Tuesday 30 August 2011

Labour seeks support on tightening media takeover rules

Ivan Lewis  
Ivan Lewis wants the culture secretary to have more power to intervene in the bidding process
 
Labour is seeking cross-party support to tighten rules on media takeovers in the wake of the controversy over News Corporation's bid for BSkyB.
Shadow culture secretary Ivan Lewis wants a wider public interest test and greater powers for the government to intervene in the process.
The News Corp bid for BSkyB was withdrawn amid claims of phone-hacking at its newspaper News of the World.
A Tory source said the government was already committed to reform.
Public interest test News Corp's bid to gain full control of the digital broadcaster was controversial even before the phone hacking row scuppered the deal.
The main question for regulators was whether the takeover would leave sufficient plurality in the media market.
Our correspondent says Labour wants a much wider public interest test to be applied from the start of a media takeover process.
The party is calling for the culture secretary to be given more power to intervene and order regulators to consider whether a bidder is a fit and proper person to run a media company.
The Conservative source said the issue would be considered as part of Lord Leveson's independent inquiry into phone hacking and media practices.
Media plurality Lord Leveson will make recommendations on media plurality, regulation and cross-media ownership by July 2012.
News Corporation has closed the News of the World but still owns the Sun, the Times, the Sunday Times and 39% of BSkyB.
After the News of the World was shut down, Labour leader Ed Miliband called for new media ownership rules to limit what he described in the Observer as News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch's "dangerous" and "unhealthy" concentration of power.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg backed Mr Miliband's call. He told the BBC there was a need to "look again in the round at the plurality rules to make sure there is proper plurality in the British press".
Business Secretary Vince Cable has also said there should be "clear" rules on how powerful media groups can be.
Mr Cable was responsible for media ownership rules until he was recorded saying he had "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch in December.

Monday 29 August 2011

Phone hacking: new Channel 4 comedy in 'satirical swipe' at scandal


The hour-long programme, created by Guy Jenkin, the Drop The Dead Donkey writer, is set in a fictional paper in which staff engage in illegal practices to develop news stories.
The show, which has the working title Hacks, will take a ''satirical swipe'' at the hacking scandal that has engulfed British media and politics this year.
The comedy will depict staff undertaking practices such as phone hacking, blagging and ''pinging'' to get a story by any means necessary.
Jenkin, the co-creator of the television newsroom sitcom Drop The Dead Donkey, is currently working on the script.
''We hope to be faster and funnier than all the inquiries so far," he said.
Shane Allen, Channel 4's head of comedy who commissioned the show, added: ''We are very excited about Hacks and it's great that Channel 4 can be so quick off the mark to shine a satirical light on what's been happening in the media over the last few months.''
No cast for the show has been announced but the programme is due to be screened later this year.
It follows the scandal that has hit News International and brought about the closure of the News Of The World, one of the world's most popular newspapers and Britain's biggest title.
It has led to the resignations of senior News Corporation executives Rebekah Brooks, the former News of the World editor and News International chief executive and Les Hinton, the chief executive of Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal as well as top Scotland Yard figures.
Rupert Murdoch, the 80 year-old chief executive of News Corporation, was also forced to give evidence to MPs in what he described as the "most humble day of my life".
Meanwhile David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has also become drawn into the scandal after he hired Andy Coulson, a former News of the World editor who quit after Clive Goodman, the paper's former Royal Editor was jailed for hacking.
Mr Coulson later quit as director of communications in 10 Downing Street over the phone hacking scandal.
Several News of the World executives and journalists have also been arrested by Scotland Yard detectives from Operation Weeting, who are investigating illegal practices at the now defunct Sunday tabloid. No one has been charged.

