Douglas Caddy Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Phone hacking: 61-year-old man arrested Man arrested by Scotland Yard reported to be former News of the World newsdesk executive Greg Miskiw By Jason Deans guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 10 August 2011 15.13 BST The Metropolitan police on Wednesday arrested a 61-year-old man, reported to be former News of the World newsdesk executive Greg Miskiw, as part of its investigation into phone hacking at the paper. Officers from Operation Weeting, Scotland Yard's investigation into phone hacking at the now-defunct News International tabloid, made the arrest by appointment at a London police station at about midday. The man arrested is Miskiw, according to Sky News. The man was arrested on suspicion of unlawful interception of communications and conspiring to intercept communications, both contrary to section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Phone hacking James Murdoch expected to provide evidence he did not mislead MPs Former News of the World editor and lawyer claim that statement to select committee on phone hacking was 'mistaken' By Lisa O'Carroll guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 10 August 2011 17.28 BST James Murdoch is expected to explain within the next 24 hours why he did not mislead a parliamentary select committee investigating phone hacking at the News of the World. He has until Thursday to reply to a list of detailed questions asked by the Commons culture, media and sport select committee, following allegations by the former editor and former head of legal affairs of the now defunct News International tabloid that one of his statements was "mistaken". The former News of the World editor, Colin Myler, and the paper's ex lawyer, Tom Crone, who alleged that Murdoch had misled the committee, will also be sending letters to MPs ahead of tomorrow's deadline for supplementary evidence. The three letters, along with a fourth letter from the former overall head of legal affairs at News International, Jon Chapman, are expected to reopen the scandal over just who knew how widespread phone hacking was at the News of the World. "These letters are going to be dynamite," said one source with knowledge of proceedings. The committee considers them so important that they are returning from their holidays to have a private meeting to discuss the new evidence on Tuesday. It is believed Murdoch has been asked a series of forensic questions in relation to payments to Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator formerly employed by the News of the World to hack voicemail messages. The committee want to know why Myler and Crone, who lost their jobs when the paper closed last month, publicly challenged Murdoch's claim at the committee hearing that he knew nothing of an internal email providing evidence that more than one "rogue reporter" was involved phone-hacking . Murdoch has said he "stands by his testimony to the select committee" and Thursday's letter is expected to provide evidence to back this claim up. Myler and Crone are, in effect, jointly accusing Murdoch of being part of the cover-up, one in which the company's executives twisted and turned to conceal the truth about phone hacking and blame it on a single "rogue reporter". Murdoch's crucial claim to the committee was that although in 2008 he had personally agreed to a payout of £700,000 to hacking victim Gordon Taylor, he had done so in ignorance of the true facts. He said Crone and Myler had told him the payout was legally necessary. Murdoch, sitting alongside his father Rupert, claimed that Crone and Myler had concealed from him the crucial piece of evidence in the case: that an email had come to light with a voicemail hacking transcript, marked "for Neville", allegedly a reference to Neville Thurlbeck, the News of the World's chief reporter. The existence of this email, had it been made public at the time, would have exploded the "rogue reporter" defence and begun to implicate the rest of the NoW newsroom. John Whittingdale, chairman of the culture sport and media select committee, said after Myler and Crone issued their statement in July: "We as a committee regarded the 'for Neville' email as one of the most critical pieces of evidence in the whole inquiry. We will be asking James Murdoch to respond and ask him to clarify." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Phone-hacking enquiry: Dick Fedorcio put on leave Metropolitan police's director of public affairs put on extended leave until police hacking enquiry is over By James Robinson guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 10 August 2011 19.27 BST Dick Fedorcio, the Met's director of public affairs and internal communication, has been put on extended leave until Scotland Yard's investigation into phone hacking is over. He has been in the post for eleven years, but he was criticised last month for hiring Neil Wallis, a former deputy editor at the News of the World, as a consultant. Wallis has been working in a PR capacity since leaving the paper in 2009. He was arrested as part of the Operation Weeting inquiry in July. Fedorcio gave Wallis a two-day a month contract to assist the Met's press office in October 2009. Fedorcio told the Home Affairs select committee that he would not have hired Wallis had he known he was to be arrested. He also said he had not asked Wallis about phone-hacking at the paper before hiring him. The close ties between News International, which owned the title until it was shut down in July, and the Met, have prompted concerns about the intimacy of the relationship between the two organisations. