2007 for hacking into phones belonging to staff at Buckingham Palace, along with the News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman.
However, in that trial the court also heard that Mulcaire hacked into the phones of high profile individuals such as publicist Max Clifford and supermodel Elle Macpherson, as well as Andrew.
Earlier this year, Mulcaire also said in court documents that he had been instructed by Ian Edmondson, the assistant editor (news) at the tabloid, to intercept Andrew's voicemails. Edmondson was initially suspended, and has now been sacked.
Today's case saw lawyers for Andrew lodge a claim against the Metropolitan police, seeking greater access to heavily redacted documents released by the force to his legal team. ...
The controversial French journalist Éric Zemmour has been found guilty of incitement to racial hatred after telling a TV chatshow that drug dealers were mostly "blacks and Arabs".
The Paris trial sparked a fierce debate over freedom of speech and the extent of France's racism problem, which is poisoning the republican ideal that all citizens are equal regardless of colour.
Zemmour, a well-known media commentator and columnist for Le Figaro, prides himself on his outspoken defiance of what he deems political correct, woolly liberals.
He appeared on a chatshow last year when the debate turned to the question of the French police's excessive use of stop and search powers against minorities. He said: "But why are they stopped 17 times? Why? Because most dealers are blacks and Arabs. That's a fact."
According to the French model, where everyone is theoretically equal under a state blind to race or religion, it is illegal to count ethnic minorities or race statistics. So there are no figures on the ethnic identity of criminals.
Zemmour was also fined for telling another TV channel that employers "had a right" to turn down black or Arab candidates. Job discrimination over race and ethnicity is thought to be widespread in France. ...
The Paris trial sparked a fierce debate over freedom of speech and the extent of France's racism problem, which is poisoning the republican ideal that all citizens are equal regardless of colour.
Zemmour, a well-known media commentator and columnist for Le Figaro, prides himself on his outspoken defiance of what he deems political correct, woolly liberals.
He appeared on a chatshow last year when the debate turned to the question of the French police's excessive use of stop and search powers against minorities. He said: "But why are they stopped 17 times? Why? Because most dealers are blacks and Arabs. That's a fact."
According to the French model, where everyone is theoretically equal under a state blind to race or religion, it is illegal to count ethnic minorities or race statistics. So there are no figures on the ethnic identity of criminals.
Zemmour was also fined for telling another TV channel that employers "had a right" to turn down black or Arab candidates. Job discrimination over race and ethnicity is thought to be widespread in France. ...
A "treasure trove" of information could be accessed on actor Steve Coogan's mobile phone at a time when journalists at the News of the World were instructing a private investigator to hack into it, the high court was told today.
Coogan's counsel, Jeremy Reed, said his witness statement showed: "He conducts business by voicemail messages. He tends to let messages stack up ... There is essentially a treasure trove of commercial information on his voicemail at any one time."
Coogan is suing News of the World publisher News Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, and former private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who worked for the paper.
Lawyers for Coogan and former Sky Sports presenter Andy Gray, who is also suing, were in court for a pre-trial hearing. They are trying to force Mulcaire to name the News of the World executives who ordered him to hack into phones.
"The News of the World entertainment section is likely to be extremely interested in what Mr Coogan ... or some other actor or director seeks to charge when they are working for Baby Cow," Reed said, referring to the TV production company co-owned by the comedian.
Scotland Yard has written to Coogan to confirm that the actor's mobile number, voicemail pin, password and other account details were found in Mulcaire's notebooks, which were seized in a police raid on his home in 2006.
Gray has been handed redacted copies of Mulcaire's notes, which allegedly show he was targeted by the investigator, along with billing information showing his mobile voicemail number was called about a dozen times from landlines registered to Mulcaire in a six-month period.
The court was reminded that copies of Mulcaire's notes also showed the private investigator wrote "Greg" on the left-hand side of the page. Reed said that was a reference to Greg Miskiw, a former News of the World investigations editor. ...
Coogan's counsel, Jeremy Reed, said his witness statement showed: "He conducts business by voicemail messages. He tends to let messages stack up ... There is essentially a treasure trove of commercial information on his voicemail at any one time."
Coogan is suing News of the World publisher News Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, and former private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who worked for the paper.
Lawyers for Coogan and former Sky Sports presenter Andy Gray, who is also suing, were in court for a pre-trial hearing. They are trying to force Mulcaire to name the News of the World executives who ordered him to hack into phones.
"The News of the World entertainment section is likely to be extremely interested in what Mr Coogan ... or some other actor or director seeks to charge when they are working for Baby Cow," Reed said, referring to the TV production company co-owned by the comedian.
Scotland Yard has written to Coogan to confirm that the actor's mobile number, voicemail pin, password and other account details were found in Mulcaire's notebooks, which were seized in a police raid on his home in 2006.
Gray has been handed redacted copies of Mulcaire's notes, which allegedly show he was targeted by the investigator, along with billing information showing his mobile voicemail number was called about a dozen times from landlines registered to Mulcaire in a six-month period.
The court was reminded that copies of Mulcaire's notes also showed the private investigator wrote "Greg" on the left-hand side of the page. Reed said that was a reference to Greg Miskiw, a former News of the World investigations editor. ...
The reopened police investigation into phone hacking by News of the World journalists has identified a number of new potential victims, including Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, the Guardian has learned.
Just a fortnight after reopening their inquiry, in the wake of an 18-month campaign by the Guardian, police said a re-examination of the evidence they had held for years, but failed to fully investigate, combined with new evidence from the Sunday tabloid, had thrown up an "important and immediate new line of inquiry". The new investigation, they said, had already established "reasonable evidence" that up to 20 people, mainly prominent public figures, were targeted by the paper.
The development represents Scotland Yard finally beginning to take the lid off the phone-hacking scandal. More than five years after they first started to investigate the illegal interception of voicemail messages by a private investigator working for the News of the World, the Met announced that its new inquiry would:
• Review all the decisions made by their two previous inquiries.
• Contact thousands of public figures who have never been told that their personal details were recorded by the private investigator.
• Warn some public figures that they had previously been misled when they asked the Yard for information.
Police had been dismissive of Prescott's suspicions that he had been targeted, but the head of the new investigation, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, saw Prescott on Wednesday. He was told that invoices recovered by police showed he was targeted by Glenn Mulcaire, the private eye used by the NoW, who was an expert in phone hacking. They also have notes made by Mulcaire about Prescott, who as deputy prime minister was in possession of highly sensitive information. After his briefing by the police chief, Prescott told the Guardian that previous police investigations had been "completely inadequate".
The new evidence is understood to show that Prescott was targeted in April 2006, the month he admitted to having an affair with his diary secretary Tracey Temple. In a statement Prescott told the Guardian: "I can confirm that at her request I met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers today. She informed me that significant new evidence relating to phone hacking and myself had been discovered and that they were investigating it. I think this proves my long-held belief that the original Met police investigation into Mulcaire and News International was completely inadequate and failed to follow all the evidence. I now look forward to the Met police finally uncovering the truth." ...
Just a fortnight after reopening their inquiry, in the wake of an 18-month campaign by the Guardian, police said a re-examination of the evidence they had held for years, but failed to fully investigate, combined with new evidence from the Sunday tabloid, had thrown up an "important and immediate new line of inquiry". The new investigation, they said, had already established "reasonable evidence" that up to 20 people, mainly prominent public figures, were targeted by the paper.
The development represents Scotland Yard finally beginning to take the lid off the phone-hacking scandal. More than five years after they first started to investigate the illegal interception of voicemail messages by a private investigator working for the News of the World, the Met announced that its new inquiry would:
• Review all the decisions made by their two previous inquiries.
• Contact thousands of public figures who have never been told that their personal details were recorded by the private investigator.
• Warn some public figures that they had previously been misled when they asked the Yard for information.
Police had been dismissive of Prescott's suspicions that he had been targeted, but the head of the new investigation, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, saw Prescott on Wednesday. He was told that invoices recovered by police showed he was targeted by Glenn Mulcaire, the private eye used by the NoW, who was an expert in phone hacking. They also have notes made by Mulcaire about Prescott, who as deputy prime minister was in possession of highly sensitive information. After his briefing by the police chief, Prescott told the Guardian that previous police investigations had been "completely inadequate".
The new evidence is understood to show that Prescott was targeted in April 2006, the month he admitted to having an affair with his diary secretary Tracey Temple. In a statement Prescott told the Guardian: "I can confirm that at her request I met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers today. She informed me that significant new evidence relating to phone hacking and myself had been discovered and that they were investigating it. I think this proves my long-held belief that the original Met police investigation into Mulcaire and News International was completely inadequate and failed to follow all the evidence. I now look forward to the Met police finally uncovering the truth." ...
Andy Coulson was aware that phone hacking was taking place at Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire and "told others to do it", a former executive at the News of the World told MPs.
In written evidence given to the home affairs select committee and published for the first time today, Paul McMullan, a former features executive and investigative journalist at the title, said former editor Coulson "knew a lot of people" used the technique when Coulson worked at sister paper the Sun. He joined the News of the World in 2003, where he worked alongside McMullan for 18 months.
McMullan said: "As he sat a few feet from me in the [News of the World] newsroom he probably heard me doing it, laughing about it … and told others to do it".
Coulson, who last month quit as David Cameron's director of communications, worked at the Sun for more than a decade before joining the News of the World.
"Andy Coulson knew a lot of people did it at the Sun on his Bizarre [showbiz] column and after that at the NOTW," McMullan claimed.
McMullan, who is now a pub landlord, also described a flourishing trade in private information at the News of the World, which he said was regularly supplied with details of celebrities' medical records and mobile phone pin numbers.
"People who worked for Vodaphone [sic] etc would sometimes ring up the newsdesk offering to sell numbers and codes of stars' phones," he said, "as indeed people at the tax office, people in doctors' receptions."
In separate evidence also published today, Vodafone told the committee: "A small minority of customers were targeted by unscrupulous individuals."
The company said it had passed all evidence to the police during their 2006 investigation into phone hacking carried out by former News of the World journalist Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.
McMullan told the Guardian last year that Coulson must have been well aware the practice was "pretty widespread".
Coulson has continued to deny this. ...
In written evidence given to the home affairs select committee and published for the first time today, Paul McMullan, a former features executive and investigative journalist at the title, said former editor Coulson "knew a lot of people" used the technique when Coulson worked at sister paper the Sun. He joined the News of the World in 2003, where he worked alongside McMullan for 18 months.
McMullan said: "As he sat a few feet from me in the [News of the World] newsroom he probably heard me doing it, laughing about it … and told others to do it".
Coulson, who last month quit as David Cameron's director of communications, worked at the Sun for more than a decade before joining the News of the World.
"Andy Coulson knew a lot of people did it at the Sun on his Bizarre [showbiz] column and after that at the NOTW," McMullan claimed.
McMullan, who is now a pub landlord, also described a flourishing trade in private information at the News of the World, which he said was regularly supplied with details of celebrities' medical records and mobile phone pin numbers.
"People who worked for Vodaphone [sic] etc would sometimes ring up the newsdesk offering to sell numbers and codes of stars' phones," he said, "as indeed people at the tax office, people in doctors' receptions."
In separate evidence also published today, Vodafone told the committee: "A small minority of customers were targeted by unscrupulous individuals."
The company said it had passed all evidence to the police during their 2006 investigation into phone hacking carried out by former News of the World journalist Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.
McMullan told the Guardian last year that Coulson must have been well aware the practice was "pretty widespread".
Coulson has continued to deny this. ...
David Cameron yesterday marked a break with the era of Andy Coulson by appointing a senior BBC TV news editor with no links to the Murdoch empire as the new No 10 communications director.
Craig Oliver, who made his name revamping the News at Ten and who ran the BBC's general election coverage last year, will be paid £140,000 a year and will act as a political special adviser.
The recruitment of a senior BBC figure shows that Cameron and George Osborne, who met Oliver over the weekend, recognise that they need to place some distance between Downing Street and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
Coulson announced his resignation on 21 January after concluding that the swirl of allegations about illegal phone hacking from his time as News of the World editor had made his job impossible. Coulson has always denied knowledge of any wrongdoing.
Downing Street said that No 10's relations with News Corp had nothing to with the decision to hire a BBC executive. One source said: "Craig was simply the best candidate."
Fears of offending the Murdoch empire were highlighted yesterday when Tom Baldwin, Oliver's Labour counterpart, asked members of the shadow cabinet to show restraint on phone hacking and not to attack one newspaper group "out of spite".
In an email sent on his behalf, which was leaked to the New Statesman, Baldwin also called on shadow ministers not to link allegations of phone hacking with questions about News Corp's bid to take control of BSkyB.
The email said: "On phone hacking … this is not just an issue about News International. Almost every media organisation in the country may end up becoming embroiled in these allegations … We must guard against anything which appears to be attacking a particular newspaper group out of spite."
Further evidence that hacking was used regularly by the News of the World emerged yesterday when new details of the case brought by Nicola Philips, the publicist who is suing the newspaper, were published. Philips alleges the tabloid obtained a story about an affair between actor Ralph Fiennes and a Romanian singer by hacking into her mobile phone. ...
Craig Oliver, who made his name revamping the News at Ten and who ran the BBC's general election coverage last year, will be paid £140,000 a year and will act as a political special adviser.
The recruitment of a senior BBC figure shows that Cameron and George Osborne, who met Oliver over the weekend, recognise that they need to place some distance between Downing Street and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
Coulson announced his resignation on 21 January after concluding that the swirl of allegations about illegal phone hacking from his time as News of the World editor had made his job impossible. Coulson has always denied knowledge of any wrongdoing.
Downing Street said that No 10's relations with News Corp had nothing to with the decision to hire a BBC executive. One source said: "Craig was simply the best candidate."
Fears of offending the Murdoch empire were highlighted yesterday when Tom Baldwin, Oliver's Labour counterpart, asked members of the shadow cabinet to show restraint on phone hacking and not to attack one newspaper group "out of spite".
In an email sent on his behalf, which was leaked to the New Statesman, Baldwin also called on shadow ministers not to link allegations of phone hacking with questions about News Corp's bid to take control of BSkyB.