Saturday 27 August 2011

Glenn Mulcaire reveals News of the World hacking names

Glenn Mulcaire leaving the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, in central London, in 2006  
Mulcaire was jailed for six months in 2007
Private detective Glenn Mulcaire has revealed the names of News of the World staff who instructed him to carry out phone hacking, his solicitor has said.
The information was passed in a letter to comedian Steve Coogan's lawyers in accordance with a court order.
Mr Coogan is among a number of celebrities suing the NoW after it emerged his phone had been hacked.
News International said it had no comment. Mr Mulcaire was jailed in 2007 for hacking into phones of royal aides.
He was jailed for six months, while the News of the World's former royal editor Clive Goodman was jailed for four.
At the time, News International said that Goodman had acted alone and no other journalists were involved in hacking.
'Confidentiality issues' Mulcaire was ordered to reveal who instructed him to access Mr Coogan's voicemails.
Mulcaire had applied for permission to appeal against the order, which was made in February, but this was denied and he was compelled to pass over the details by today.
His solicitor Sarah Webb, from Payne Hicks Beach, said she could not reveal who the NoW employees were because of "confidentiality issues".
Schillings, which is representing Mr Coogan, has agreed not to reveal the names yet, to give Payne Hicks Beach a chance to apply for a court order stopping their release.
The Met Police has arrested 14 people as part of their investigation, Operation Weeting, which is looking into illegal hacking of the mobile phone voicemails of public figures by the now-defunct News of the World (NoW) newspaper.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

News of the World: What was it like on the inside?

Final edition of News of the World  
The News of the World newspaper lasted for 168 years and 8,674 editions

The News of the World has published its last edition after 168 years. It marks the end of a newspaper where the journalists would get the stories at any cost, writes Dan Arnold, an investigative reporter at the paper from 1994 to 1996.
"We want exclusives, not excuses," one of the many mantras at the News of the World.
Journalism is notoriously a high-pressure business, but the NoW was its own special pressure cooker of fear and rivalry.
"Get the story at any cost, we pay more than anyone else," that was the basic premise at the start of any story.
I was authorised to offer a binman £25,000 in cash, a new car and a holiday for his story.
But as I sat outside a south London terraced house, people back in the office simply would not believe that a refuse collector didn't want to talk to me.
Saying "no" to the NoW simply wasn't an option.
'Feared and loathed' I joined the NoW at 23, one of the youngest reporters in Fleet Street at the time. I had three years' experience under my belt of covering the general news in London - murders, suicides, court trials and tribunals: the usual humdrum stream of interviews and note-taking.
Copies of the News of the World  
The News of the World's circulation dwarfed that of its competitors
 
But the NoW was different. Journalists were both feared and loathed. People would rarely talk, so we had to get the story by other means.
Was I asked to do anything illegal? No, but at the same time we were expected to cover our own backs. "Any cost" means what it says.
And remember, the NoW printed only what it could prove. You could collect all the hearsay "evidence" you liked, but without an admission or rock-solid proof the story would get binned or left until you came up with the goods.
I was once called into Piers Morgan's office (the editor at the time) to hear an influential "fat cat" businessman explain his relationship with a senior politician's female adviser.
I knew that they had been meeting and communicating but could not definitively prove they had an affair. But bingo, he spilled the beans.

At the time, the NoW was selling 4.7 million copies per week, far outstripping its nearest rivals, the Sunday Mirror and the People. Having your byline read by so many readers was no mean feat. Click to play
Nick Higham takes a look back at the News of the World's sensationalist history.
Those working at the NoW knew they had "made it" - it was the biggest selling paper in the English-speaking world.
Moral qualms? Rarely. Celebrities, politicians and common-or-garden scumbags were the stock-in-trade and absolutely fair game.
Who would care about the ethics if you exposed a dodgy politician or a paedophile? Certainly not me.
You could put the fear of God into an MP just by phoning and saying: "Hi, I'm a reporter from the News of the World."
Kind of "ignore me at your peril". Definitely a thrill.
And to be honest, we were onto the next thing so quickly that we didn't have time to reflect on the stories and those involved.

If Princess Di had bought a new dress then you were lucky to get a page-lead”
All investigative reporters from any paper or TV channel have to cross boundaries to get the story. The end often justified the means.
And the resources? At 10am on a Tuesday (the start of the working week for us), it was: "Dan, go to Heathrow Airport. Pick up five grand in cash from the Amex desk. Get to Sardinia. Now." Boring? No.
But you were only as good as your last story, and I've heard other former journos describe how your bylines were counted up over the year, to see who would get the sack.
And remember, this was 1995. You might have the spiciest MP story of your career and be looking forward to a huge splash (front page story), but if Princess Di had bought a new dress then you were lucky to get a page-lead.
'Suspicion and paranoia' It was absolutely dog-eat-dog in the office. Stories were compartmentalised. None of us knew what the other was doing unless we were specifically teamed-up.