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is currently investigating his dealings with Wallis. Scotland Yard sources have said the hacking investigation is likely to run into next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Former NOTW man arrested after flying back from America The Independent By Ian Burrell, Media Editor Thursday, 11 August 2011 Police investigating the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World have made their 12th arrest. The paper's former news editor Greg Miskiw, 61, was held after reporting by appointment at a London police station yesterday. The news came as Time magazine revealed that Preet Bharara, who is heading the US investigation into News Corp, was best man at the wedding of Viet Dinh, an independent board member of the company. Dinh is conducting News Corp's internal investigation into phone hacking. In an interview with Time in 2007, Dinh described Bharara as "my best friend". This week his spokesman told the magazine that the two men had not discussed hacking. In a separate development yesterday, Scotland Yard confirmed that the Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating whether Dick Fedorcio, the Metropolitan Police director of public affairs, committed an act of gross misconduct in his handling of the hacking affair. Fedorcio denies impropriety and has held onto his post while more senior figures at the Yard have resigned. Miskiw, a veteran British tabloid journalist, is understood to have been held on suspicion of unlawful interception of communications and conspiring to intercept communications. Until recently, he had been living in Florida. Miskiw's name appears on a contract that the NOTW had with the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire (identified by the pseudonym "Paul Williams"). Mulcaire was jailed in 2007 for the hacking of phones belonging to members of the royal household. Shortly after Mulcaire and the NOTW's royal editor Clive Goodman were jailed, Miskiw moved to Manchester to take over the paper's northern office. He later left the paper and set up a Manchester news agency. Last month he stood outside his Florida apartment to read out a statement in which he said that he would be returning to the UK "voluntarily". He added that his solicitor had been in contact with the police. During his time at the NOTW, Miskiw made the infamous comment "That's what we do – we destroy people's lives." He worked for the newspaper's editors Rebekah Wade and Andy Coulson, both of whom have lost their jobs over phone hacking. James Murdoch, who has faced calls for his own resignation over the handling of the hacking affair, is due to give written details to MPs today to convince them he did not mislead a parliamentary committee in evidence he provided last month. The former NOTW editor Colin Myler and the paper's legal manager, Tom Crone, have jointly claimed that evidence given by Mr Murdoch to the select committee was "mistaken". Both are expected to support assertion in letters to the committee before today's evidence deadline. Jon Chapman, former head of legal affairs of News International, which published the NOTW, is also expected to submit evidence to MPs today after his role was commented on at the hearing. Murdoch: I won't quit Rupert Murdoch told his shareholders last night that he would not bow to demands for his retirement, and insisted that the hacking scandal at the News of the World was having no financial impact on the rest of his media empire. None the less, he did highlight the role of his deputy, Chase Carey, in a nod to Wall Street's concerns that he may be too old or too out of touch to carry on as both chairman and chief executive of News Corporation. "Make no mistake, Chase Carey and I run this company as a team," Mr Murdoch said, on a conference call to discuss News Corp's latest figures. Mr Murdoch's empire includes satellite broadcasting in Asia and Europe, US television networks, the publisher Harper Collins and the movie studio Twentieth Century Fox. Even with the closure of the News of the World, the company still expects more than 13 per cent profit growth over the next year. In the 12 months to the end of June, News Corp profits jumped to $2.74bn from $2.54bn last time. Stephen Foley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Reuters August 10, 2011 Rupert Murdoch acknowledged publicly for the first time that his son James is not the preferred choice to succeed him as News Corp. CEO, at least in the near-term. In the clearest indication yet that the phone hacking scandal enveloping News Corp's U.K. operations has damaged the succession ambitions of James Murdoch, his father endorsed top lieutenant Chase Carey as a future CEO. But Murdoch, 80, also said he and Carey had "full confidence" in James Murdoch, who until last month was seen