The email said: "On phone hacking … this is not just an issue about News International. Almost every media organisation in the country may end up becoming embroiled in these allegations … We must guard against anything which appears to be attacking a particular newspaper group out of spite."
Further evidence that hacking was used regularly by the News of the World emerged yesterday when new details of the case brought by Nicola Philips, the publicist who is suing the newspaper, were published. Philips alleges the tabloid obtained a story about an affair between actor Ralph Fiennes and a Romanian singer by hacking into her mobile phone. ...
Two out of three people believe the prime minister showed poor judgment in employing Andy Coulson as his Downing Street director of communications.
In an opinion poll carried out by ComRes for the Independent newspaper, 66% said they thought David Cameron should not have hired Coulson knowing he had resigned as editor of the News of the World over the phone-hacking scandal.
Coulson quit his role in the government 10 days ago after repeated inquiries into his knowledge of phone hacking at the News of the World, saying the affair limited his ability to devote himself to his job.
Nine out of 10 of those polled believe it is wrong for journalists to hack into the private telephone voicemail messages of celebrities and politicians.
The poll also showed that 67% thought the allegations of telephone hacking meant the newspaper industry should no longer regulate itself.
ComRes polled 1,002 adults over the weekend between the 28-30 January.
Last night, giving the Hugh Cudlipp memorial lecture in London, the editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber, warned that Britain's newspapers risked political "retribution" in the form of statutory regulation following the phone hacking scandal. He accused Rupert Murdoch's News International – publishers of the NoW – of failing to pursue a policy of "own up rather than cover up", and he criticised the bulk of the industry for failing to "take the issue seriously" because their titles may also have been implicated in the illegal practice.
In a trenchant lecture, he described "the phone hacking scandal" as a "watershed - not just for News International but also for tabloid journalism" arguing that a 2006 report by the Information Commissioner suggested that 305 journalists from a range of titles used the services of a private investigator. ...
In an opinion poll carried out by ComRes for the Independent newspaper, 66% said they thought David Cameron should not have hired Coulson knowing he had resigned as editor of the News of the World over the phone-hacking scandal.
Coulson quit his role in the government 10 days ago after repeated inquiries into his knowledge of phone hacking at the News of the World, saying the affair limited his ability to devote himself to his job.
Nine out of 10 of those polled believe it is wrong for journalists to hack into the private telephone voicemail messages of celebrities and politicians.
The poll also showed that 67% thought the allegations of telephone hacking meant the newspaper industry should no longer regulate itself.
ComRes polled 1,002 adults over the weekend between the 28-30 January.
Last night, giving the Hugh Cudlipp memorial lecture in London, the editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber, warned that Britain's newspapers risked political "retribution" in the form of statutory regulation following the phone hacking scandal. He accused Rupert Murdoch's News International – publishers of the NoW – of failing to pursue a policy of "own up rather than cover up", and he criticised the bulk of the industry for failing to "take the issue seriously" because their titles may also have been implicated in the illegal practice.
In a trenchant lecture, he described "the phone hacking scandal" as a "watershed - not just for News International but also for tabloid journalism" arguing that a 2006 report by the Information Commissioner suggested that 305 journalists from a range of titles used the services of a private investigator. ...
Scotland Yard reopened its investigation into phone hacking today – four years after the only convictions in the case – after the News of the World passed on "significant new information" alleged to implicate one of the paper's top executives in the practice.
Shortly afterwards the paper announced that it had sacked its assistant editor (news), Ian Edmondson. This came hard on the heels of the arrival in London of its proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, said to be in town to deal with both the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed the paper and his corporation's bid to take complete control of BSkyB.
The sacking, and the new police investigation, come after 18 months of Guardian reports into allegations of widespread phone hacking at the News of the World.
Until shortly before Christmas the paper had always alleged that only one rogue reporter and a private investigator were involved in the practice, and the police had repeatedly insisted that there was no evidence available to link any other News Corporation employees with hacking.
Tonight a source close to the new police investigation said the latest evidence passed to the Metropolitan police so far amounted to only a small number of emails, although detectives believe there may be many more.
"It's hard to believe these are the only ones. There may be a shedload of shit still to come," said one source. ...
Shortly afterwards the paper announced that it had sacked its assistant editor (news), Ian Edmondson. This came hard on the heels of the arrival in London of its proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, said to be in town to deal with both the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed the paper and his corporation's bid to take complete control of BSkyB.
The sacking, and the new police investigation, come after 18 months of Guardian reports into allegations of widespread phone hacking at the News of the World.
Until shortly before Christmas the paper had always alleged that only one rogue reporter and a private investigator were involved in the practice, and the police had repeatedly insisted that there was no evidence available to link any other News Corporation employees with hacking.
Tonight a source close to the new police investigation said the latest evidence passed to the Metropolitan police so far amounted to only a small number of emails, although detectives believe there may be many more.
"It's hard to believe these are the only ones. There may be a shedload of shit still to come," said one source. ...
Alastair Campbell has written to the Metropolitan police to say he suspects his phone was hacked by the News of the World while he was advising Tony Blair's government.
As the Commons home affairs select committee announced it is to publish a list of victims of alleged phone hacking, Blair's former communications director said his lawyers had contacted the Met with details of a specific incident.
Campbell believes his phone was hacked shortly after he left Downing Street in 2003 when he advised a senior member of Blair's cabinet. A News of the World photographer was waiting outside Campbell's house when the minister arrived for a meeting which had been arranged in mobile phone calls and text messages without reference to civil servants.
Campbell said: "Phone hacking is more widespread than people realise and was carried out by many more newspapers.
"That is why it is not being pursued by most of the press. Just as John Prescott has been pursuing it, I intend to get to the bottom of it."
The intervention by Campbell came as Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the home affairs select committee, said he would be publishing a list of people whose phones were allegedly hacked. ...
As the Commons home affairs select committee announced it is to publish a list of victims of alleged phone hacking, Blair's former communications director said his lawyers had contacted the Met with details of a specific incident.
Campbell believes his phone was hacked shortly after he left Downing Street in 2003 when he advised a senior member of Blair's cabinet. A News of the World photographer was waiting outside Campbell's house when the minister arrived for a meeting which had been arranged in mobile phone calls and text messages without reference to civil servants.
Campbell said: "Phone hacking is more widespread than people realise and was carried out by many more newspapers.
"That is why it is not being pursued by most of the press. Just as John Prescott has been pursuing it, I intend to get to the bottom of it."
The intervention by Campbell came as Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the home affairs select committee, said he would be publishing a list of people whose phones were allegedly hacked. ...
News Corporation refused to say today what Rupert Murdoch's son James was told about evidence of phone hacking by News of the World journalists when he signed off a £700,000 settlement with the football chief Gordon Taylor.
The company declined to comment on any of a set of questions asked by the Guardian about which board members were made aware of the fact that the practice of phone hacking extended beyond the former royal editor Clive Goodman, and the reasons for payouts to Taylor and the public relations specialist Max Clifford.
News Corp also refused to reply to further questions about what was discussed at a social meeting between David Cameron, James Murdoch and its UK chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, over the Christmas period.
Rupert Murdoch today spent the day at News International's Wapping offices in east London, where he had lunch in the company canteen with his son, Brooks, Dominic Mohan, the editor of the Sun, and James Harding, the editor of the Times.
There has so far been no explanation as to why James Murdoch, the chief executive of News Corp's operations in Europe and Asia, decided to sign off the payment to Taylor. One friend of Rupert Murdoch's younger son said he had failed to appreciate the significance of the hacking allegations until recently. ...
The company declined to comment on any of a set of questions asked by the Guardian about which board members were made aware of the fact that the practice of phone hacking extended beyond the former royal editor Clive Goodman, and the reasons for payouts to Taylor and the public relations specialist Max Clifford.
News Corp also refused to reply to further questions about what was discussed at a social meeting between David Cameron, James Murdoch and its UK chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, over the Christmas period.
Rupert Murdoch today spent the day at News International's Wapping offices in east London, where he had lunch in the company canteen with his son, Brooks, Dominic Mohan, the editor of the Sun, and James Harding, the editor of the Times.
There has so far been no explanation as to why James Murdoch, the chief executive of News Corp's operations in Europe and Asia, decided to sign off the payment to Taylor. One friend of Rupert Murdoch's younger son said he had failed to appreciate the significance of the hacking allegations until recently. ...
Following the resignation of former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as David Cameron's media man, the voicemail hacking scandal has snowballed to include other newspapers.
Mark Lewis, a lawyer who has already brought one damages claim against the NoW for phone hacking, told the Observer last night that he is now representing four people who believe their voicemail was tapped by journalists.
And Lewis, who acted for Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers' Association in his previous case, said none of the four had been the victims of News Group newspapers. (News Group is a Murdoch company which controls the NoW.)
He told the paper: "Lots of people were doing it. It was such a widespread practice, this was almost kids' playtime.
"Although it is a crime, people were regarding it as though it was driving at 35mph in a 30mph zone, that you just sort of do it and hope you don't get caught."
The allegation that the practice spread beyond the NoW will surely be a welcome one for Rupert Murdoch.
The latest intrigue over Coulson's behaviour at one of his papers could not have come at a worse time for the Australian mogul. Murdoch's News Corp, the parent company of News Group, is still hoping to avoid having its bid to take full control of BSkyB brought before the Competition Commission. ...
Mark Lewis, a lawyer who has already brought one damages claim against the NoW for phone hacking, told the Observer last night that he is now representing four people who believe their voicemail was tapped by journalists.
And Lewis, who acted for Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers' Association in his previous case, said none of the four had been the victims of News Group newspapers. (News Group is a Murdoch company which controls the NoW.)
He told the paper: "Lots of people were doing it. It was such a widespread practice, this was almost kids' playtime.
"Although it is a crime, people were regarding it as though it was driving at 35mph in a 30mph zone, that you just sort of do it and hope you don't get caught."
The allegation that the practice spread beyond the NoW will surely be a welcome one for Rupert Murdoch.
The latest intrigue over Coulson's behaviour at one of his papers could not have come at a worse time for the Australian mogul. Murdoch's News Corp, the parent company of News Group, is still hoping to avoid having its bid to take full control of BSkyB brought before the Competition Commission. ...
Criticisms of the police handling of the phone-hacking scandal intensified tonight after a senior minister accused Scotland Yard of failing to properly investigate the allegations, while it emerged that Gordon Brown has asked police to establish whether he had been a victim.
Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, cast doubt on News International's claims that hacking was the work of a "rogue reporter". He criticised the initial handling of the allegations by the police and accused them of reacting to his calls for a full inquiry last year by "scurrying back to Scotland Yard" and dismissing the idea in an afternoon.
"It seemed to me clear that the number of people that were being hacked clearly was not consistent with it being one rogue reporter who happened to be the royal correspondent. Why would the royal correspondent be interested in hacking the voicemails of Simon Hughes, my colleague who is a Liberal Democrat MP, for example?" he told the BBC's Daily Politics.
"We know the police were not keen on the subject because when I called for a very clear review of this, the police scurried back into Scotland Yard, spent less than a day reviewing it and popped out again in time for the six o'clock news to say they had discovered no further evidence."
Asked whether he thought the police had been deterred from carrying out a full investigation after their failure to make charges in Labour's "cash for honours" scandal, he said: "I certainly think that may well have played a part of it because obviously they had been through a very thorough investigation there and they got nowhere, so they may have decided that messing with the political process was something that they didn't want to bother doing." He quickly added: "I really don't know, I mean you'll have to ask a police officer that."
Huhne's intervention is a guarantee that the row over phone hacking won't disappear with Andy Coulson's resignation as director of communications from Downing Street last week. The former editor of the News of the World stepped down claiming that the continued controversy over phone hacking was making it difficult for him to do his job. ...
Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, cast doubt on News International's claims that hacking was the work of a "rogue reporter". He criticised the initial handling of the allegations by the police and accused them of reacting to his calls for a full inquiry last year by "scurrying back to Scotland Yard" and dismissing the idea in an afternoon.
"It seemed to me clear that the number of people that were being hacked clearly was not consistent with it being one rogue reporter who happened to be the royal correspondent. Why would the royal correspondent be interested in hacking the voicemails of Simon Hughes, my colleague who is a Liberal Democrat MP, for example?" he told the BBC's Daily Politics.
"We know the police were not keen on the subject because when I called for a very clear review of this, the police scurried back into Scotland Yard, spent less than a day reviewing it and popped out again in time for the six o'clock news to say they had discovered no further evidence."
Asked whether he thought the police had been deterred from carrying out a full investigation after their failure to make charges in Labour's "cash for honours" scandal, he said: "I certainly think that may well have played a part of it because obviously they had been through a very thorough investigation there and they got nowhere, so they may have decided that messing with the political process was something that they didn't want to bother doing." He quickly added: "I really don't know, I mean you'll have to ask a police officer that."
Huhne's intervention is a guarantee that the row over phone hacking won't disappear with Andy Coulson's resignation as director of communications from Downing Street last week. The former editor of the News of the World stepped down claiming that the continued controversy over phone hacking was making it difficult for him to do his job. ...
Britain's tabloid newspapers are now facing a major crisis after being drawn into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.
Twenty-four hours after Andy Coulson, the prime minister's communications chief and former News of the World editor, was forced to resign, a lawyer confirmed other newspapers were facing legal claims.
Mark Lewis, who acted for Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers' Association in a damages claim against the NoW, confirmed to the Observer that he was now representing four people who believe they were targeted by other newspapers.
Lewis said that none of the four had been hacked by News Group Newspapers, owner of the News of the World and the Sun. "Lots of people were doing it," Lewis said. "It was such a widespread practice."
He added that he had been preparing the cases since Christmas. "We are at an initial stage in our investigations made with police forces and phone companies. But we believe there is a prima facie case that information has been obtained unlawfully.
"This was almost kids' playtime. It was such a widespread practice. Although it is a crime, people were regarding it as though it was driving at 35mph in a 30mph zone, that you just sort of do it and hope you don't get caught."