Stack of News of the World papers  
The decision to close the 168-year-old paper was sudden and unexpected
 
This was not just journalistic rivalry, we were told not to mention what we were doing to anyone, especially our colleagues.
Suspicion and paranoia were how you survived. And it was so competitive.
There simply wasn't room for all the stories produced to appear in the paper, so only the best ones made it. And there were even a couple of "byline bandits" in the office, who would remove your name from a jointly written story.
It was a bubble too. Most journos were so focused on their stories and not getting fired that the "real" world did not exist. We were on call 24 hours a day with our pagers, and often worked evenings and weekends.
Not so strange in the world of news admittedly, but you had to add to that the atmosphere that the paper was all that mattered. The stress was visible on colleagues' faces and often led to huge drinking binges and troubles at home.
The end Ironically enough I lost my job when the Today newspaper was closed down, another News International title. They had to find 150 jobs in the building, and I was last-in, first-out.

I tried out local TV news for a while, but it was amateurish in comparison and badly run”
I worked in Fleet Street for a short while afterwards but it was in the middle of the 90s recession and papers were firing.
I tried out local TV news for a while, but it was amateurish in comparison and badly run. And there was hardly any competitive atmosphere, which made it seem incredibly tame.
I still write now, but specialise in wine and music stories (much closer to my heart) and of course feel lucky that I got the boot when I did.
I don't think that I would have hacked into Milly Dowler's phone, but people with stressful careers and huge mortgages can be driven to the maddest of choices. I left with my principles intact.

Monday 22 August 2011

Coulson got hundreds of thousands of pounds from News Int


Andy Coulson  
Mr Coulson resigned from News International in January 2007

Andy Coulson, the former editor of the News of the World who has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in phone hacking and bribing the police, received several hundred thousand pounds from News International after starting work as the Conservative Party's Director of Communications in July 2007.
These payments were part of his severance package, under what is known as a "compromise agreement".
According to sources, Mr Coulson's contractual leaving pay was given to him in instalments until the end of 2007 - which means he continued to be financially linked to News International for several months of his tenure as David Cameron's main media adviser.
The disclosure that Mr Coulson maintained a financial relationship with News International after moving into a sensitive role in the Tory Party will be controversial.
According to a senior member of the government, Tory Party managers at the time say they were not aware Mr Coulson was receiving these payments from News International while employed by the Conservative Party.
As I understand it, after Mr Coulson resigned from News International on 26 January 2007, News International said it would pay him his full entitlement under his two-year contract as editor of the News of the World - although the money would be paid in instalments.
I am told that Mr Coulson also continued to receive his News International work benefits, such as healthcare, for three years, and he kept his company car.
Mr Coulson was appointed as the Conservative Party's Director of Communications on 31 May 2007 and took up the post in July of that year. He was reportedly paid £275,000 a year by the Conservative Party.
News International is the UK arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. For decades, leaders of the Tory and Labour parties have battled to win the support of Mr Murdoch's influential newspapers, including the Sun and the Times.
The Tories and Labour have both had to respond to criticisms that they became unhealthily close to Mr Murdoch and his senior executives, including Mr Coulson's predecessor as editor of the News of the World, Rebecca Brooks, who went on to become chief executive of News International - and who has also been arrested on suspicion of involvement in phone hacking and making illegal payments to police officers.
Some will question whether Mr Coulson could give impartial advice on media issues to Mr Cameron when in opposition, given that he retained financial ties to News International.
Mr Coulson's supporters would dispute that his impartiality had been compromised.
When the newspaper's then royal editor, Clive Goodman, was convicted of phone hacking in January 2007 and was imprisoned, Mr Coulson resigned from News International.
Mr Coulson denied any knowledge of the phone hacking but said he felt obliged to quit because the hacking had taken place while he was editor of the News of the World.
A letter written by Mr Goodman in March 2007, disclosed last week by the Culture Media and Sport Committee, claims that phone hacking was routinely discussed in the News of the World's editorial conference, although it does not explicitly say that Mr Coulson knew about hacking.
In May 2010, after the Tories formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, Mr Coulson became Director of Communications for the government. In January of this year, he resigned from that post, following disclosures that criminal activity at the News of the World may have been more widespread than News International had been saying.
Mr Coulson was arrested in July.
David Cameron has had to defend his recruitment of Mr Coulson, following claims he ignored warnings that phone hacking went wider than Mr Coulson had claimed.
A spokesman for News International said: "News International consistently does not comment on the financial arrangements of any individual."
Mr Coulson did not return calls.

Phone hacking: David Cameron's 'love letters' to Rebekah Brooks

Rupert Murdoch's former executive Rebekah Brooks received letters from David Cameron signed 'love, David'.