as Rupert Murdoch's clear successor. "Chase is my partner and if anything happened to me I'm sure he'll get it immediately -- if I went under a bus. But Chase and I have full confidence in James," said Murdoch on a conference call with Wall Street analysts. The younger Murdoch has been under pressure since the phone hacking scandal that erupted last month at News Corp's UK operations, forcing the closure of its News of the World tabloid and the arrest of 12 ex-staffers. News Corp's UK business ultimately reported to James. News Corp owns a stable of properties including the Wall Street Journal and Fox News. Media experts and analysts have wondered for several years who would replace Murdoch once he stepped down, with speculation centering on his children as well as executives outside the family. Murdoch said the media company's board wants him to remain CEO. "The board and I believe I should continue in my current role as chairman and CEO, but make no mistake, Chase Carey and I run this company as a team, and the strength of that partnership is reflected in our improved results," Murdoch said. "I'm personally determined to put things right when it comes to the News of the World." Murdoch said that he was disappointed that the company had to drop its bid for full control of UK satellite TV company BSkyB after the phone hacking scandal eroded News Corp's chances of getting approval for the deal. News Corp's profit rose, at least by one measure. The company, which owns broadcaster Fox and newspapers including the Wall Street Journal reported a profit from continuing operations of $982 million, up from $902 million a year ago. Its net income fell to $683 million, or 26 cents a share, down from $875 million, or 33 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose 11 percent to $8.96 billion, helped by advertising sales and fees at Fox TV and its cable networks. Operating income at its cable network unit rose 12 percent, helped by a 23 percent rise in advertising revenue at its domestic channels and a 30 percent rise in affiliate fees at its international cable channels. Advertising at its Fox broadcast business also rose by 7 percent. Movie profits rose 53 percent thanks to animation hit "Rio" and home entertainment sales of "Black Swan" and "The Chronicles of Narnia." "They were pretty good numbers," said Collins Stewart analyst Thomas Eagan. Murdoch said the company would consider expanding its share buyback if the stock continues to be undervalued. (Reporting by Yinka Adegoke. Editing by Robert MacMillan and Janet Guttsman) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dolva Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Douglas, I applaud your persistence in this and puzzle the choice by most to not contribute. John, in the beginning post you said something about an Australian Labor Government. Could you say which one you were meaning? Please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Simon Hughes to sue over News of the World phone hacking News International faces civil action by Lib Dem MP whose voicemail messages Glenn Mulcaire admitted intercepting in earlier criminal case By James Robinson guardian.co.uk, Thursday 11 August 2011 18.14 BST 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. Publicist Max Clifford received a £1m payout and Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the PFA, received a secret £700,000 sum in 2008 in a deal approved by James Murdoch. Football agent Sky Andrew is also pursuing legal action. He is one of the victims named in a court case scheduled to be heard early next year. It was Andrew's court action that forced Mulcaire to name the News of the World's former assistant editor (news) Ian Edmondson as the person who ordered him to hack into Andrew's phone. That claim undermined the paper's defence that hacking was the work of a "rogue reporter". The paper was closed by James Murdoch last month after publishing for 168 years. On Wednesday night, his father Rupert Murdoch conceded during a press call with journalists and media analysts for News International parent company News Corporation's annual results that the company had to "get to the bottom of" what happened at the title. "Were there a dozen guilty people or two dozen?" the News Corp chairman and chief executive said. Greg Miskiw, who on Thursday became the 12th person arrested by police officers investigating alleged phone hacking by the News of the World as part of the Metropolitan police's Operation Weeting, has been released on bail. Miskiw held a senior editorial role at the now-defunct Sunday tabloid until 2005, when he joined a news agency in Manchester before moving to Florida. He told reporters last month that he was returning to the UK to meet police officers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Douglas, I applaud your persistence in this and puzzle the choice by most to not contribute. John, in the beginning post you said something about an Australian Labor Government. Could you say which one you were meaning? Please? I do this because this is a Big Story, a mystery that is unfolding like layers being peeled on an onion. There is something Very Important at the center of it all that has not been brought out to date. It