Speculation about further law suits, and the prospect of fresh evidence in the form of emails and audio tapes stretching back over years, has heaped pressure on News Group over the past few weeks. It emerged earlier this month that News of the World executive Ian Edmondson had been suspended as a result of claims in a case brought by actress Sienna Miller. ...
Twenty-four hours after Andy Coulson, the prime minister's communications chief and former News of the World editor, was forced to resign, a lawyer confirmed other newspapers were facing legal claims.
Mark Lewis, who acted for Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers' Association in a damages claim against the NoW, confirmed to the Observer that he was now representing four people who believe they were targeted by other newspapers.
Lewis said that none of the four had been hacked by News Group Newspapers, owner of the News of the World and the Sun. "Lots of people were doing it," Lewis said. "It was such a widespread practice."
He added that he had been preparing the cases since Christmas. "We are at an initial stage in our investigations made with police forces and phone companies. But we believe there is a prima facie case that information has been obtained unlawfully.
"This was almost kids' playtime. It was such a widespread practice. Although it is a crime, people were regarding it as though it was driving at 35mph in a 30mph zone, that you just sort of do it and hope you don't get caught."
Speculation about further law suits, and the prospect of fresh evidence in the form of emails and audio tapes stretching back over years, has heaped pressure on News Group over the past few weeks. It emerged earlier this month that News of the World executive Ian Edmondson had been suspended as a result of claims in a case brought by actress Sienna Miller. ...
Andy Coulson resigns – as it happened
Andy Coulson, David Cameron's director of communications, has quit in the wake of the latest phone-hacking revelations
5.15pm: Here's a summary of events tonight.
Live blog: recap
The intensification of the phone-hacking scandal, a story that refuses to go away, has forced Andy Coulson into a second resignation. Coulson quit as director of communications at Downing Street, blaming "continued coverage" of the phone-hacking scandal which forced him from the editorship of the News of the World. He said: "When the spokesman needs a spokesman, it's time to move on." (It was later revealed that the satirist Armando Iannucci first used this line last September.)
Coulson's resignation has once again raised questions over the judgment of David Cameron, who knew of the controversy surrounding his editorship of the News of the World. Cameron said of Coulson: "He has been a brilliant member of my team and has thrown himself at the job with skill and dedication."
Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, attempted to turn the focus onto Cameron. Miliband said: "I think it raises real questions about David Cameron's judgment that he hung on to Andy Coulson for so long."
It is understood that Coulson told Cameron of his decision on Wednesday night. Some commentators have questioned the decision to announce his departure today – as Tony Blair was giving evidence to the Iraq war inquiry, but Downing Street denied the timing was deliberate.
The MP who triggered the latest Commons inquiry into phone hacking called on the police to conduct a thorough investigation. Chris Bryant, a Labour MP, said: "I hope now finally that the police will be able to conduct the full, transparent, and thorough inquiry into phone hacking that we are still waiting for and that the murky truth will come to light."
4.56pm: Coulson has been shown on the news channels leaving Downing Street. As the flashbulbs popped, Coulson strode off, saying nothing. I'll resist the temptation to sugggest that, as the sun sets over London, he looked as if he was slunking away into the shadows. I'll just confine myself to noting that Adam Boulton, Sky's political editor, reckons that he won't be back at No 10 before he leaves his job in a few weeks. I guess he'll just be working from home, then.
4.48pm: My colleague Mark Sweney has been trawling through the archives to see what key figures said about phone hacking in the past. My favourite is the one from Rebekah Brooks, who preceded Coulson as editor of the News of the World. On 10 July 2009, Brooks, who was then chief executive of News International, said:
"The Guardian coverage, we believe, has substantially and likely deliberately misled the British public." ...
... 11.51am: This is the full statement issued by Andy Coulson today:
I can today confirm that I've resigned as Downing Street director of communications. It's been a privilege and an honour to work for David Cameron for three-and-a-half years.
I'm extremely proud of the part I've played in helping him reach No 10 and during the coalition's first nine months.
Nothing is more important than the Government's task of getting this country back on its feet.
Unfortunately, continued coverage of events connected to my old job at the News of the World has made it difficult for me to give the 110% needed in this role.
I stand by what I've said about those events but when the spokesman needs a spokesman, it's time to move on.
I'll leave within the next few weeks and will do so wishing the Prime Minister, his family, and his brilliant and dedicated team the very best for what I'm sure will be a long and successful future in Government.
11.51am: Here's the full statement from David Cameron:
I am very sorry that Andy Coulson has decided to resign as my Director of Communications, although I understand that the continuing pressures on him and his family mean that he feels compelled to do so. Andy has told me that the focus on him was impeding his ability to do his job and was starting to prove a distraction for the Government.
During his time working for me, Andy has carried out his role with complete professionalism. He has been a brilliant member of my team and has thrown himself at the job with skill and dedication. He can be extremely proud of the role he has played, including for the last eight months in Government.
I wish Andy all the very best for his future, which I am certain will be a successful one.
11.48am: This is the second time Coulson has lost a high-profile job over the phone-hacking scandal. He quit as editor of the News of the World in January 2007 when Clive Goodman was jailed. Until now, the prime minister, David Cameron, had maintained Coulson "deserved a second chance". ...
Andy Coulson, David Cameron's director of communications, has quit in the wake of the latest phone-hacking revelations
5.15pm: Here's a summary of events tonight.
Live blog: recap
The intensification of the phone-hacking scandal, a story that refuses to go away, has forced Andy Coulson into a second resignation. Coulson quit as director of communications at Downing Street, blaming "continued coverage" of the phone-hacking scandal which forced him from the editorship of the News of the World. He said: "When the spokesman needs a spokesman, it's time to move on." (It was later revealed that the satirist Armando Iannucci first used this line last September.)
Coulson's resignation has once again raised questions over the judgment of David Cameron, who knew of the controversy surrounding his editorship of the News of the World. Cameron said of Coulson: "He has been a brilliant member of my team and has thrown himself at the job with skill and dedication."
Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, attempted to turn the focus onto Cameron. Miliband said: "I think it raises real questions about David Cameron's judgment that he hung on to Andy Coulson for so long."
It is understood that Coulson told Cameron of his decision on Wednesday night. Some commentators have questioned the decision to announce his departure today – as Tony Blair was giving evidence to the Iraq war inquiry, but Downing Street denied the timing was deliberate.
The MP who triggered the latest Commons inquiry into phone hacking called on the police to conduct a thorough investigation. Chris Bryant, a Labour MP, said: "I hope now finally that the police will be able to conduct the full, transparent, and thorough inquiry into phone hacking that we are still waiting for and that the murky truth will come to light."
4.56pm: Coulson has been shown on the news channels leaving Downing Street. As the flashbulbs popped, Coulson strode off, saying nothing. I'll resist the temptation to sugggest that, as the sun sets over London, he looked as if he was slunking away into the shadows. I'll just confine myself to noting that Adam Boulton, Sky's political editor, reckons that he won't be back at No 10 before he leaves his job in a few weeks. I guess he'll just be working from home, then.
4.48pm: My colleague Mark Sweney has been trawling through the archives to see what key figures said about phone hacking in the past. My favourite is the one from Rebekah Brooks, who preceded Coulson as editor of the News of the World. On 10 July 2009, Brooks, who was then chief executive of News International, said:
"The Guardian coverage, we believe, has substantially and likely deliberately misled the British public." ...
... 11.51am: This is the full statement issued by Andy Coulson today:
I can today confirm that I've resigned as Downing Street director of communications. It's been a privilege and an honour to work for David Cameron for three-and-a-half years.
I'm extremely proud of the part I've played in helping him reach No 10 and during the coalition's first nine months.
Nothing is more important than the Government's task of getting this country back on its feet.
Unfortunately, continued coverage of events connected to my old job at the News of the World has made it difficult for me to give the 110% needed in this role.
I stand by what I've said about those events but when the spokesman needs a spokesman, it's time to move on.
I'll leave within the next few weeks and will do so wishing the Prime Minister, his family, and his brilliant and dedicated team the very best for what I'm sure will be a long and successful future in Government.
11.51am: Here's the full statement from David Cameron:
I am very sorry that Andy Coulson has decided to resign as my Director of Communications, although I understand that the continuing pressures on him and his family mean that he feels compelled to do so. Andy has told me that the focus on him was impeding his ability to do his job and was starting to prove a distraction for the Government.
During his time working for me, Andy has carried out his role with complete professionalism. He has been a brilliant member of my team and has thrown himself at the job with skill and dedication. He can be extremely proud of the role he has played, including for the last eight months in Government.
I wish Andy all the very best for his future, which I am certain will be a successful one.
11.48am: This is the second time Coulson has lost a high-profile job over the phone-hacking scandal. He quit as editor of the News of the World in January 2007 when Clive Goodman was jailed. Until now, the prime minister, David Cameron, had maintained Coulson "deserved a second chance". ...
News Corporation's defence that phone hacking at the News of the World was the work of a single "rogue reporter" was on the verge of collapse tonight after Glenn Mulcaire, the private detective at the centre of the case, said the paper's head of news commissioned him to access voicemail messages.
Mulcaire is understood to have submitted a statement to the high court this afternoon confirming that Ian Edmondson, the paper's assistant editor (news) asked him to hack into voicemail messages left on a mobile phone belonging to Sky Andrew, a football agent. Andrew is suing the paper for breach of privacy.
It is also understood that Mulcaire said in the court statement that several other executives at the News of the World were aware that phone hacking was taking place, although he does not name them.
A spokesman for the News of the World said: "This is a serious allegation that will form part of our internal investigation."
Edmondson was suspended by the paper before Christmas after he was named in court documents in a separate case against the News of the World brought by the actor Sienna Miller.
His computer has been impounded as part of the paper's internal investigation and the company is trawling through his emails. He is expected to be questioned after colleagues have been interviewed.
Mulcaire's decision to name Edmondson helps to explains why News Group acted so quickly to suspend him. ...
Mulcaire is understood to have submitted a statement to the high court this afternoon confirming that Ian Edmondson, the paper's assistant editor (news) asked him to hack into voicemail messages left on a mobile phone belonging to Sky Andrew, a football agent. Andrew is suing the paper for breach of privacy.
It is also understood that Mulcaire said in the court statement that several other executives at the News of the World were aware that phone hacking was taking place, although he does not name them.
A spokesman for the News of the World said: "This is a serious allegation that will form part of our internal investigation."
Edmondson was suspended by the paper before Christmas after he was named in court documents in a separate case against the News of the World brought by the actor Sienna Miller.
His computer has been impounded as part of the paper's internal investigation and the company is trawling through his emails. He is expected to be questioned after colleagues have been interviewed.
Mulcaire's decision to name Edmondson helps to explains why News Group acted so quickly to suspend him. ...
A protest was staged against rightwing talkshow host Glenn Beck today, calling for his immediate removal from Fox News.
The organisers, Jewish Funds for Justice (JFSJ), a charity that campaigns for social change, delivered a petition with 10,000 signatures.
In the wake of the Tucson shooting, the TV and radio personality has had to defend his record against accusations that he has whipped up hatred within the public discourse.
For a media figure who has been variously lambasted as a liar, buffoon, clown, bigot and racist Beck is no stranger to the vitriol that currently passes in America as public debate. In fact, he's built a multimillion dollar empire out of it.
So the protest rally that was staged outside the News Corporation headquarters in New York today probably troubled him as much as water flowing off a duck's back.
The petition was part of a groundswell of opinion that when it comes to Beck, arguably the most extreme of America's multitude of rightwing talk hosts, enough is now enough.
Amid the billowing criticism, Beck has defended himself by claiming he has "softened" the tone of his monologues over the past couple of years. "Nobody wants to recognise this. Why? Because it hurts their dialogue."
But the evidence belies his claim of moderation. The JFSJ accompanied the petition with a list of 10 of Beck's most egregious comments in 2010 (see below).
They include Beck's radio comment on the financier and philanthropist, George Soros, that "here's a Jewish boy helping send the Jews to the death camps". The remark was made in reference to Soros as a 13-year-old teenager in Hungary, who survived the Holocaust because his father hid their Jewish identity through elaborate forged documents.
The comment was made as part of a three-part Beck "exposé" of Soros on Fox News last November called the "Puppet Master". Beck's portrayal of Soros was so mendacious and malicious that he was accused by the New Yorker of broadcasting tropes that corresponded "uncannily to those of classical antisemitism". The Daily Beast noted that "nothing like it has ever been on American television before".
Simon Greer, JFSJ's president, said that following last Saturday's Tucson shootings, in which a Congresswoman was shot and six people died, it was time for action. "We are not accusing Glenn Beck or Roger Ailes or Rupert Murdoch of pulling the trigger in Tucson, only one man did that. But we are accusing them of playing to the worst in all of us." ...
The organisers, Jewish Funds for Justice (JFSJ), a charity that campaigns for social change, delivered a petition with 10,000 signatures.
In the wake of the Tucson shooting, the TV and radio personality has had to defend his record against accusations that he has whipped up hatred within the public discourse.
For a media figure who has been variously lambasted as a liar, buffoon, clown, bigot and racist Beck is no stranger to the vitriol that currently passes in America as public debate. In fact, he's built a multimillion dollar empire out of it.
So the protest rally that was staged outside the News Corporation headquarters in New York today probably troubled him as much as water flowing off a duck's back.
The petition was part of a groundswell of opinion that when it comes to Beck, arguably the most extreme of America's multitude of rightwing talk hosts, enough is now enough.
Amid the billowing criticism, Beck has defended himself by claiming he has "softened" the tone of his monologues over the past couple of years. "Nobody wants to recognise this. Why? Because it hurts their dialogue."
But the evidence belies his claim of moderation. The JFSJ accompanied the petition with a list of 10 of Beck's most egregious comments in 2010 (see below).
They include Beck's radio comment on the financier and philanthropist, George Soros, that "here's a Jewish boy helping send the Jews to the death camps". The remark was made in reference to Soros as a 13-year-old teenager in Hungary, who survived the Holocaust because his father hid their Jewish identity through elaborate forged documents.