Phone hacking: David Cameron's 'love letters' to Rebekah Brooks
David Cameron
Too great a degree of affection for Rebekah Brooks, the ousted News International chief executive at the centre of the phone hacking scandal, is now regarded in Westminster as the love that dare not speak its name.
One Whitehall toiler tells Mandrake, however, that David Cameron made no secret of his affection for the flame-haired temptress while she was a power in the land. "I used to see him signing letters to her with the words 'love, David'," he tells me. "I suppose I should have known that this was going to land us into trouble, sooner or later."
One could but wonder if the Prime Minister, who is on holiday with his family in Cornwall, subscribes to Virgil's view that "love conquers all" and has been in touch with Mrs Brooks to console her about the events that precipitated her resignation from News International. His spokesman did not, alas, respond to my text.
Still, Mrs Brooks may not have that much need of a shoulder to cry upon. As I have disclosed, she retains the services of a News International chauffeur, and, while she has given up some directorships after I pointed out that she remained on Rupert Murdoch's payroll, the old boy has told her to "travel the world" and assured her that he will look after her once the scandal has died down.
Mrs Brooks has, of course, had other men in her life over the years: both Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, during their periods in office, also fell under her spell.

Friday 19 August 2011

Phone hacking: The main players

Hacking scandal: Key figures

Name Job/position Connection to phone-hacking investigation
Rupert Murdoch Rupert Murdoch Chief exec, News Corporation The NoW was part of Rupert Murdoch's News International newspaper group - itself the UK arm of the media mogul's News Corporation global empire. The 80-year-old Australian-American flew to the UK to take charge of the phone-hacking crisis. During questioning by MPs, he said he was not aware of the extent of phone hacking at the NoW and he had "clearly" been misled by some of his staff. The News Corp boss was attacked by a protester during the committee session.

Rebekah Brooks Rebekah Brooks (nee Wade) Former chief exec, News International
Graphic
News International's former chief executive and former NoW editor. Mrs Brooks was the NoW editor when voicemails of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's mobile phone were allegedly intercepted. Mrs Brooks was arrested on 17 July 2011 over phone hacking and corruption allegations. Questioned by MPs, she said News International had acted "quickly and decisively" in dealing with the hacking scandal and that she had never sanctioned payments to the police.

James Murdoch James Murdoch Chairman, News International Rupert Murdoch's son James is News International's current chairman. He has reiterated the company is fully co-operating with police investigations and he was not, until recently, in the picture about the full extent of wrongdoing at the NoW. Announcing the closure of the Sunday tabloid, he said the allegations were "shocking and hugely regrettable". He told MPs the firm failed to live up to "the standards they aspired to" and he was "determined to put things right".

Les Hinton Les Hinton Former chief exec, Dow Jones
Graphic
Les Hinton was chief executive of News Corp's financial news service Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal. One of Rupert Murdoch's top executives, Mr Hinton had worked with him for more than five decades. Announcing he was quitting, he said he was "ignorant of what apparently happened" but felt it was proper to resign. Mr Murdoch said it brought him "great sadness".

Andy Coulson Andy Coulson NoW editor 2003-07
Graphic
Andy Coulson, who was NoW editor between 2003-07, resigned his position following the convictions of ex-NoW royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire for phone hacking. He later became Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman but quit in January 2011 saying ongoing hacking claims were distracting him from his job. Mr Coulson was arrested in July 2011 and later bailed over phone hacking and corruption allegations.

Glenn Mulcaire Glenn Mulcaire Private investigator
Graphic
Employed by the NoW, Glenn Mulcaire, 40, was jailed in January 2007 for phone hacking. He admitted unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages received by three royal aides. He was also convicted of hacking the phones of a number of other public figures, including publicist Max Clifford and actress Elle Macpherson. In July 2011, allegations emerged he had also hacked into murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's mobile phone and had the phone numbers of relatives of service personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Clive Goodman Clive Goodman Ex-NoW royal editor
Graphic
The former NoW royal editor was jailed for four months in 2007 for phone hacking. He admitted unlawfully intercepting hundreds of telephone voicemail messages received by three members of staff at Buckingham Palace. The investigation was sparked after Prince William became suspicious about a November 2005 NoW story about a knee injury. In July 2011, Goodman, 53, was again arrested and released on bail on suspicion of corruption.

