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.

Glenn Mulcaire reveals News of the World hacking names

 

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.

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

Coulson got hundreds of thousands of pounds from News Int

 

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'.

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.

Phone hacking: The main players

Hacking scandal: Key figures
Name	Job/position	Connection to phone-hacking investigation
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 (nee Wade)	Former chief exec, News International	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	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	Former chief exec, Dow Jones	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	NoW editor 2003-07	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	Private investigator	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	Ex-NoW royal editor	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	Ex-NoW assistant editor (news)	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	Ex-NoW chief reporter	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	Ex-NoW reporter	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	Ex-NoW deputy editor	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.
Terenia Taras	Freelance journalist	The freelance journalist was arrested on 23 June and later bailed as part of investigations into phone hacking.
Unnamed 63-year-old man	Role unknown	The unnamed man was arrested on 8 July and later bailed as part of investigations into phone hacking and corruption.
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	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	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	Former NoW managing editor	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	Former NoW news editor	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	Former NoW showbiz writer	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	Former Met Police Commissioner	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.
John Yates	Former Met Police Assistant Commissioner	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	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	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	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.

Phone hacking: News of the World Hollywood reporter is arrested

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.