The comment was made as part of a three-part Beck "exposé" of Soros on Fox News last November called the "Puppet Master". Beck's portrayal of Soros was so mendacious and malicious that he was accused by the New Yorker of broadcasting tropes that corresponded "uncannily to those of classical antisemitism". The Daily Beast noted that "nothing like it has ever been on American television before".
Simon Greer, JFSJ's president, said that following last Saturday's Tucson shootings, in which a Congresswoman was shot and six people died, it was time for action. "We are not accusing Glenn Beck or Roger Ailes or Rupert Murdoch of pulling the trigger in Tucson, only one man did that. But we are accusing them of playing to the worst in all of us." ...
Glenn Mulcaire, the former private investigator jailed for intercepting voicemails on phones used by aides to Princes William and Harry at the behest of the News of the World, has run up a legal bill of hundreds of thousands of pounds as he battles a string of ongoing phone-hacking lawsuits.
The expensive defence, estimated to be in excess of £500,000, has triggered speculation that the costs are being paid by the publishers of the tabloid newspaper, whose controlling shareholder, Rupert Murdoch, has said he would take "immediate action" against anybody found to be caught hacking again.
Mulcaire's costs are likely to rise quickly as a string of actions from more public figures suing both him and the newspaper are expected to follow in the next few weeks, adding to the pressure on a south Londoner described as unemployed and receiving jobseeker's allowance in a court judgment in February of last year.
Mulcaire's legal team refuses to say who is paying his bills. When Sarah Webb, his lawyer, was asked if it was known whether News International – owners of News Group Newspapers, the publisher of NotW – was paying his fees, she replied: "No, we don't know that." News International declined to comment. ...
The expensive defence, estimated to be in excess of £500,000, has triggered speculation that the costs are being paid by the publishers of the tabloid newspaper, whose controlling shareholder, Rupert Murdoch, has said he would take "immediate action" against anybody found to be caught hacking again.
Mulcaire's costs are likely to rise quickly as a string of actions from more public figures suing both him and the newspaper are expected to follow in the next few weeks, adding to the pressure on a south Londoner described as unemployed and receiving jobseeker's allowance in a court judgment in February of last year.
Mulcaire's legal team refuses to say who is paying his bills. When Sarah Webb, his lawyer, was asked if it was known whether News International – owners of News Group Newspapers, the publisher of NotW – was paying his fees, she replied: "No, we don't know that." News International declined to comment. ...
Brave Woman Who Grabbed Clip from Shooter Blames Right-Wing Media and Rhetoric ... In Fox News Interview
In an interview on Fox, the brave woman who helped stop Loughner calls out right-wing media for creating an environment that encourages violent impulses.
January 10, 2011 |
Patricia Maisch, 61, was the brave woman who kept alleged shooter Jared Loughner from unloading a second clip into a Tuscon crowd on Saturday. Wounded herself from a bullet, she saw him attempting to equip his gun with another magazine, grabbed him and knelt on his ankle, delaying the reload and potentially saving many more lives.
So when Fox News interviewed her on Sunday, they clearly wanted to know if her strength could translate to psychic healing as Americans grappled with the tragedy. “We've all noted the calmness with which all of you, who helped save the day, conducted yourself,” said Fox anchor Shepard Smith. “I just want to know now, a day later... if there's anything you can think of... that you might be able to turn into a positive. Is there anything that you can leave us with that will make us all feel better?”
“I think Sheriff Dupnik said it best that the extreme right reporters in radio and TV have added to this problem,” she responded. “And I'm just hoping that'll change because of this." She then specifically calls out Republicans for characterizing the health care bill as “job-killing.” "I think they've just gone over the top," she added. "I think that the extreme right has gone too far." ...
Brava, Goddess!
Ta much, dear Anneliese
In an interview on Fox, the brave woman who helped stop Loughner calls out right-wing media for creating an environment that encourages violent impulses.
January 10, 2011 |
Patricia Maisch, 61, was the brave woman who kept alleged shooter Jared Loughner from unloading a second clip into a Tuscon crowd on Saturday. Wounded herself from a bullet, she saw him attempting to equip his gun with another magazine, grabbed him and knelt on his ankle, delaying the reload and potentially saving many more lives.
So when Fox News interviewed her on Sunday, they clearly wanted to know if her strength could translate to psychic healing as Americans grappled with the tragedy. “We've all noted the calmness with which all of you, who helped save the day, conducted yourself,” said Fox anchor Shepard Smith. “I just want to know now, a day later... if there's anything you can think of... that you might be able to turn into a positive. Is there anything that you can leave us with that will make us all feel better?”
“I think Sheriff Dupnik said it best that the extreme right reporters in radio and TV have added to this problem,” she responded. “And I'm just hoping that'll change because of this." She then specifically calls out Republicans for characterizing the health care bill as “job-killing.” "I think they've just gone over the top," she added. "I think that the extreme right has gone too far." ...
Brava, Goddess!
Ta much, dear Anneliese
The Metropolitan police today faced calls for an independent review of its investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal as the former home secretary Alan Johnson called for an independent inquiry and Ed Balls branded the affair as increasingly "murky".
MPs on the cross-party Commons culture select committee, who will discuss the scandal next week after the announcement that a senior News of the World executive had been suspended, said the latest development raised fresh questions about alleged collusion between the police and News International. ...
MPs on the cross-party Commons culture select committee, who will discuss the scandal next week after the announcement that a senior News of the World executive had been suspended, said the latest development raised fresh questions about alleged collusion between the police and News International. ...
A senior News of the World executive has been suspended by the paper following a "serious allegation" that he was involved with phone hacking when the paper was edited by Andy Coulson, now the prime minister's director of communications.
It was revealed today that Ian Edmondson, the title's assistant editor, was "suspended from active duties" before Christmas, shortly after the Guardian obtained court documents which apparently showed that he had asked private investigator Glenn Mulcaire to hack into phones belonging to Sienna Miller and her staff in 2005.
The News of the World confirmed in a statement today that Edmondson had been suspended. It said it had launched an internal investigation into the claims and that "appropriate action" would be taken if they were found to be true.
The paper's former royal editor Clive Goodman was jailed along with Mulcaire in January 2007 after the two men were found guilty of illegally intercepting phone messages left on mobile phones belonging to members of the royal household. Coulson resigned when the men were sentenced, but he has always insisted that Goodman acted alone and that he and other executives knew nothing about their activities.
If it is proved Edmondson also used Mulcaire's services it would destroy the paper's carefully constructed public defence that Goodman was a rogue reporter. His suspension puts fresh pressure on Coulson, who has consistently maintained that he was unaware of any hacking while editor of the paper between 2003 and 2007. Edmondson was hired by Coulson and was part of the former editor's inner circle.
It also raises embarrassing questions for the Metropolitan police, who failed to interview any News of the World executive during the Goodman/Mulcaire investigation despite the fact that the name "Ian" appears on a number of documents seized from Mulcaire. ...
It was revealed today that Ian Edmondson, the title's assistant editor, was "suspended from active duties" before Christmas, shortly after the Guardian obtained court documents which apparently showed that he had asked private investigator Glenn Mulcaire to hack into phones belonging to Sienna Miller and her staff in 2005.
The News of the World confirmed in a statement today that Edmondson had been suspended. It said it had launched an internal investigation into the claims and that "appropriate action" would be taken if they were found to be true.
The paper's former royal editor Clive Goodman was jailed along with Mulcaire in January 2007 after the two men were found guilty of illegally intercepting phone messages left on mobile phones belonging to members of the royal household. Coulson resigned when the men were sentenced, but he has always insisted that Goodman acted alone and that he and other executives knew nothing about their activities.
If it is proved Edmondson also used Mulcaire's services it would destroy the paper's carefully constructed public defence that Goodman was a rogue reporter. His suspension puts fresh pressure on Coulson, who has consistently maintained that he was unaware of any hacking while editor of the paper between 2003 and 2007. Edmondson was hired by Coulson and was part of the former editor's inner circle.
It also raises embarrassing questions for the Metropolitan police, who failed to interview any News of the World executive during the Goodman/Mulcaire investigation despite the fact that the name "Ian" appears on a number of documents seized from Mulcaire. ...
... On Tuesday afternoon, a set of emails surfaced on the Philadelphia news site Phawker. Phawker said that the emails showed the "100% for real" correspondence between Olbermann and Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky over the weekend. In the emails, "Olbermann" talks about his boss, MSNBC President Phil Griffin, in hyperbolic, insulting terms.
In one email, "Olbermann" says that Griffin is "not my boss (thank god), nor is he intellectually qualified to be...I'll be anchoring on election night 2012, long after Phil Griffin has moved on to a job for which he's actually qualified, perhaps on QVC."
In another, "Olbermann" writes that "I could have Phil Griffin fired tomorrow if I felt like it, trust me. And if he keeps yapping about me in public, I may. For the moment, however, keeping Phil around is like having a drunk chimp in the office -- more amusing than threatening."
The incendiary emails seemed too good to be true -- and they were. They were sent from keith@keitholbermann.com. That's an address that is not owned by Olbermann, but by Carlson. In July, Carlson announced that he had purchased the domain name KeithOlbermann.com, and told Politico that people could email him at Keith@KeithOlbermann.com -- the same address that the emails to Bykofsky came from.
On Tuesday night, Yahoo's Michael Calderone reached Carlson by phone. Carlson confirmed that he had, in fact, sent the emails posing as Olbermann.
"Could you resist?" Carlson said. "It was just too funny. The flesh is weak."
Yeah, and so's your tiny little brain, f---I mean tucker.
In one email, "Olbermann" says that Griffin is "not my boss (thank god), nor is he intellectually qualified to be...I'll be anchoring on election night 2012, long after Phil Griffin has moved on to a job for which he's actually qualified, perhaps on QVC."
In another, "Olbermann" writes that "I could have Phil Griffin fired tomorrow if I felt like it, trust me. And if he keeps yapping about me in public, I may. For the moment, however, keeping Phil around is like having a drunk chimp in the office -- more amusing than threatening."
The incendiary emails seemed too good to be true -- and they were. They were sent from keith@keitholbermann.com. That's an address that is not owned by Olbermann, but by Carlson. In July, Carlson announced that he had purchased the domain name KeithOlbermann.com, and told Politico that people could email him at Keith@KeithOlbermann.com -- the same address that the emails to Bykofsky came from.
On Tuesday night, Yahoo's Michael Calderone reached Carlson by phone. Carlson confirmed that he had, in fact, sent the emails posing as Olbermann.
"Could you resist?" Carlson said. "It was just too funny. The flesh is weak."
Yeah, and so's your tiny little brain, f---I mean tucker.
David Cameron faced renewed pressure over his decision to retain Andy Coulson as his communications chief last night after the former tabloid editor was questioned by police over allegations of phone-hacking at the News of the World.
Labour raised the stakes when the party's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, said it was now time for the prime minister to take a detailed interest in the controversy, rather than brushing aside claims about one of his closest aides.
Downing Street confirmed that Coulson attended a meeting with Metropolitan police officers voluntarily on Thursday and was interviewed as a witness. He was not cautioned or arrested.
Stoking a row that Cameron is desperate to close down, Harman said there were now questions to be answered. "The continued presence of Andy Coulson as director of communications at No 10 when question marks hang over him casts doubt over David Cameron's judgment," said Harman. "It is time he took this matter seriously."
Coulson was editor of the News of the World when its royal reporter, Clive Goodman, was jailed for conspiracy to access phone messages involving Princes William and Harry, but Coulson has always insisted he did not know about or authorise illegal activity.
A Metropolitan police inquiry was revived earlier this year following an investigation by the New York Times which alleged that the practice was more widespread at the Sunday paper than previously admitted.
A Downing Street spokesman said yesterday: "Andy Coulson voluntarily attended a meeting with Metropolitan police officers on Thursday morning at a solicitor's office in London. Mr Coulson – who first offered to meet the police two months ago – was interviewed as a witness and was not cautioned or arrested."
Scotland Yard said in a statement: "We do not discuss persons interviewed as potential witnesses." ...
Labour raised the stakes when the party's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, said it was now time for the prime minister to take a detailed interest in the controversy, rather than brushing aside claims about one of his closest aides.
Downing Street confirmed that Coulson attended a meeting with Metropolitan police officers voluntarily on Thursday and was interviewed as a witness. He was not cautioned or arrested.
Stoking a row that Cameron is desperate to close down, Harman said there were now questions to be answered. "The continued presence of Andy Coulson as director of communications at No 10 when question marks hang over him casts doubt over David Cameron's judgment," said Harman. "It is time he took this matter seriously."
Coulson was editor of the News of the World when its royal reporter, Clive Goodman, was jailed for conspiracy to access phone messages involving Princes William and Harry, but Coulson has always insisted he did not know about or authorise illegal activity.
A Metropolitan police inquiry was revived earlier this year following an investigation by the New York Times which alleged that the practice was more widespread at the Sunday paper than previously admitted.
A Downing Street spokesman said yesterday: "Andy Coulson voluntarily attended a meeting with Metropolitan police officers on Thursday morning at a solicitor's office in London. Mr Coulson – who first offered to meet the police two months ago – was interviewed as a witness and was not cautioned or arrested."
Scotland Yard said in a statement: "We do not discuss persons interviewed as potential witnesses." ...
David Cameron defends Andy Coulson – but says no one is 'unsackable'
PM praises director of communications after fresh allegations by Channel 4 film over phone hacking at News of the World
Nicholas Watt
Tuesday 5 October 2010
David Cameron said last night that nobody on his team is unsackable, as he faced questions about his communications director, Andy Coulson.
In a Channel 4 News interview, the prime minister defended Coulson, who is facing allegations that he knew about illegal phone hacking during his time as editor of the News of the World.
Asked by Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow whether Coulson was unsackable, Cameron said: "No one is unsackable. But … we haven't had one single complaint about how he has done his job, or indeed about how the Downing Street press office has done its job. That is quite a contrast from the years of [Labour's director of communications] Alastair Campbell and [special adviser] Damian McBride and all the rest of them."