Other journalists

Name

Job/position

Connection to phone-hacking investigation

Ian Edmondson Ian Edmondson Ex-NoW assistant editor (news)
Graphic
The former NoW assistant editor was identified in court documents as having instructed private investigator Glenn Mulcaire to access phone messages. He was sacked from the paper after an internal inquiry had found "highly damaging evidence", a source said. He was arrested in April 2011 on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting mobile phone voicemail messages, and was released on bail until September 2011.

Neville Thurlbeck Neville Thurlbeck Ex-NoW chief reporter
Graphic
Neville Thurlbeck, former chief reporter at the NoW, was named by Labour MP Tom Watson in January 2011 as one of three journalists who should be investigated. In 2009, police told MPs he had not been interviewed because there was no evidence linking him to the case. He was arrested in April 2011 on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting mobile phone voicemail messages, and released on bail until September 2011.

James Weatherup. Copyright: Press Gazette James Weatherup Ex-NoW reporter
Graphic
The former NoW reporter and news editor was arrested on 14 April on suspicion of conspiracy to unlawfully intercept communications. He was released on bail until September 2011.

Neil Wallis Neil Wallis Ex-NoW deputy editor
Graphic
Mr Wallis was arrested by police on 14 July on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications. His media consultancy company - Chamy Media - was used by the Met Police from October 2009 until September 2010. The Conservative Party released a statement saying Mr Wallis may have also offered informal advice to Andy Coulson - David Cameron's ex-communications chief - before the last election.

Silhouette graphic Terenia Taras Freelance journalist
Graphic
The freelance journalist was arrested on 23 June and later bailed as part of investigations into phone hacking.

Silhouette graphic Unnamed 63-year-old man Role unknown
Graphic
The unnamed man was arrested on 8 July and later bailed as part of investigations into phone hacking and corruption.

Sean Hoare Sean Hoare Former NoW reporter
Deceased
The former NoW journalist publicly admitted his part in phone hacking. He told the New York Times the practice of phone hacking was far more extensive than the newspaper acknowledged when police first investigated the case. He also told the BBC's Panorama it was "endemic" at the paper. Mr Hoare also said, as editor, Andy Coulson had asked him to hack phones. Mr Coulson has denied any knowledge of hacking. Mr Hoare was found dead in his home on 18 July 2011.

Paul McMullan Paul McMullan Ex-NoW deputy features editor The NoW deputy features editor between 1994 and 2001, Mr McMullan has spoken about the use of phone hacking on the paper, describing its investigations department as a "den of vipers".

Alex Marunchak Alex Marunchak Ex-NoW Irish edition editor The Met Police have confirmed Mr Marunchak worked for them as a part-time Ukrainian translator between 1980 and 2000. Earlier this year, Mr Marunchak denied allegations he obtained e-mails hacked into by a private detective and paid an agency for news stories based on confidential police information.

Stuart Kuttner Stuart Kuttner Former NoW managing editor
Graphic
Served as the News of the World's managing editor for 22 years before resigning in July 2009 to focus on "specialised projects", including the paper's Sarah's Law campaign. His departure came shortly before the Guardian's revelation that News International had paid out £1m to victims of phone-hacking. Arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption.

Greg Miskiw Greg Miskiw Former NoW news editor
Graphic
Sixty-one-year-old Greg Miskiw is believed to be the 12th person arrested since the start of the phone-hacking inquiry. He was arrested after visiting a police station by appointment. He is being held on suspicion of unlawful interception of communications and conspiring to intercept communications.

James Desborough James Desborough Former NoW showbiz writer
Graphic
Named by The Guardian newspaper as the 13th person arrested. He attended a south London police station by appointment on 18 August and is being held on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications. He joined the News of the World in 2005 and later became the Los Angeles-based US editor. He is among the tabloid's journalists in the midst of a 90-day consultation period following the paper's closure.

Police officers and staff involved in hacking inquiry

Name

Job/position

Connection to phone-hacking investigation

Sir Paul Stephenson Sir Paul Stephenson Former Met Police Commissioner
Graphic
Britain's most senior police officer faced criticism for hiring former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis - who was questioned by police investigating hacking - as a PR adviser. Sir Paul eventually said his links to the journalist could hamper investigations and resigned. He has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission over his links with Mr Wallis.