rivals Nixon's missing 18 1/2 tape minutes in its significance. I have no idea what it is, but possess a gut feeling that Rupert Murdoch will do anything to keep it from being revealed, possibly even letting his son face prison time if the circumstances dictate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dolva Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 (edited) The answer could lie many years (50+ even) in the past so it's one big onion. I'm waiting for a (not just a coup in Australia) reference to Chile, iow I wouldn't be surprised if at some time such is not mentioned. There are already conversations going on that tie the Birchers, The Kochs, Tea-Partyites and Murdoch. editypo Edited August 12, 2011 by John Dolva Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 News of the World's alleged Milly Dowler leaks investigated by IPCC Police watchdog follows up voluntary referral from force after claims Surrey policeman passed case details to paper By James Robinson guardian.co.uk, Friday 12 August 2011 22.03 BST The police watchdog is investigating an allegation that a Surrey officer gave information about the Milly Dowler murder investigation to the News of the World. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it was investigating the claim following a voluntary referral from the force. "An IPCC deputy senior investigator has been over at Surrey police this morning to get more information about the case and will be writing to the Dowler family, via their solicitors at their request, this afternoon and offering to meet to give them more detail," the commission said. "Until then, it would not be appropriate for us to make any further detail public." The Guardian understands that the allegations relate to the early stages of the investigation into Milly Dowler's disappearance. It is thought a Surrey police officer met a female journalist from the News of the World at a social event in London and told her details about the leads that officers working on the case were following. It is not thought that he was paid for the information. Sources claimed the officer in question was publicly admonished in front of colleagues when the paper subsequently published the information in a story, taken off the case, and then disciplined. The Dowler family's solicitor, Mark Lewis, said he had not been told how long the IPCC investigation will take. "They need to look at their own information about who the officer was, what he said and what he gave out," he told the BBC News channel, referring to the information passed voluntarily to the commission by Surrey police. The revelation last month that a mobile phone belonging to the teenager was accessed by the News of the World triggered a wave of public revulsion that led directly to the closure of the 168-year-old paper. The Dowler family received a personal apology from Rupert Murdoch, chairman of the paper's owner News Corp. They also met with the prime minister. Lewis said the family were upset to learn a policeman may have passed information to the paper during the original 2002 investigation. He said Milly's parents had already endured the trial of Levi Bellfield, who was convicted this year of murdering Milly, during which they were cross-examined aggressively by Bellfield's lawyer. That was followed almost immediately by allegations that Milly's voicemail messages were listened to by the paper and then deleted in order to create room for more messages to be left Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 U.S. expands probe of News Corp: Wall St. Journal By Bob Burgdorfer | Reuters August 13, 2011 CHICAGO (Reuters) - Authorities are investigating if Britain's News Corp had a broader pattern of misconduct in the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Saturday. The latest investigation concerns past allegations of misconduct, including the company's supermarket-coupon and advertising unit that settled a lawsuit from a competitor alleging computer hacking, the newspaper said. News Corp owns the Wall Street Journal. U.S. and British investigators have not yet found evidence in phone-hacking investigations that victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States were targeted, the Wall Street Journal said. Allegations of such hacking stemmed from an article in Britain's Daily Mirror. The FBI said on July 14 that it was examining allegations that News Corp may have tried to hack into phone records of September 11 victims. News Corp already is under investigation by U.S. prosecutors for phone-hacking allegations that surfaced last month and linked to its now closed News of the World tabloid, the paper said. In Britain, 12 former staffers have been arrested in that case. The coupon case, in which a company alleged its computers were hacked, is more than five years old. While that means the statute of limitations could bar prosecution, U.S. authorities are trying to find more recent wrongdoings, which would allow pursuit of older matters, unnamed sources told the newspaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 FBI widens its US inquiry into News Corp beyond 9/11 hacking The Independent By Cahal Milmo, Chief Reporter Monday, 15 August 2011 The American authorities have widened their