Cameron faced renewed questions about the phone hacking scandal after new allegations that Coulson personally listened to the intercepted voicemail messages of public figures. The allegations were aired on the Channel 4 Dispatches programme on Monday night.
Former Labour minister Tom Watson, MP for West Bromwich East, said the new allegations made against Coulson were "new, far-reaching and warrant investigation". He wrote to Cameron calling for a statement to parliament, after an unnamed former News International executive was quoted.
Coulson resigned as editor of the News of the World after Clive Goodman, the paper's former royal editor, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator paid by the newspaper, were jailed for illegal phone hacking.
Coulson, who resigned on the basis that he took "ultimate" responsibility for their actions, has consistently denied any knowledge of the phone hacking. ...
PM praises director of communications after fresh allegations by Channel 4 film over phone hacking at News of the World
Nicholas Watt
Tuesday 5 October 2010
David Cameron said last night that nobody on his team is unsackable, as he faced questions about his communications director, Andy Coulson.
In a Channel 4 News interview, the prime minister defended Coulson, who is facing allegations that he knew about illegal phone hacking during his time as editor of the News of the World.
Asked by Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow whether Coulson was unsackable, Cameron said: "No one is unsackable. But … we haven't had one single complaint about how he has done his job, or indeed about how the Downing Street press office has done its job. That is quite a contrast from the years of [Labour's director of communications] Alastair Campbell and [special adviser] Damian McBride and all the rest of them."
Cameron faced renewed questions about the phone hacking scandal after new allegations that Coulson personally listened to the intercepted voicemail messages of public figures. The allegations were aired on the Channel 4 Dispatches programme on Monday night.
Former Labour minister Tom Watson, MP for West Bromwich East, said the new allegations made against Coulson were "new, far-reaching and warrant investigation". He wrote to Cameron calling for a statement to parliament, after an unnamed former News International executive was quoted.
Coulson resigned as editor of the News of the World after Clive Goodman, the paper's former royal editor, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator paid by the newspaper, were jailed for illegal phone hacking.
Coulson, who resigned on the basis that he took "ultimate" responsibility for their actions, has consistently denied any knowledge of the phone hacking. ...
Phone-hacking scandal: Andy Coulson 'listened to intercepted messages'
Anonymous source tells Channel Four David Cameron's media adviser would ask for recordings to be played for him at News of the World
Nick Davies
Sunday 3 October 2010
The prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, personally listened to the intercepted voicemail messages of public figures when he edited the News of the World, a senior journalist who worked alongside him has said.
Coulson has always denied knowing about any illegal activity by the journalists who worked for him, but an unidentified former executive from the paper told Channel Four Dispatches that Coulson not only knew his reporters were using intercepted voicemail but was also personally involved.
"Sometimes, they would say: 'We've got a recording' and Andy would say: 'OK, bring it into my office and play it to me' or 'Bring me, email me a transcript of it'," the journalist said.
The claim, due to be broadcast tomorrow night, goes beyond earlier statements by Coulson's former colleagues.
Sean Hoare, a showbusiness reporter, told the New York Times Coulson had "actively encouraged" him to intercept voicemail.
Paul McMullan, who handled investigations, told the Guardian illegal activity was so widespread in the newsroom that Coulson must have known about it. Coulson has denied all the claims.
Channel Four's anonymous witness, whose words are spoken by an actor in the programme, says: "Andy was a very good editor.
"He was very conscientious and he wouldn't let stories pass unless he was sure they were correct ... so, if the evidence that a reporter had was a recorded phone message, that would be what Andy would know about.
"So you'd have to say: 'Yes, there's a recorded message.' You go and either play it to him or show him a transcript of it, in order to satisfy him that you weren't going to get sued, that it wasn't made up."
In evidence to a House of Commons select committee last year, Coulson said he could not remember any instance of voicemail being intercepted during his six years at the paper.
He resigned in January 2007 after the tabloid's royal correspondent, Clive Goodman, was jailed for listening to the voicemails of three members of the royal household. "I am absolutely sure that Clive's case was a very unfortunate rogue case," he told the committee.
Channel Four's witness said: "It was fairly common – not so common that everybody was doing it. That wasn't the case at all. But the people who did know how to do it would do it regularly." ...
... Brian Paddick, a former deputy assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard who is also taking the police to court, suggested that his former colleagues' decision to cut short their original investigation may have been influenced by their links with the News of the World.
"That relationship was well worth protecting ... when you have something as big as this, where you're talking about potentially a large investigation involving illegal activity, you can see how potentially pressure could have been brought to bear," he said. ...
Anonymous source tells Channel Four David Cameron's media adviser would ask for recordings to be played for him at News of the World
Nick Davies
Sunday 3 October 2010
The prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, personally listened to the intercepted voicemail messages of public figures when he edited the News of the World, a senior journalist who worked alongside him has said.
Coulson has always denied knowing about any illegal activity by the journalists who worked for him, but an unidentified former executive from the paper told Channel Four Dispatches that Coulson not only knew his reporters were using intercepted voicemail but was also personally involved.
"Sometimes, they would say: 'We've got a recording' and Andy would say: 'OK, bring it into my office and play it to me' or 'Bring me, email me a transcript of it'," the journalist said.
The claim, due to be broadcast tomorrow night, goes beyond earlier statements by Coulson's former colleagues.
Sean Hoare, a showbusiness reporter, told the New York Times Coulson had "actively encouraged" him to intercept voicemail.
Paul McMullan, who handled investigations, told the Guardian illegal activity was so widespread in the newsroom that Coulson must have known about it. Coulson has denied all the claims.
Channel Four's anonymous witness, whose words are spoken by an actor in the programme, says: "Andy was a very good editor.
"He was very conscientious and he wouldn't let stories pass unless he was sure they were correct ... so, if the evidence that a reporter had was a recorded phone message, that would be what Andy would know about.
"So you'd have to say: 'Yes, there's a recorded message.' You go and either play it to him or show him a transcript of it, in order to satisfy him that you weren't going to get sued, that it wasn't made up."
In evidence to a House of Commons select committee last year, Coulson said he could not remember any instance of voicemail being intercepted during his six years at the paper.
He resigned in January 2007 after the tabloid's royal correspondent, Clive Goodman, was jailed for listening to the voicemails of three members of the royal household. "I am absolutely sure that Clive's case was a very unfortunate rogue case," he told the committee.
Channel Four's witness said: "It was fairly common – not so common that everybody was doing it. That wasn't the case at all. But the people who did know how to do it would do it regularly." ...
... Brian Paddick, a former deputy assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard who is also taking the police to court, suggested that his former colleagues' decision to cut short their original investigation may have been influenced by their links with the News of the World.
"That relationship was well worth protecting ... when you have something as big as this, where you're talking about potentially a large investigation involving illegal activity, you can see how potentially pressure could have been brought to bear," he said. ...
...Clementi killed himself, jumping off the George Washington Bridge three days after the incident. Meanwhile, on CNN, Rick Sanchez couldn’t be persuaded that this disgusting affair reeeeeally qualified as “bullying.”
While we can respect Sanchez taking some unpopular stances on this story (he makes some good points about the slippery slope of trying to charge Ravi and Wei with Clementi’s death instead of merely invasion of privacy) his opinions on “bullying” are just weird. He doesn’t just believe that this isn’t bullying, he appears to not believe bullying is a real thing to begin with.
“‘Bullying?’ How is this bullying? You know, this whole term, it’s a psycho-babble, media term that we’ve made up. A person is mean to another person. How is this bullying?”
A term made up by the media? Maybe “cyber-bullying,” but Merriam-Webster has the first known use of the word “bully” as happening in 1693. Arguing that “bullying” is a made up term is kind of like arguing that the word “green” is a made up term.
Sanchez frequently is criticized by people as being a bit of a “meathead.” This is unfair. Still though, if he wants to escape that impression, he probably shouldn’t go on TV and claim that bullying doesn’t exist while doing a report on a dead teenager. ...
While we can respect Sanchez taking some unpopular stances on this story (he makes some good points about the slippery slope of trying to charge Ravi and Wei with Clementi’s death instead of merely invasion of privacy) his opinions on “bullying” are just weird. He doesn’t just believe that this isn’t bullying, he appears to not believe bullying is a real thing to begin with.
“‘Bullying?’ How is this bullying? You know, this whole term, it’s a psycho-babble, media term that we’ve made up. A person is mean to another person. How is this bullying?”
A term made up by the media? Maybe “cyber-bullying,” but Merriam-Webster has the first known use of the word “bully” as happening in 1693. Arguing that “bullying” is a made up term is kind of like arguing that the word “green” is a made up term.
Sanchez frequently is criticized by people as being a bit of a “meathead.” This is unfair. Still though, if he wants to escape that impression, he probably shouldn’t go on TV and claim that bullying doesn’t exist while doing a report on a dead teenager. ...
Murdoch doubles News Corp support for Republicans
• News Corporation gives $1m to anti-Democrat campaign
• Rupert Murdoch's second donation in run-up to elections
Ed Pilkington in New York
Friday 1 October 2010
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has doubled its backing of the Republican party in advance of next month's mid-term elections by awarding $1m to an interest group that is leading the attack on Democratic candidates through political TV advertising.
The donation, revealed first by the website Politico, was made to the United States Chamber of Commerce, which has a stated intention to spend $75m on November's elections. Most of its money has gone into "attack adverts" targeted against Democratic candidates.
This is the second downpayment in three months by Murdoch to the Republican cause in its battle to give Barack Obama a bloody nose in the 2 November elections to the Senate and House of Representatives. In June, News Corporation gave $1m to the Republican Governors Association.
That donation led to widespread criticism that Murdoch was blatantly in breach of journalistic ethics. His Fox News channel claims to be "fair and balanced" in its reporting of political races, yet when the association of Democratic governors called on the TV channel to add a disclaimer to its coverage, revealing that its proprietor was funding the Republicans, it made no such concession.
The latest donation is likely to rekindle the debate about Murdoch's influence on the American political process. Fox News has frequently come under scrutiny for the unashamedly slanted nature of much of its coverage, particularly through commentators such as the Tea Party-backing Glenn Beck.
The dispute has reached as far as the White House. Obama told Rolling Stone magazine this week that in his opinion Fox News had "a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world".
News Corporation has consistently denied a political motive in its sponsorship of interest groups. It claims instead to be backing a "pro-business" stance.
But a survey by the Wesleyan Media Project shows that of interest groups buying political advertising for the US Senate and House races since January, Murdoch has given large sums to two of the three highest spenders.
The Republican Governors Association is the biggest spender, having lent support to Republican candidates with more than 19,000 adverts at a cost of $12m. ...
• News Corporation gives $1m to anti-Democrat campaign
• Rupert Murdoch's second donation in run-up to elections
Ed Pilkington in New York
Friday 1 October 2010
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has doubled its backing of the Republican party in advance of next month's mid-term elections by awarding $1m to an interest group that is leading the attack on Democratic candidates through political TV advertising.
The donation, revealed first by the website Politico, was made to the United States Chamber of Commerce, which has a stated intention to spend $75m on November's elections. Most of its money has gone into "attack adverts" targeted against Democratic candidates.
This is the second downpayment in three months by Murdoch to the Republican cause in its battle to give Barack Obama a bloody nose in the 2 November elections to the Senate and House of Representatives. In June, News Corporation gave $1m to the Republican Governors Association.
That donation led to widespread criticism that Murdoch was blatantly in breach of journalistic ethics. His Fox News channel claims to be "fair and balanced" in its reporting of political races, yet when the association of Democratic governors called on the TV channel to add a disclaimer to its coverage, revealing that its proprietor was funding the Republicans, it made no such concession.
The latest donation is likely to rekindle the debate about Murdoch's influence on the American political process. Fox News has frequently come under scrutiny for the unashamedly slanted nature of much of its coverage, particularly through commentators such as the Tea Party-backing Glenn Beck.
The dispute has reached as far as the White House. Obama told Rolling Stone magazine this week that in his opinion Fox News had "a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world".
News Corporation has consistently denied a political motive in its sponsorship of interest groups. It claims instead to be backing a "pro-business" stance.
But a survey by the Wesleyan Media Project shows that of interest groups buying political advertising for the US Senate and House races since January, Murdoch has given large sums to two of the three highest spenders.
The Republican Governors Association is the biggest spender, having lent support to Republican candidates with more than 19,000 adverts at a cost of $12m. ...
The police watchdog believed as far back as a year ago that it should carry out an independent review of the Metropolitan police's handling of the investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, the Guardian understands.
Senior figures at Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary decided last summer that there was sufficient public interest in the matter for it to investigate the handling of the case by the Met. The inspectorate eventually decided against undertaking a review because it did not have sufficient resources at the time.
The disclosure of the inspectorate's concerns may increase pressure on the Met, which is facing the threat of a series of legal actions over an allegedly slow response in alerting public figures and celebrities that they may have been targeted by a private investigator employed by the News of the World.
Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, is the most senior political figure seeking a judicial review of the police action. Prescott, whose name was found on papers seized from the office of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, is demanding damages from Scotland Yard for initially failing to inform him about the documents.
The inspectorate's interest in the case may raise questions about senior figures in the Home Office. The Guardian disclosed last month that Stephen Rimmer, the Home Office director general for crime and policing, had warned last summer that Scotland Yard would "deeply resent" a review of its investigation by the inspectorate. Senior officials at the inspectorate conducted their preliminary inquiry last summer after fresh allegations about the phone-hacking scandal were published by the Guardian in July 2009.
The paper reported that News Group Newspapers paid out more than £1m to settle legal cases that threatened to reveal the repeated involvement of journalists in illegal methods to obtain stories. ...
Senior figures at Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary decided last summer that there was sufficient public interest in the matter for it to investigate the handling of the case by the Met. The inspectorate eventually decided against undertaking a review because it did not have sufficient resources at the time.
The disclosure of the inspectorate's concerns may increase pressure on the Met, which is facing the threat of a series of legal actions over an allegedly slow response in alerting public figures and celebrities that they may have been targeted by a private investigator employed by the News of the World.
Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, is the most senior political figure seeking a judicial review of the police action. Prescott, whose name was found on papers seized from the office of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, is demanding damages from Scotland Yard for initially failing to inform him about the documents.
The inspectorate's interest in the case may raise questions about senior figures in the Home Office. The Guardian disclosed last month that Stephen Rimmer, the Home Office director general for crime and policing, had warned last summer that Scotland Yard would "deeply resent" a review of its investigation by the inspectorate. Senior officials at the inspectorate conducted their preliminary inquiry last summer after fresh allegations about the phone-hacking scandal were published by the Guardian in July 2009.
The paper reported that News Group Newspapers paid out more than £1m to settle legal cases that threatened to reveal the repeated involvement of journalists in illegal methods to obtain stories. ...
And so the Press Complaints Commission sits there, not as King Canute failing to turn back the tide of voicemail hacking, but as the embodiment of all three monkeys, seeing nothing, saying nothing, and doing nothing.
The News of the World now assures us it has "zero tolerance" of phone hacking. Bill Akass, the managing editor, says that if the latest case is proven, the perpetrator will be dismissed for "gross misconduct without compensation". That is an improvement on the position adopted after the convictions of Clive Goodman (the former royal correspondent) and Glenn Mulcaire (a private investigator). Both were paid off, and to this day both remain silent.
After the phone hacking story broke, the PCC, the regulator of the press financed by the press, did nothing.
It continues to do nothing while making noises that "phone message hacking is deplorable". The excuses for doing nothing are varied but the outcome is the same. ...
The News of the World now assures us it has "zero tolerance" of phone hacking. Bill Akass, the managing editor, says that if the latest case is proven, the perpetrator will be dismissed for "gross misconduct without compensation". That is an improvement on the position adopted after the convictions of Clive Goodman (the former royal correspondent) and Glenn Mulcaire (a private investigator). Both were paid off, and to this day both remain silent.
After the phone hacking story broke, the PCC, the regulator of the press financed by the press, did nothing.
It continues to do nothing while making noises that "phone message hacking is deplorable". The excuses for doing nothing are varied but the outcome is the same. ...
John Prescott furious over unrevealed link to phone-hacking scandal
Documents held by Metropolitan police suggest News of the World targeted former deputy prime minister
Toby Helm and Jamie Doward
4 September 2010
John Prescott tonight demanded the Metropolitan police reopen its investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal as the Observer revealed that Scotland Yard holds News International documents suggesting that he was a target when deputy prime minister.
Two invoices held by the Met mention Prescott by name. They appear to show that News International, owner of the NoW, paid Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the heart of the scandal, for his help on stories relating to the deputy PM. Lord Prescott spoke of his anger that the information, spelled out in a letter from the Yard's legal services directorate, emerged only after he was given a series of personal reassurances by detectives at the highest level that there was "no evidence" his phone may have been hacked.
The invoices are both dated May 2006, at a time when Prescott was the subject of intense media scrutiny following revelations that he had had an affair with his secretary, Tracey Temple. There is also a piece of paper obtained from Mulcaire on which the name "John Prescott" is written. The only other legible word on this document is "Hull".
The name "Prescott" appears on two "self-billing tax invoices" from News International Supply Company Ltd to Mulcaire's company, Nine Consultancy.
The Yard's letter, obtained by the Observer, states: "One appears to be for a single payment of £250 on 7/5/2006 labelled 'Story: other Prescott Assist -txt.' The second, also for £250, on 21/5/2006 contains the words 'Story: Other Prescott Assist -txt urgent'."
The legal services directorate adds: "We do not know what this means or what it is referring to."
In a statement to the Observer, Prescott said he formed the impression that the police were more intent on withholding information relating directly to him. "I have been far from satisfied with the Metropolitan police's procedure in dealing with my requests to uncover the truth about this case," he said. ...
Documents held by Metropolitan police suggest News of the World targeted former deputy prime minister
Toby Helm and Jamie Doward
4 September 2010
John Prescott tonight demanded the Metropolitan police reopen its investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal as the Observer revealed that Scotland Yard holds News International documents suggesting that he was a target when deputy prime minister.
Two invoices held by the Met mention Prescott by name. They appear to show that News International, owner of the NoW, paid Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the heart of the scandal, for his help on stories relating to the deputy PM. Lord Prescott spoke of his anger that the information, spelled out in a letter from the Yard's legal services directorate, emerged only after he was given a series of personal reassurances by detectives at the highest level that there was "no evidence" his phone may have been hacked.
The invoices are both dated May 2006, at a time when Prescott was the subject of intense media scrutiny following revelations that he had had an affair with his secretary, Tracey Temple. There is also a piece of paper obtained from Mulcaire on which the name "John Prescott" is written. The only other legible word on this document is "Hull".
The name "Prescott" appears on two "self-billing tax invoices" from News International Supply Company Ltd to Mulcaire's company, Nine Consultancy.
The Yard's letter, obtained by the Observer, states: "One appears to be for a single payment of £250 on 7/5/2006 labelled 'Story: other Prescott Assist -txt.' The second, also for £250, on 21/5/2006 contains the words 'Story: Other Prescott Assist -txt urgent'."
The legal services directorate adds: "We do not know what this means or what it is referring to."
In a statement to the Observer, Prescott said he formed the impression that the police were more intent on withholding information relating directly to him. "I have been far from satisfied with the Metropolitan police's procedure in dealing with my requests to uncover the truth about this case," he said. ...
News of the World faces fresh phone hacking charge
• Calls for judicial inquiry after reporter is suspended
• Latest phone hacking allegation dates from earlier this year
• Four targets poised to sue police over failure to warn them
Nick Davies, Vikram Dodd and Nicholas Watt
Thursday 2 September 2010
The government tonight came under pressure to set up a judicial inquiry into the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World after the paper confirmed that it has suspended a journalist while it investigates new allegations of the unlawful interception of voicemail.
The prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, has denied a report in the New York Times which claimed he freely discussed the use of unlawful news-gathering techniques when he was editing the paper and "actively encouraged" a named reporter to engage in illegal interception of voicemail messages. Coulson has always denied knowing of any illegal activity by his journalists.
Scotland Yard, too, found itself in the firing line after the New York Times quoted unnamed detectives alleging they had cut short their investigation because of their close relationship with the News of the World. A group of four public figures, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott, is poised to sue police over a failure to warn them they had been targeted by the private investigator at the centre of the scandal, Glenn Mulcaire.
The Guardian has learned that the Metropolitan police commissioner at the time of the original investigation, Sir Ian Blair, was among those whose names were found in material seized from Mulcaire, raising questions about whether officers who were directly involved in the investigation had discovered that they, too, had been targets of the newspaper. It is understood Blair was assured at the time that his phone had not been hacked.
The former Labour minister Tom Watson today called on the government to set up an inquiry into the relationship between Scotland Yard and Rupert Murdoch's News Group, which publishes the News of the World. In a letter which was addressed to the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, in the absence of the prime minister, who is on paternity leave, Watson wrote: "The testimony given to the New York Times is that the police did not share all the relevant information with the Crown Prosecution Service, and that, if they had done, the CPS would have reached a different conclusion. These are clear grounds for a judicial inquiry.
"I think that information should be made available to the people concerned." ...
• Calls for judicial inquiry after reporter is suspended
• Latest phone hacking allegation dates from earlier this year
• Four targets poised to sue police over failure to warn them
Nick Davies, Vikram Dodd and Nicholas Watt
Thursday 2 September 2010
The government tonight came under pressure to set up a judicial inquiry into the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World after the paper confirmed that it has suspended a journalist while it investigates new allegations of the unlawful interception of voicemail.
The prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, has denied a report in the New York Times which claimed he freely discussed the use of unlawful news-gathering techniques when he was editing the paper and "actively encouraged" a named reporter to engage in illegal interception of voicemail messages. Coulson has always denied knowing of any illegal activity by his journalists.
Scotland Yard, too, found itself in the firing line after the New York Times quoted unnamed detectives alleging they had cut short their investigation because of their close relationship with the News of the World. A group of four public figures, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott, is poised to sue police over a failure to warn them they had been targeted by the private investigator at the centre of the scandal, Glenn Mulcaire.
The Guardian has learned that the Metropolitan police commissioner at the time of the original investigation, Sir Ian Blair, was among those whose names were found in material seized from Mulcaire, raising questions about whether officers who were directly involved in the investigation had discovered that they, too, had been targets of the newspaper. It is understood Blair was assured at the time that his phone had not been hacked.
The former Labour minister Tom Watson today called on the government to set up an inquiry into the relationship between Scotland Yard and Rupert Murdoch's News Group, which publishes the News of the World. In a letter which was addressed to the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, in the absence of the prime minister, who is on paternity leave, Watson wrote: "The testimony given to the New York Times is that the police did not share all the relevant information with the Crown Prosecution Service, and that, if they had done, the CPS would have reached a different conclusion. These are clear grounds for a judicial inquiry.
"I think that information should be made available to the people concerned." ...
How the Mail on Sunday fell for notorious ‘Steve Jobs’ spoof tweet
By Tim Edwards
LAST UPDATED JUNE 28, 2010
Apple and iPhone-bashing scoops are like gold dust on the internet. So it was with a certain amount of glee that the Mail on Sunday reported yesterday that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had said he may have to recall his new must-have smartphone, the iPhone 4.
The Mail reported: "The much-vaunted new iPhone 4 may be recalled, Apple boss Steve Jobs revealed last night. Posting a message on the social networking site Twitter, the tycoon said: 'We may have to recall the new iPhone. This I did not expect'."
There was only one problem. CEOSteveJobs is the Twitter account of an impostor. The owner admits as much in their bio, which reads: "I don't care what you think of me. You care what I think of you. Of course this is a parody account."
The page includes a number of other even less credible tweets than the one about an iPhone 4 recall, including: "Just FaceTimed my wife. If you know what I mean."
The Mail on Sunday realised its embarrassing error at some point yesterday and removed the article from the internet, although it can still be seen here. ...
By Tim Edwards
LAST UPDATED JUNE 28, 2010
Apple and iPhone-bashing scoops are like gold dust on the internet. So it was with a certain amount of glee that the Mail on Sunday reported yesterday that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had said he may have to recall his new must-have smartphone, the iPhone 4.
The Mail reported: "The much-vaunted new iPhone 4 may be recalled, Apple boss Steve Jobs revealed last night. Posting a message on the social networking site Twitter, the tycoon said: 'We may have to recall the new iPhone. This I did not expect'."
There was only one problem. CEOSteveJobs is the Twitter account of an impostor. The owner admits as much in their bio, which reads: "I don't care what you think of me. You care what I think of you. Of course this is a parody account."
The page includes a number of other even less credible tweets than the one about an iPhone 4 recall, including: "Just FaceTimed my wife. If you know what I mean."
The Mail on Sunday realised its embarrassing error at some point yesterday and removed the article from the internet, although it can still be seen here. ...
David Cameron's close adviser, Andy Coulson, tonight came under fresh attack after the disclosure of new evidence of the News of the World's role in the illegal interception of the royal household's voicemail messages during his time as editor.
The evidence is in the outline for a book planned by the private investigator at the centre of the affair, Glenn Mulcaire. The outline was written before Mulcaire signed a deal with the paper which stopped the book's publication and gagged him from speaking about the scandal.
The outline directly contradicts the News of the World's claim that Mulcaire broke the law without the paper's knowledge or consent. It describes an unnamed editorial executive at the News of the World commissioning Mulcaire to intercept the royal messages and claims that the paper pressed him to continue with the interceptions when he tried to stop.
It also refers to an unnamed person approaching him to "change his story", although it does not say whether this was an employee of the News of the World. Coulson has insisted that he does not remember any of his journalists being involved in breaking the law.
Labour's business secretary, Peter Mandelson, said: "The idea that as editor of the News of the World Andy Coulson was not aware of this activity beggars belief. If the election in less than a week goes the Tories' way, we would see this man taking on a major role in the British government. People should think long and hard before considering voting Conservative."
The Lib Dems' home affairs spokesman, Chris Huhne, said: "Coulson is in this up to his neck and it is shocking that Cameron continues to employ someone with his history of presiding over skulduggery. It was always an astonishing lapse of judgment to hire someone who was either complicit in criminal activity or the most incompetent editor in Fleet Street's modern history." ...
The evidence is in the outline for a book planned by the private investigator at the centre of the affair, Glenn Mulcaire. The outline was written before Mulcaire signed a deal with the paper which stopped the book's publication and gagged him from speaking about the scandal.
The outline directly contradicts the News of the World's claim that Mulcaire broke the law without the paper's knowledge or consent. It describes an unnamed editorial executive at the News of the World commissioning Mulcaire to intercept the royal messages and claims that the paper pressed him to continue with the interceptions when he tried to stop.
It also refers to an unnamed person approaching him to "change his story", although it does not say whether this was an employee of the News of the World. Coulson has insisted that he does not remember any of his journalists being involved in breaking the law.
Labour's business secretary, Peter Mandelson, said: "The idea that as editor of the News of the World Andy Coulson was not aware of this activity beggars belief. If the election in less than a week goes the Tories' way, we would see this man taking on a major role in the British government. People should think long and hard before considering voting Conservative."
The Lib Dems' home affairs spokesman, Chris Huhne, said: "Coulson is in this up to his neck and it is shocking that Cameron continues to employ someone with his history of presiding over skulduggery. It was always an astonishing lapse of judgment to hire someone who was either complicit in criminal activity or the most incompetent editor in Fleet Street's modern history." ...
Exclusive: Phone-tapping inquiry over John Terry affair
Vanessa Perroncel, in her first interview since news of her affair with ex-England captain emerged, reveals how her refusal to talk to the tabloids caused a prolonged campaign of vilification
Saturday 10 April 2010
An official inquiry has been launched into the suspected interception of voicemail messages around the tabloid newspaper story of the former England football captain John Terry and his alleged affair with a French model.
The inquiry, which is being led from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), will cause concern in Fleet Street, where newspapers and the Press Complaints Commission have insisted that this kind of illegal activity has been stamped out since the jailing of a News of the World reporter in January 2007.