Asst Commissioner John Yates John Yates Former Met Police Assistant Commissioner
Graphic
Assistant Commissioner Yates ruled out a further inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal in 2009. He has since expressed "extreme regret" for not reopening the investigation. He resigned on 18 July. Along with Mr Stephenson, he has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission over his links with Neil Wallis.

Dick Fedorcio Dick Fedorcio Scotland Yard communications chief Mr Fedorcio has also been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission over his relationship Neil Wallis and News International.

Sue Akers Sue Akers Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner The current police hacking investigation, called Operation Weeting, is being led by Sue Akers.
Under her lead, detectives are contacting nearly 4,000 people whose personal details were stored by private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.

Andy Hayman Andy Hayman Former Met Police Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman was involved in the original hacking inquiry. MPs have criticised his handling of the investigation. He denies there has been anything "improper" about his decision to write columns for News International after he retired from the Met.

Thursday 18 August 2011

Phone hacking: News of the World Hollywood reporter is arrested

James Desborough showbiz journalist at The News of the World
The News of the World journalist James Desborough has been arrested over alleged phone hacking at the paper. 
James Desborough, an award-winning reporter at the former News of the World newspaper, has been arrested by officers investigating the phone-hacking scandal.
Desborough was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to section 1 (1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 after arriving at a south London police station on Thursday morning at 10.30am. He had arrived at the station by appointment for questioning about criminal activities at the paper.
The allegations are believed to relate to events prior to Desborough being promoted to be the newspaper's Los Angeles-based US editor in April 2009.
He was given the job less than a month after winning the British Press Award for showbusiness reporter of the year.
His move to the US makes his arrest, the 13th made by Operation Weeting, particularly significant. If Desborough was involved in hacking while in Britain, as police appear to believe he was, it raises the question of whether he practised those techniques in the US – and if so, whether he was the first and only News of the World journalist in the US to do so.
At the 2009 British Press Awards ceremony, Desborough was praised by judges for his series of "uncompromising scoops which mean no celebrity with secrets can sleep easy". He was presented with his award by Jon Snow, the respected Channel 4 journalist and anchorman.
Desborough continued to win plaudits after his move to America. Ian Halperin, a Hollywood author, described him as someone who "never gets his facts wrong. He's a rock solid reporter." Hollyscope, an online site, also praised Desborough for "seem[ing] to have information that not even close family members … know."
Desborough joined the News of the World in 2005 and broke stories including "Fern's big fat lie", which revealed that former This Morning host Fern Britton's dramatic weight loss was the result of having a gastric band fitted, not exercise and sensible eating as had been thought.
Desborough was writing for the News of the World up until it closed last month.
His final story for the online version of the paper was on 8 July, two days before it closed, claiming the new Duchess of Cambridge was to act in a Hollywood film.

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Clive Goodman's letter to News International

News International
1 Virginia Street
London E198 1HR 

March 2, 2007 

Dear Mr Cloke, 

Re: Notice of termination of employment 

I refer to Les Hinton’s letter of February 5 2007 informing me of my dismissal for alleged gross misconduct.
The letter identifies the reason for the dismissal as “recent events”. I take this to mean my plea of guilty to conspiracy to intercept the voicemail messages of three employees of the royal family.
I am appealing against this decision on the following grounds:
i The decision is perverse in that the actions leading to this criminal charge were carried out with the full knowledge and support of [BLANKED OUT]. Payment for Glen (sic) Mulcaire’s services was arranged by [BLANKED OUT].
ii The decision is inconsistent, because [BLANKED OUT] and other members of staff were carrying out the same illegal procedures. The prosecution counsel, the counsel for Glen (sic) Mulcaire, and the Judge at the sentencing hearing agreed that other News of the World employees were the clients for Mulcaire’s five solo substantive charges. This practice was widely discussed in the daily editorial conference, until explicit reference to it was banned by the Editor. As far as I am aware, no other member of staff has faced disciplinary action, much less dismissal.
iii My conviction and imprisonment cannot be the real reason for my dismissal. The legal manager, Tom Crone, attended virtually every meeting of my legal team and was given full access to the Crown Prosecution Service’s evidence files. He, and other senior staff of the paper, had long advance knowledge that I would plead guilty. Despite this, the paper continued to employ me. Throughout my suspension, I was given book serialisations to write and was consulted on several occasions about royal stories they needed to check. The paper continued to employ me for a substantial part of my custodial sentence.
iv Tom Crone and the editor promised on many occasions that I could come back to a job at the newspaper if I did not implicate the paper or any of its staff in my mitigation plea. I did not, and I expect the paper to honour its promise to me.
v The dismissal is automatically unfair as the company failed to go through the minimum required statutory dismissal procedures.