investigation into Rupert Murdoch's News Corp to look into allegations of wrongdoing at the company beyond the claim that News of the World journalists attempted to hack the phones of 9/11 victims. It was reported this weekend that FBI investigators, who are checking damaging claims that reporters at the now-defunct Sunday tabloid asked a New York-based private detective to access the voicemails of those killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks, have so far found no evidence that attempts were made to eavesdrop on the messages. The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp, said US agencies were now examining whether there were further claims of misconduct at the company's American subsidiaries that merit further investigation. The move comes as MPs in Westminster prepare to consider tomorrow the release of new documents related to hacking, which one former minister described as "dynamite". The widened US inquiry, said to be at "an early stage", will look at past claims against News Corp companies, including a lawsuit brought by Floorgraphics, an advertising company, which alleged computer hacking on the part of its Murdoch-owned competitor. A New Jersey senator wrote to the US Attorney General's office last month asking for an inquiry into News Corp's behaviour in the US, citing the case of Floorgraphics, whose founders claimed their Murdoch-owned rival, News America, threatened to destroy their company when they rejected a takeover bid. A jury was told that 11 breaches of Floorgraphics' password-protected website in 2004 were traced back to an address registered to a News America office and that sensitive information could have been accessed. News Corp, which ended the lawsuit after agreeing to buy Floorgraphics for $29.5m (£18m), denied any claim that it threatened the company and said it condemned the hacking, suggesting it may have been carried out without its knowledge by an employee. News Corp is now facing questions about its US operations, including whether American corruption laws were broken if it is proven that NOTW journalists made payments to British police officers. The developments came ahead of a potentially difficult week for Mr Murdoch's son, James, as the Commons' media select committee meets tomorrow to discuss further submissions arising from his testimony last month. James Murdoch last week supplied written answers to questions from MPs after two former NOTW executives – Colin Myler and Tom Crone – said Mr Murdoch had been "mistaken" in his testimony relating to an out-of-court settlement he approved with the Professional Footballers' Association boss Gordon Taylor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 (edited) Phone hacking: News of the World reporter's letter reveals cover-up Disgraced royal correspondent Clive Goodman's letter says phone hacking was 'widely discussed' at NoW meetings Read Clive Goodman's letter to News International http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/interactive/2011/aug/16/clive-goodman-letter-phone-hacking By Nick Davies guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 16 August 2011 12.34 BST 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. Commenting on the evidence from the select committee, a News International spokesperson said: "News Corporation's board has set up a management and standards committee, chaired by independent chairman Lord Grabiner, which is co-operating fully with the Metropolitan police and is facilitating their investigation into illegal voicemail interception at the News of the World and related issues. "We recognise the seriousness of materials disclosed to the police and parliament and are committed to working in a constructive and open way with all the relevant authorities." Edited August 16, 2011 by Douglas Caddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Can James Murdoch argue himself out of this corner? After the release of shocking new phone-hacking documents, the News Corporation chairman is surely too compromised to stay By Brian Cathcart guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 16 August 2011 15.00 BST Tom Watson MP said the new material was devastating and he was not exaggerating. Difficult though it may be to believe, documents released by the Commons culture, media and sport select committee are at least as damaging to News International management as the revelation last month that Milly Dowler's voicemail had been hacked. That news prompted disgrace and resignations: now we are looking at possible criminal charges at senior levels. Assuming that these documents hold up to scrutiny, a whole raft of executives – not journalists or editors, but well above that level – are surely likely to be questioned by police investigating the possibility of a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Arrests in some cases must be likely. James Murdoch, virtually the last man standing at News International, may not be facing jail, but he will struggle to argue his way out of this corner. When he appeared before MPs beside his father he chose a strategy of bluster and blaming others. Predictably, those others have bitten back and as a result James must be finished as a company executive in the UK. It