The evidence focuses on the phone records of Vanessa Perroncel and of one of her close friends, Antonia Graham. Perroncel was accused by tabloids of having an affair with Terry.
One allegation involves the interception of a live telephone call between the two women, a more serious offence than listening to phone messages.
In her first interview since the story broke, published in the Guardian today, Perroncel, the former partner of the Manchester City and England footballer Wayne Bridge, says of her experience at the hands of the tabloid pack: "It is horrible. It is like a nightmare. Every day you think: 'What else are they going to say about me?' It is so intrusive and so false. Every day, so many lies – and then people making judgments because of the lies."
Her lawyers this week formally warned seven national newspapers that she is moving to sue them for breach of privacy over reports that claimed to expose her personal life, including her sexual relationships, her medical history, her finances and her wider family's personal problems. ...
... Perroncel says she refused to speak to journalists but that the quote is an accurate account of what she said – in a private phone call to Antonia Graham.
Perroncel told the Guardian: "Antonia did not sell that quotation. I know she does not do that. So how did they get it? There have been other times when the same thing has happened: a conversation with a friend ends up word for word in the paper." ...
Vanessa Perroncel, in her first interview since news of her affair with ex-England captain emerged, reveals how her refusal to talk to the tabloids caused a prolonged campaign of vilification
Saturday 10 April 2010
An official inquiry has been launched into the suspected interception of voicemail messages around the tabloid newspaper story of the former England football captain John Terry and his alleged affair with a French model.
The inquiry, which is being led from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), will cause concern in Fleet Street, where newspapers and the Press Complaints Commission have insisted that this kind of illegal activity has been stamped out since the jailing of a News of the World reporter in January 2007.
The evidence focuses on the phone records of Vanessa Perroncel and of one of her close friends, Antonia Graham. Perroncel was accused by tabloids of having an affair with Terry.
One allegation involves the interception of a live telephone call between the two women, a more serious offence than listening to phone messages.
In her first interview since the story broke, published in the Guardian today, Perroncel, the former partner of the Manchester City and England footballer Wayne Bridge, says of her experience at the hands of the tabloid pack: "It is horrible. It is like a nightmare. Every day you think: 'What else are they going to say about me?' It is so intrusive and so false. Every day, so many lies – and then people making judgments because of the lies."
Her lawyers this week formally warned seven national newspapers that she is moving to sue them for breach of privacy over reports that claimed to expose her personal life, including her sexual relationships, her medical history, her finances and her wider family's personal problems. ...
... Perroncel says she refused to speak to journalists but that the quote is an accurate account of what she said – in a private phone call to Antonia Graham.
Perroncel told the Guardian: "Antonia did not sell that quotation. I know she does not do that. So how did they get it? There have been other times when the same thing has happened: a conversation with a friend ends up word for word in the paper." ...
Police who investigated the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World obtained previously undisclosed telephone records which showed a vast number of public figures had had their voicemail accessed – and then decided not to pursue the evidence, according to official papers seen by the Guardian.
The revelation – contained in paperwork from inside the Crown Prosecution Service – raises fundamental questions about the behaviour of Scotland Yard, which has claimed repeatedly that it found evidence of "only a handful" of people whose mobile phone messages had been intercepted by the News of the World's private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire.
The paperwork also reveals that police and prosecutors adopted a deliberate strategy to ringfence the evidence which they presented in court in order to suppress the names of particularly prominent victims, including members of the royal family. The existence of this strategy has been omitted from all public statements, including evidence made to the House of Commons media select committee.
In a further blow to the official version of events, the Guardian has discovered that although police and prosecutors named only eight victims in court, material seized by police from Mulcaire and the paper's royal reporter, Clive Goodman, contained 4,332 names or partial names of people in whom the two men had an interest, 2,978 numbers or partial numbers for mobile phones and 30 audio tapes which appear to contain an unspecified number of recordings of voicemail messages. ...
The revelation – contained in paperwork from inside the Crown Prosecution Service – raises fundamental questions about the behaviour of Scotland Yard, which has claimed repeatedly that it found evidence of "only a handful" of people whose mobile phone messages had been intercepted by the News of the World's private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire.
The paperwork also reveals that police and prosecutors adopted a deliberate strategy to ringfence the evidence which they presented in court in order to suppress the names of particularly prominent victims, including members of the royal family. The existence of this strategy has been omitted from all public statements, including evidence made to the House of Commons media select committee.
In a further blow to the official version of events, the Guardian has discovered that although police and prosecutors named only eight victims in court, material seized by police from Mulcaire and the paper's royal reporter, Clive Goodman, contained 4,332 names or partial names of people in whom the two men had an interest, 2,978 numbers or partial numbers for mobile phones and 30 audio tapes which appear to contain an unspecified number of recordings of voicemail messages. ...
David Cameron's communications director, Andy Coulson, will come under fresh pressure to defend his editorship of the News of the World and his knowledge about the illegal activities of his journalists amid new allegations about the paper's involvement with private detectives who broke the law.
The Guardian has learned that while Coulson was still editor of the tabloid, the newspaper employed a freelance private investigator even though he had been accused of corrupting police officers and had just been released from a seven-year prison sentence for blackmail.
The private eye was well known to the News of the World, having worked for the paper for several years before he was jailed, when Coulson was deputy editor. He was rehired when he was freed.
Evidence seen by the Guardian shows that Mr A, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was blagging bank accounts, bribing police officers, procuring confidential data from the DVLA and phone companies, and trading sensitive material from live police inquiries.
Coulson has always insisted he knew nothing about the illegal activity which took place in the News of the World newsroom, telling MPs last year: "I have never had any involvement in it at all."
Mr A cannot be named now because he is facing trial for a violent crime, but his details will emerge once he has been dealt with by the courts. Coulson tonight refused to say whether he was aware of Mr A's criminal background, or of his return to the paper following his prison term. He said: "I have nothing to add to the evidence I gave to the select committee." ...
The Guardian has learned that while Coulson was still editor of the tabloid, the newspaper employed a freelance private investigator even though he had been accused of corrupting police officers and had just been released from a seven-year prison sentence for blackmail.
The private eye was well known to the News of the World, having worked for the paper for several years before he was jailed, when Coulson was deputy editor. He was rehired when he was freed.
Evidence seen by the Guardian shows that Mr A, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was blagging bank accounts, bribing police officers, procuring confidential data from the DVLA and phone companies, and trading sensitive material from live police inquiries.
Coulson has always insisted he knew nothing about the illegal activity which took place in the News of the World newsroom, telling MPs last year: "I have never had any involvement in it at all."
Mr A cannot be named now because he is facing trial for a violent crime, but his details will emerge once he has been dealt with by the courts. Coulson tonight refused to say whether he was aware of Mr A's criminal background, or of his return to the paper following his prison term. He said: "I have nothing to add to the evidence I gave to the select committee." ...
Metropolitan police assistant commissioner John Yates has been reprimanded by the culture select committee for what it claims was a failure to give more detailed evidence to MPs over the scale of hacking into private phone messages by former News International employees. The chairman of the culture committee, John Whittingdale, has written to Yates to deliver the reprimand.
Yates has angrily replied it had never been his intention to mislead the committee and he is most concerned that the committee believed that to be the case.
The Guardian revealed last week that a freedom of information request had disclosed that the police found News International had pin codes, which are used for accessing voicemail messages, belonging to 91 people. The phones had been accessed by the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who worked for the News of the World and the paper's royal correspondent, Clive Goodman.
Knowing that the information was about to be made public, a senior police officer wrote to the select committee to inform them late last month.
At the time of giving oral evidence to the committee in September, Yates gave no indication he knew of the scale of the hacking. ...
Yates has angrily replied it had never been his intention to mislead the committee and he is most concerned that the committee believed that to be the case.
The Guardian revealed last week that a freedom of information request had disclosed that the police found News International had pin codes, which are used for accessing voicemail messages, belonging to 91 people. The phones had been accessed by the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who worked for the News of the World and the paper's royal correspondent, Clive Goodman.
Knowing that the information was about to be made public, a senior police officer wrote to the select committee to inform them late last month.
At the time of giving oral evidence to the committee in September, Yates gave no indication he knew of the scale of the hacking. ...
The rethuglicunt party should be ashamed, exploiting such obviously mentally handicapped folks - like palin!
Ta much, dear Glenn321
Ta much, dear Glenn321
... It was also noticeable that The Guardian's recent allegations about the News of the World's phone-hacking activities, made in front of a parliamentary committee, received little coverage in other papers.
This failure by national papers to report on media matters in the public interest amounts to a conspiracy of silence. And the loser is the public with a right to know just how its self-selected moral guardians act in their own back yard.
This failure by national papers to report on media matters in the public interest amounts to a conspiracy of silence. And the loser is the public with a right to know just how its self-selected moral guardians act in their own back yard.
I'm just as pissed as roopi at google news for putting faux news stories on their front page. 'Swhy I never bother with it any more.
... Clearly "news" is not what Fox is about. Republican media strategist Roger Ailes, the network's founder and architect, has run a brilliant rhetorical game from the start: Fox adopts the outward forms of the establishment US media and pretends to hew to its standards – in order to undermine those very things. Fox claims to give its viewers the straight story, while proclaiming it's the New York Times and CBS that are really biased.
Of course, CBS and the NYT have their problems. But to believe Fox tells it like it is is to conclude that a basic idea of journalism – that what's happening in the world can be understood and fair-mindedly explained – is a sham.
"Political" attacks are inherently unfair. But the White House is simply stating the obvious about Fox. Obama promised to be reality-based, right? And the criticism seems, for the first time in a while, to have started a real debate on the issue. The Washington news media has simply accepted Fox as one of their own – after all, it has money, cameras, anchors and an audience. Jacob Weisberg argues that journalists who value their credibility should stop appearing on Fox, as they only help perpetuate the network's misleading premise. ...
Of course, CBS and the NYT have their problems. But to believe Fox tells it like it is is to conclude that a basic idea of journalism – that what's happening in the world can be understood and fair-mindedly explained – is a sham.
"Political" attacks are inherently unfair. But the White House is simply stating the obvious about Fox. Obama promised to be reality-based, right? And the criticism seems, for the first time in a while, to have started a real debate on the issue. The Washington news media has simply accepted Fox as one of their own – after all, it has money, cameras, anchors and an audience. Jacob Weisberg argues that journalists who value their credibility should stop appearing on Fox, as they only help perpetuate the network's misleading premise. ...
Times papers trains with climate change blunder
Don't read us, we're rubbish
By Andrew Orlowski
6th October 2009
The Times has liberally papered London underground carriages with a fascinating new ad campaign. One poster shows a ship navigating some treacherous icy waters, with the accompanying copy reading:
Climate change has allowed the Northeast Passage to be used as a commercial shipping route for the first time.
Impressive - if only it were true. The Northeast Passage has been opened for commerce since 1934 - and never 'closed'.
Over the years hundreds of thousands of freighters have passed through, and after Russia put Soviet-era politics aside it was extended to foreign commerce in the 1990s. As we reported two weeks ago, it took bloggers a few seconds to find this out, and unearth a wealth of maritime history. But when German shipping company Beluga issued a press release claiming to be the first foreign pioneer, many newspapers and the broadcast media (the BBC) were in such a rush to report another example of Global Warming, they didn't bother to check the claim - and reported it verbatim.
Among the parrotters was Times hack Tony Halpin, here, who cleaned his Trumpet of Doom and proceeded to shoot himself in both feet with this blast: "It is both a symbol of global warming and a potentially lucrative new trade route between Europe and Asia."
According to the ad copy:
To help you navigate the changing world we have more dedicated science and environment correspondents than the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail or Independent.
Quality isn't quantity, evidently. But a fascinating question arises. Why spend so much money to tell commuters that you've cocked things up? It doesn't make sense. Perhaps there's a better explanation.
Perhaps what the Times has noticed is that there's a lucrative market for environmental scare stories. What the advertisements are doing is targeting this segment of the superstitious middle class, which wants to believe that Thermageddon is nigh, or that oil will run out next week, or that a tsunami of non-biodegradable plastic refuse will engulf the family Volvo on its morning school run - shortly before it's zapped by deadly WiFi radiation. ...
Um, check your sources, maybe?
Don't read us, we're rubbish
By Andrew Orlowski
6th October 2009
The Times has liberally papered London underground carriages with a fascinating new ad campaign. One poster shows a ship navigating some treacherous icy waters, with the accompanying copy reading:
Climate change has allowed the Northeast Passage to be used as a commercial shipping route for the first time.
Impressive - if only it were true. The Northeast Passage has been opened for commerce since 1934 - and never 'closed'.
Over the years hundreds of thousands of freighters have passed through, and after Russia put Soviet-era politics aside it was extended to foreign commerce in the 1990s. As we reported two weeks ago, it took bloggers a few seconds to find this out, and unearth a wealth of maritime history. But when German shipping company Beluga issued a press release claiming to be the first foreign pioneer, many newspapers and the broadcast media (the BBC) were in such a rush to report another example of Global Warming, they didn't bother to check the claim - and reported it verbatim.
Among the parrotters was Times hack Tony Halpin, here, who cleaned his Trumpet of Doom and proceeded to shoot himself in both feet with this blast: "It is both a symbol of global warming and a potentially lucrative new trade route between Europe and Asia."
According to the ad copy:
To help you navigate the changing world we have more dedicated science and environment correspondents than the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail or Independent.
Quality isn't quantity, evidently. But a fascinating question arises. Why spend so much money to tell commuters that you've cocked things up? It doesn't make sense. Perhaps there's a better explanation.
Perhaps what the Times has noticed is that there's a lucrative market for environmental scare stories. What the advertisements are doing is targeting this segment of the superstitious middle class, which wants to believe that Thermageddon is nigh, or that oil will run out next week, or that a tsunami of non-biodegradable plastic refuse will engulf the family Volvo on its morning school run - shortly before it's zapped by deadly WiFi radiation. ...
Um, check your sources, maybe?