Yours sincerely,

Clive Goodman

cc Stuart Kuttner, Managing Editor, News of the World

Les Hinton, Executive Chairman, News International Ltd



Tuesday 16 August 2011

Phone hacking: News of the World reporter's letter reveals cover-up


Clive Goodman
The News of the World's former royal correpsondent, Clive Goodman, who was jailed over phone hacking. A letter from him claims phone hacking was widely discussed at the paper. 
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.
Goodman then claims that other members of staff at the News of the World were also hacking phones. Crucially, he adds: "This practice was widely discussed in the daily editorial conference, until explicit reference to it was banned by the editor." He reveals that the paper continued to consult him on stories even though they knew he was going to plead guilty to phone hacking and that the paper's then lawyer, Tom Crone, knew all the details of the case against him.
In a particularly embarrassing allegation, he adds: "Tom Crone and the editor promised on many occasions that I could come back to a job at the newspaper if I did not implicate the paper or any of its staff in my mitigation plea. I did not, and I expect the paper to honour its promise to me." In the event, Goodman lost his appeal. But the claim that the paper induced him to mislead the court is one that may cause further problems for News International.
Two versions of his letter were provided to the committee. One which was supplied by Harbottle & Lewis has been redacted to remove the names of journalists, at the request of police. The other, which was supplied by News International, has been redacted to remove not only the names but also all references to hacking being discussed in Coulson's editorial meetings and to Coulson's offer to keep Goodman on staff if he agreed not to implicate the paper.
The company also faces a new claim that it misled parliament. In earlier evidence to the select committee, in answer to questions about whether it had bought Goodman's silence, it had said he was paid off with a period of notice plus compensation of no more than £60,000. The new paperwork, however, reveals that Goodman was paid a full year's salary, worth £90,502.08, plus a further £140,000 in compensation as well as £13,000 to cover his lawyer's bill. Watson said: "It's hush money. I think they tried to buy his silence." Murdoch's executives have always denied this.
When Goodman's letter reached News International four years ago, it set off a chain reaction which now threatens embarrassment for Rupert and James Murdoch personally. The company resisted Goodman's appeal, and he requested disclosure of emails sent to and from six named senior journalists on the paper. The company collected 2,500 emails and sent them to Harbottle & Lewis and asked the law firm to examine them.
Harbottle & Lewis then produced a letter, which has previously been published by the select committee in a non-redacted form: "I can confirm that we did not find anything in those emails which appeared to us to be reasonable evidence that Clive Goodman's illegal actions were known about and supported by both or either of Andy Coulson, the editor, and Neil Wallis, the deputy editor, and/or that Ian Edmondson, the news editor, and others were carrying out similar illegal procedures."
In their evidence to the select committee last month, the Murdochs presented this letter as evidence that the company had been given a clean bill of health. However, the Metropolitan police have since said that the emails contained evidence of "alleged payments by corrupt journalists to corrupt police officers". And the former director of public prosecutions, Ken Macdonald, who examined a small sample of the emails, said they contained evidence of indirect hacking, breaches of national security and serious crime.
In a lengthy reply, Harbottle & Lewis say it was never asked to investigate whether crimes generally had been committed at the News of the World but had been instructed only to say whether the emails contained evidence that Goodman had hacked phones with "the full knowledge and support" of the named senior journalists. The law firm reveals that the letter was the result of a detailed negotiation with News International's senior lawyer, Jon Chapman, and it refused to include a line which he suggested, that, having seen a copy of Goodman's letter of 2 March: "We did not find anything that we consider to be directly relevant to the grounds of appeal put forward by him."
In a lengthy criticism of the Murdochs' evidence to the select committee last month, Harbottle & Lewis says it finds it "hard to credit" James Murdoch's repeated claim that News International "rested on" its letter as part of their grounds for believing that Goodman was a "rogue reporter". It says News International's view of the law firm's role is "self-serving" and that Rupert Murdoch's claim that it was hired "to find out what the hell was going on" was "inaccurate and misleading", although it adds that he may have been confused or misinformed about its role.
Harbottle & Lewis writes: "There was absolutely no question of the firm being asked to provide News International with a clean bill of health which it could deploy years later in wholly different contexts for wholly different purposes … The firm was not being asked to provide some sort of 'good conduct certificate' which News International could show to parliament … Nor was it being given a general retainer, as Mr Rupert Murdoch asserted it was, 'to find out what the hell was going on'."
The law firm's challenge to the Murdochs' evidence follows an earlier claim made jointly by the paper's former editor and former lawyer that a different element of James Murdoch's evidence to the committee was "mistaken". He had told the committee that he had paid more than £1m to settle a legal action brought by Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers Association without knowing that Taylor's lawyers had obtained an email from a junior reporter to the paper's chief reporter, Neville Thurlbeck, containing 35 transcripts of voicemail messages. Crone and the former editor, Colin Myler, last month challenged this.
In letters published by the committee, the former News of the World lawyer repeats his position. He says this email was "the sole reason" for settling Taylor's case. He says he took it with him to a meeting with James Murdoch in June 2008 when he explained the need to settle: "I have no doubt that I informed Mr Murdoch of its existence, of what it was and where it came from."
Myler, in a separate letter also published on Tuesday, endorses Crone's account. Their evidence raises questions about James Murdoch's failure to tell the police or his shareholders about the evidence of crime contained in the email.
Watson said that both Murdochs should be recalled to the committee to explain their evidence. Hinton, who resigned last month, may join them. Four days after Goodman sent his letter, Hinton gave evidence to the select committee in which he made no reference to any of the allegations contained in the letter, but told MPs: "I believe absolutely that Andy [Coulson] did not have knowledge of what was going on". He added that he had carried out a full, rigorous internal inquiry and that he believed Goodman was the only person involved.