is very difficult to believe that a man so compromised in this country could ever hold a global role at News Corporation either. Rarely can the old line about the cover-up being worse than the original crime have been so spectacularly borne out. And rarely can a parliamentary select committee have, by patient digging, unearthed such a bundle of sensations. Most damaging of all is the implication that Clive Goodman, the royal reporter jailed for hacking in 2007, was encouraged or induced by News International executives to withhold the full truth about the extent of hacking from police and the courts. The Goodman letter makes clear that he knew in 2007 what we all now know – that hacking was widespread at the paper. Second to that in importance is the evidence suggesting Goodman was paid nearly a quarter of a million pounds by the company after his release from jail – a far higher sum than the company previously claimed, and indeed a sum so high that to many eyes it suggests that News International bought the silence of employees. As for James Murdoch, he is haunted now by 10 words he uttered to MPs, which he will now have to defend: "No, I was not aware of that at the time." He was telling Watson he was unaware of the famous "for Neville" email at the time he authorised a half-million-plus payment to Gordon Taylor in 2008 to withdraw his legal case about hacking and remain silent. That email offered – on any normal reading – firm evidence that Goodman had not been the only News of the World reporter involved in illegal hacking. There were two people in the room with James Murdoch that day in 2008. Both have now asserted firmly that not only was he aware of the email, but it was shown to him there and then. They are Tom Crone, former legal chief of News Group Newspapers, and Colin Myler, former News of the World editor. At the same time, James's efforts to shift responsibility to the lawyers Harbottle & Lewis also seems to have backfired. Only a fool picks a fight with a lawyer, and sure enough they have come back and slated his evidence. James has been asked back to the media committee to clarify his evidence. That will be a humiliation so dreadful that he will be looking for any way he can to avoid it. Meanwhile a number of people accustomed to executive limos and seven-figure salaries are beginning to wonder what it might be like in jail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 MPs split over disclosure of 'dynamite' hacking evidence The Independent By Cahal Milmo and Oliver Wright Tuesday, 16 August 2011 A committee of MPs investigating the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, which has received new evidence described by one member as "dynamite", is divided over whether to make the documents public this week. The House of Commons Media, Culture and Sport Select Committee will meet today to decide whether to disclose submissions from key figures following claims that James Murdoch was "mistaken" in aspects of evidence he gave to MPs last month. The dossier includes responses by Mr Murdoch to additional questions from MPs, as well as testimony from the paper's head lawyer, Tom Crone, and Colin Myler, who edited the NOTW before it was closed by the Murdoch family's media empire, News Corporation. It addresses the issue of whether Mr Murdoch knew of a crucial email which undermined the explanation that hacking was due to one "rogue reporter". Last week, Tom Watson, a Labour MP on the committee, said the documents were "dynamite" and he would vote for their disclosure. But The Independent understands that there is no unanimity among MPs about the timing of the publication of the documents, and some members are "reticent" about releasing them today. The committee will also decide whether to recall Mr Murdoch, but this may not happen until Parliament reconvenes next month. Mr Murdoch, the boss of News Corp in Europe, stands by his testimony to MPs that he had no knowledge of the so-called "for Neville" email, which suggests that knowledge of hacking went beyond one reporter at the NOTW. But his assertion has been challenged by Mr Myler and Mr Crone, who say Mr Murdoch was aware of the email in 2008, when he signed off on a £700,000 out-of-court settlement with Gordon Taylor, head of the Professional Footballers' Association. The Independent understands that a submission has also been supplied to MPs by Harbottle & Lewis, the law firm which conducted a review of internal News International emails in 2007 and found they contained no evidence of "illegal actions". Lord Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, who reviewed the documents in May, said it was "blindingly obvious" that they held evidence of criminality. In a separate development, Citigroup warned investors that Trinity Mirror, owner of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror, could face serious hacking allegations. Citigroup cut its target price for shares in the company. Trinity Mirror strongly denied any wrongdoing by staff. It has asked its senior journalists for written undertakings that they had no knowledge of phone hacking or corrupt payments to police. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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