5 Things the Corporate Media Don't Want You to Know About Cannabis | Media and Technology | AlterNet
Writing in the journal Science nearly four decades ago, New York State University sociologist Erich Goode documented the media's complicity in maintaining cannabis prohibition.
He observed: "[T]ests and experiments purporting to demonstrate the ravages of marijuana consumption receive enormous attention from the media, and their findings become accepted as fact by the public. But when careful refutations of such research are published, or when later findings contradict the original pathological findings, they tend to be ignored or dismissed."
A glimpse of today's mainstream media landscape indicates that little has changed -- with news outlets continuing to, at best, underreport the publication of scientific studies that undermine the federal government's longstanding pot propaganda and, at worst, ignore them all together.
Here are five recent stories the mainstream media doesn't want you to know about pot:
1. Marijuana Use Is Not Associated With a Rise in Incidences of Schizophrenia ...
He observed: "[T]ests and experiments purporting to demonstrate the ravages of marijuana consumption receive enormous attention from the media, and their findings become accepted as fact by the public. But when careful refutations of such research are published, or when later findings contradict the original pathological findings, they tend to be ignored or dismissed."
A glimpse of today's mainstream media landscape indicates that little has changed -- with news outlets continuing to, at best, underreport the publication of scientific studies that undermine the federal government's longstanding pot propaganda and, at worst, ignore them all together.
Here are five recent stories the mainstream media doesn't want you to know about pot:
1. Marijuana Use Is Not Associated With a Rise in Incidences of Schizophrenia ...
How private lives of famous were invaded
• Actors, MPs and union leaders among victims
• Investigators took data for news organisations
* Nick Davies
* Monday 31 August 2009
The Guardian today reveals the identities of scores of public figures whose confidential details were extracted from supposedly secure databases by a network of private investigators working for news organisations.
The victims include politicians, union leaders, a high court judge, sports personalities, showbusiness stars, journalists and thousands of members of the public.
Repeatedly breaking data protection laws, newspapers and magazines commissioned the network to obtain personal information from social security records, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the police national computer, British Telecom and mobile phone companies.
They also conned hotels, banks, prisons, trade unions and the post office into handing over sensitive information.
The victims' identities are contained in paperwork which has been suppressed since it was seized six years ago from a Hampshire private investigator, Steve Whittamore, during an inquiry known as Operation Motorman, run by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
It has released a statistical summary of the Motorman paperwork but has refused repeatedly to reveal any of the content, with the result that the vast majority of the victims have never been warned that their privacy was compromised. ...
• Actors, MPs and union leaders among victims
• Investigators took data for news organisations
* Nick Davies
* Monday 31 August 2009
The Guardian today reveals the identities of scores of public figures whose confidential details were extracted from supposedly secure databases by a network of private investigators working for news organisations.
The victims include politicians, union leaders, a high court judge, sports personalities, showbusiness stars, journalists and thousands of members of the public.
Repeatedly breaking data protection laws, newspapers and magazines commissioned the network to obtain personal information from social security records, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the police national computer, British Telecom and mobile phone companies.
They also conned hotels, banks, prisons, trade unions and the post office into handing over sensitive information.
The victims' identities are contained in paperwork which has been suppressed since it was seized six years ago from a Hampshire private investigator, Steve Whittamore, during an inquiry known as Operation Motorman, run by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
It has released a statistical summary of the Motorman paperwork but has refused repeatedly to reveal any of the content, with the result that the vast majority of the victims have never been warned that their privacy was compromised. ...
OMFG
Ta much, dear Zaxy
News of the World phone hacking: CPS to undertake urgent review of evidence | Media | guardian.co.uk
News of the World phone hacking: CPS to undertake urgent review of evidence
• Metropolitan Police rules out new investigation
• News International: 'Confidentiality obligations' prevent comment on 'certain' Guardian allegations
• Andy Coulson may face Commons culture select committee
• David Cameron defends his communications chief
• Gordon Brown: 'This raises serious questions'
* James Robinson, Andrew Sparrow and Leigh Holmwood
* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 9 July 2009
The Crown Prosecution Service today said it would undertake an urgent review of evidence in the News of the World phone hacking case, after the Metropolitan Police revealed it did not plan a further investigation of the allegations.
However, Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor, now the Tory communications chief, could be grilled by MPs for a Commons inquiry into the affair.
Keir Starmer QC, the director of public prosecutions, said he had ordered an "urgent examination" of material provided by the police in the News of the World case three years ago. He added that the process will take time but he hopes to make a further statement in coming days. ...
• Metropolitan Police rules out new investigation
• News International: 'Confidentiality obligations' prevent comment on 'certain' Guardian allegations
• Andy Coulson may face Commons culture select committee
• David Cameron defends his communications chief
• Gordon Brown: 'This raises serious questions'
* James Robinson, Andrew Sparrow and Leigh Holmwood
* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 9 July 2009
The Crown Prosecution Service today said it would undertake an urgent review of evidence in the News of the World phone hacking case, after the Metropolitan Police revealed it did not plan a further investigation of the allegations.
However, Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor, now the Tory communications chief, could be grilled by MPs for a Commons inquiry into the affair.
Keir Starmer QC, the director of public prosecutions, said he had ordered an "urgent examination" of material provided by the police in the News of the World case three years ago. He added that the process will take time but he hopes to make a further statement in coming days. ...
Just think: 2-3 thousand £million lawsuits. That'd take the wind outta ol' rupee's sails, what what?
rupee should know better than to fuck with rich people.
Idiot.
You know damn well he'd sue hell outta anyone who tapped/hacked his phone, FFS!!
rupee should know better than to fuck with rich people.
Idiot.
You know damn well he'd sue hell outta anyone who tapped/hacked his phone, FFS!!
News of the World phone-hacking affair 'very serious', says Gordon Brown | Politics | guardian.co.uk
... Chris Huhne, the Lib Dems' home affairs spokesman, said: "It is extraordinary that the leader of the opposition, who wants to be a prime minister, employs Andy Coulson, who at best was responsible for a newspaper that was out of control and at worst was personally [involved] with criminal activity. The exact parallel is surely with Damian McBride. If the prime minister was right to sack Damian McBride, should the leader of the opposition not sack Andy Coulson?"
Hanson told MPs that phone-hacking without authority was a criminal offence punishable with a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years.
Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, prompted laughter as he urged everyone in the house to give a "measured response" to the issues raised and leave it to the police to decide whether there was "any new information that warrants further action".
Hanson told MPs that phone-hacking without authority was a criminal offence punishable with a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years.
Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, prompted laughter as he urged everyone in the house to give a "measured response" to the issues raised and leave it to the police to decide whether there was "any new information that warrants further action".
... "If you imagine there was something of real major importance, you could have a public interest defence. But breaking into Gwyneth Paltrow's voicemail after she's just had a baby is not in the public interest. I'm at a loss to know what the public interest might be."
He also said the police had to explain why they failed to tell top politicians that their phones had been hacked into.
Neil said the story raised serious questions for Scotland Yard, top prosecutors and for judges: "It's not just a media story, it raises serious questions about the police.
"The police learn that the deputy prime minister has had his mobile phone compromised and they don't tell him. I just don't understand that.
"The police investigation unearthed evidence of clear wrongdoing and the Crown Prosecution Service does nothing."
He added: "The court is faced with evidence of conspiracy and systemic illegal actions and agrees to seal the evidence. All that is completely wrong, I just don't understand it."
Speaking earlier, on the BBC's Newsnight programme: "This is our criminal justice system in the dock."
Neil also said News International may face legal action from those who were victims of the phone hacking, a so called class action: "News International could face a class action by people who want to mount a class action to unseal those documents. There could be the most almighty class action, you're talking about multimillion pound losses. That gets scary.
"If this was in the US, shares in News International would collapse tonight." ...
Shares in "news" international should collapse tonight!
He also said the police had to explain why they failed to tell top politicians that their phones had been hacked into.
Neil said the story raised serious questions for Scotland Yard, top prosecutors and for judges: "It's not just a media story, it raises serious questions about the police.
"The police learn that the deputy prime minister has had his mobile phone compromised and they don't tell him. I just don't understand that.
"The police investigation unearthed evidence of clear wrongdoing and the Crown Prosecution Service does nothing."
He added: "The court is faced with evidence of conspiracy and systemic illegal actions and agrees to seal the evidence. All that is completely wrong, I just don't understand it."
Speaking earlier, on the BBC's Newsnight programme: "This is our criminal justice system in the dock."
Neil also said News International may face legal action from those who were victims of the phone hacking, a so called class action: "News International could face a class action by people who want to mount a class action to unseal those documents. There could be the most almighty class action, you're talking about multimillion pound losses. That gets scary.
"If this was in the US, shares in News International would collapse tonight." ...
Shares in "news" international should collapse tonight!
Murdoch papers paid £1m to gag phone-hacking victims
• News of the World bugging led to £700,000 payout to PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor
• Sun editor Rebekah Wade and Conservative communications chief Andy Coulson – both ex-NoW editors – involved
• News International chairman Les Hinton told MPs reporter jailed for phone-hacking was one-off case
Nick Davies
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 8 July 2009
... The payments secured secrecy over out-of-court settlements in three cases that threatened to expose evidence of Murdoch journalists using private investigators who illegally hacked into the mobile phone messages of numerous public figures and to gain unlawful access to confidential personal data including tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemised phone bills. Cabinet ministers, MPs, actors and sports stars were all targets of the private investigators.
Today, the Guardian reveals details of the suppressed evidence which may open the door to hundreds more legal actions by victims of News Group, the Murdoch company that publishes the News of the World and the Sun, as well as provoking police inquiries into reporters who were involved and the senior executives responsible for them.
The evidence also poses difficult questions for:
• Conservative leader David Cameron's director of communications, Andy Coulson, who was deputy editor and then editor of the News of the World when, the suppressed evidence shows, journalists for whom he was responsible were engaging in hundreds of apparently illegal acts
• Murdoch executives who, albeit in good faith, have misled a parliamentary select committee, the Press Complaints Commission and the public
• The Metropolitan police, who did not alert all those whose phones were targeted, and the Crown Prosecution Service, which did not pursue all possible charges against News Group personnel
• The Press Complaints Commission, which claimed to have conducted an investigation but failed to uncover any evidence of illegal activity.
The suppressed legal cases are linked to the jailing in January 2007 of News of the World reporter Clive Goodman for hacking into the mobile phones of three royal staff, an offence under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. At the time, News International said it knew of no other journalist who was involved in hacking phones and that Goodman had been acting without their knowledge.
However, one senior source at the Metropolitan police told the Guardian that during the Goodman inquiry, officers had found evidence of News Group staff using private investigators who hacked into "thousands" of mobile phones. Another source with direct knowledge of the police findings put the figure at "two or three thousand" mobiles. They suggest that MPs from all three parties and cabinet ministers, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell, were among the targets. News International has always maintained that it has no knowledge of phone hacking by anybody acting on its behalf.
A private investigator who had been working on contract for News Group, Glenn Mulcaire, was also jailed in January 2007. He admitted hacking into the phones of five other targets, including Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association. Among those phones Mulcaire hacked into were the Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, celebrity PR Max Clifford, model Elle MacPherson and football agent Sky Andrew. News Group denied all knowledge of the hacking, but Taylor last year sued them on the basis that they must have known about it. ...
Won't see this story at faux news, you betcha.
• News of the World bugging led to £700,000 payout to PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor
• Sun editor Rebekah Wade and Conservative communications chief Andy Coulson – both ex-NoW editors – involved
• News International chairman Les Hinton told MPs reporter jailed for phone-hacking was one-off case
Nick Davies
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 8 July 2009
... The payments secured secrecy over out-of-court settlements in three cases that threatened to expose evidence of Murdoch journalists using private investigators who illegally hacked into the mobile phone messages of numerous public figures and to gain unlawful access to confidential personal data including tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemised phone bills. Cabinet ministers, MPs, actors and sports stars were all targets of the private investigators.
Today, the Guardian reveals details of the suppressed evidence which may open the door to hundreds more legal actions by victims of News Group, the Murdoch company that publishes the News of the World and the Sun, as well as provoking police inquiries into reporters who were involved and the senior executives responsible for them.
The evidence also poses difficult questions for:
• Conservative leader David Cameron's director of communications, Andy Coulson, who was deputy editor and then editor of the News of the World when, the suppressed evidence shows, journalists for whom he was responsible were engaging in hundreds of apparently illegal acts
• Murdoch executives who, albeit in good faith, have misled a parliamentary select committee, the Press Complaints Commission and the public
• The Metropolitan police, who did not alert all those whose phones were targeted, and the Crown Prosecution Service, which did not pursue all possible charges against News Group personnel
• The Press Complaints Commission, which claimed to have conducted an investigation but failed to uncover any evidence of illegal activity.
The suppressed legal cases are linked to the jailing in January 2007 of News of the World reporter Clive Goodman for hacking into the mobile phones of three royal staff, an offence under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. At the time, News International said it knew of no other journalist who was involved in hacking phones and that Goodman had been acting without their knowledge.
However, one senior source at the Metropolitan police told the Guardian that during the Goodman inquiry, officers had found evidence of News Group staff using private investigators who hacked into "thousands" of mobile phones. Another source with direct knowledge of the police findings put the figure at "two or three thousand" mobiles. They suggest that MPs from all three parties and cabinet ministers, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell, were among the targets. News International has always maintained that it has no knowledge of phone hacking by anybody acting on its behalf.
A private investigator who had been working on contract for News Group, Glenn Mulcaire, was also jailed in January 2007. He admitted hacking into the phones of five other targets, including Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association. Among those phones Mulcaire hacked into were the Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, celebrity PR Max Clifford, model Elle MacPherson and football agent Sky Andrew. News Group denied all knowledge of the hacking, but Taylor last year sued them on the basis that they must have known about it. ...
Won't see this story at faux news, you betcha.
Those faux "news" people aren't even journalists, they're rabid conservative "tv personalities" (sic) who report only what unca rupert tells 'em. No serious politician of any party should ever acknowledge their existence. They should call on Colbert and any other satirists present instead.