Monday 15 August 2011

Phone hacking:


Could anyone else be picking up your messages?

Can my mobile phone be hacked? A question a lot of us have been asking over recent days, for obvious reasons. So I set about finding out about the threats to your phone and mine.
I called the network I've been using recently, O2, in search of reassurance. They told me that the original hacking technique which made the phones of anyone who used voicemail insecure does now appear to be obsolete.
It involved exploiting the fact that mobile phone operators gave customers default pin numbers - 0000 or 1234 - to access their voicemail from another phone.
O2 say that when they investigated back in 2006, 40 customers were identified as having had their voicemail accessed without authorisation by the News of The World's Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire. After that the network changed its system.
"A customer is now required to personalise their PIN number from their mobile phone if they wish to access their voicemails from another phone. If a customer does not choose a PIN, they will not be able to remotely access any of their voicemails."
But there are other threats out there - just look at this post on the technology site CNET.
The security consultant Kevin Mitnick describes another technique that could allow someone to access your voicemail if they knew your phone number.
Caller ID spoofing allows anyone with a modicum of technical know-how to get access to your voicemail by convincing the system that it's you calling.
According to CNET, the technique has been used in the past to hack celebrities' messages. But rest easy - both O2 and Vodafone told me their systems were designed to make this technique impossible in the UK.

Friday 12 August 2011

News of the World staff offered 'enhanced redundancy'

News of the World staff 
Around 200 staff were left without a job when the News of the World closed last month
Former News of the World staff are being offered "enhanced redundancy terms" if they leave before the end of the current 90-day consultation period.
The terms include a 25% increase on redundancy pay, gardening leave pay until 6 October, and a 2-3% pay rise.
News International Staff Association told its members it was "a significant improvement on the original offer".
The company had previously said the consultation aimed to redeploy some of the 200 or so staff to other titles.
However, some employees have criticised the redeployment positions as being non-editorial or involving a move abroad.
The current 90-day consultation period is the minimum statutory obligation for an employer making more than 100 employees redundant.
In an email, the staff association said it had reached an agreement with management whereby employees would now be entitled to a 25% increase on redundancy pay or £5,000 - whichever is greater.
Pay rise and bonus All employees would also be "uprated", giving "a rating of 4 for every member of staff, which means a 2.5% pay rise plus a £1,000 bonus."
It also said: "Staff who have a recorded rating of 5 will get 3% pay rise and £1,400 bonus."
NoW staff are being spoken to individually about their future and last month Rebekah Brooks - the former head of News International - told the culture, media and sport select committee that it would try to redeploy every employee.
"We have endeavoured to find them jobs - every single one of them will be offered a job," she said.
The News of the World published its last edition on 10 July in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.
Rumours have circulated that News International will launch another Sunday tabloid, dubbed the Sun on Sunday, but News International chairman Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch, his deputy chief operating officer, have said there are "no immediate plans".