Douglas Caddy Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Leveson inquiry: NoW accused of colluding with murder suspects Former Crimewatch presenter Jacqui Hames also claims Rebekah Brooks covered up why her family were targeted By John Plunkett and David Leigh guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 February 2012 10.49 EST When a senior detective re-opened a notorious murder inquiry, the suspects were able to intimidate his wife and family with the help of an executive at the News of the World, the Leveson inquiry has been told. Making one of the gravest Leveson allegations so far, former Crimewatch presenter Jacqui Hames, the then wife of Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook, broke down in tears as she accused the paper's then editor Rebekah Brooks of covering up the real reason why her family were targeted. The intimidation was carried out after an offer of a £50,000 reward on Hames's Crimewatch programme for fresh information on the murder of Daniel Morgan, a partner in a private detective agency. Hames said: "These events left me distressed, anxious and needing counselling and contributed to the breakdown of my marriage." Leveson told her she did not have to continue. But having recovered her composure, Hames, a former detective herself who said she had loved her job, told the inquiry: "No one from any walk of life should have to put up with it. I would hate to think of anyone having to go through what we have had 10 years of." She alleged that former NoW executive Alex Marunchak colluded with suspects who ran the NoW's private detective operations. They put the family under surveillance and targeted their phones for hacking. Brooks, as editor, failed to act when confronted with the evidence in 2003, Hames said, and Marunchak was even subsequently promoted. After the broadcast, Cook got official intelligence that the suspects planned "to make life difficult for him", and the programme was sent an email suggesting Hames was having an affair with a senior detective. Two vans stationed outside their house were eventually traced back to the News of the World. Police at Scotland Yard did little to protect the couple. Instead, the head of PR at the Met, Dick Fedorcio, spoke to Brooks, who made the "absolutely pathetic" claim that the tabloid had targeted couple because of the alleged affair. "We had by then been married for four years, had been together for 11 years and had two children," Hames said. In a meeting with her husband, she said Brooks "repeated the unconvincing explanation that the News of the World believed we were having an affair". Hames said: "I believe that the real reason for the NoW placing us under surveillance was that suspects in the Daniel Morgan murder inquiry were using their association with a powerful and well-resourced newspaper to try to intimidate us and so attempt to subvert the investigation." She told the inquiry that it was impossible not to conclude that there had been "collusion between people at the News of the World and people who were suspected of killing Daniel Morgan". Private investigator Jonathan Rees, said to have earned £150,000 a year from the News of the World for supplying illegally obtained information, was eventually accused of Morgan's murder but the trial collapsed and he was cleared last March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Phone hacking: 54 MPs and peers in Glenn Mulcaire notebooks The Telegraph 4:32PM GMT 28 Feb 2012 Notebooks seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator jailed for phone hacking, contain details of 54 current and former MPs and peers, the detective leading the investigation has disclosed. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers said 10 peers and 44 current and former MPs had been identified in material analysed to date by officers from Operation Weeting, Scotland Yard's inquiry into phone hacking. The number could rise further as the investigation continues, she added. Of the 54 names, a total of 18 - four peers and 14 current and former MPs - had been identified as "likely victims of phone hacking". All of them have been contacted by Scotland Yard. They will include MPs who have already received damages settlements from News Group Newspapers, the publisher of the News of the World, such as Lord Prescott, Chris Bryant and Simon Hughes. Ms Akers disclosed the information in response to a request from the parliamentary culture, media and sport committee, which has been conducting its own inquiry into hacking and other illegal practices by the media. The committee had originally asked for the names of all MPs and peers contained in Mulcaire's notebooks, but Ms Akers said the Metropolitan Police was "unable" to provide that information. To date, seven serving and former MPs have received damages from News Group Newspapers, the publisher of the News of the World. They include Denis MacShane, Claire Ward, Mark Oaten and George Galloway. Almost 6,000 names appear in notebooks seized from Mulcaire in 2006, when he and the then News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman were arrested, but the Met says that only 829 of those are "likely" to have been victims of hacking. The committee also published a letter from James Murdoch, the chief executive of News International, who wrote to the committee last week giving details of how the company has tightened its corporate governance in the wake of the hacking scandal. He said any editor whose journalists want to use a private investigator must now be given the prior approval of the chief executive, and that NI has instigated an anti-bribery policy to comply with the 2010 Bribery Act. A new "payment policy" to guide staff on when they can make payments for stories has also been circulated, he said, while the company's record retention practices are being reviewed to make sure they are "clear and robust". Evidence of a wide-ranging cover-up of the hacking scandal by News Group Newspapers has emerged in recent months, as managers ordered the deletion of any emails that might incriminate the company in future legal action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Number 10 silent on whether David Cameron used Rebekah Brooks' police horse Mrs Brooks kept the horse at her home in the Cotswolds for two years before giving it back to the Metropolitan Police in 2010 The Telegraph 7:01PM GMT 28 Feb 2012 Downing Street has refused to disclose whether David Cameron used the police horse lent to Rebekah Brooks on riding trips together. The Prime Minister is long rumoured to have spent time horse-riding with Mrs Brooks, the ex-News International boss, who stepped down over the News of the World’s phone-hacking scandal. Mr Cameron and Mrs Brooks were both part of the so-called Chipping Norton set of powerful public figures that met regularly at private gatherings until the phone-hacking scandal broke. She denies the outings ever took place, although both are members of the local Heythrop Hunt, which is chaired by her husband, Charlie Brooks, the racehorse trainer. Last night, a spokesman for the Prime Minister could not say whether he had ever taken out the horse loaned to Mrs Brooks by the Metropolitan Police between 2008 and 2010. Asked whether Mr Cameron ever rode the police horse, his official spokesman replied: "Um, that is not something that I keep tabs on, which horse the Prime Minister is riding." One of the people claiming Mr Cameron went riding with Mrs Brooks was former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan, who was recorded in an undercover investigation by the New Statesman. He said: “Cameron went horse riding regularly with Rebekah. I know, because as well as doorstepping celebrities, I've also doorstepped my ex-boss by hiding in the bushes, waiting for her to come past with Cameron on a horse... before the election to show that - you know - Murdoch was backing Cameron.” Since the phone-hacking scandal broke, the Prime Minister has sought to distance himself from the Chipping Norton group. Following the furore, he was faced with accusations of being too close to executives from News International, the newspaper publisher controlled by Rupert Murdoch. Mr Cameron has also run into trouble over his friendship with Jeremy Clarkson, the Top Gear presenter, and member of the Chipping Norton set, in recent months. The Prime Minister had to disown his friend’s “silly” outburst on The One Show when Mr Clarkson said that public sector workers who had taken part in the national strike should be shot. He was subsequently embarrassed by Mr Clarkson’s crude jokes about India in an episode of Top Gear, resulting in a complaint to the BBC from the country’s High Commission over its lack of cultural sensitivity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Phone-hacking will be the single largest corporate corruption case for 250 years because 'cover up' went up 'to the very highest levels, says MP Chris Bryant sensationally claimed the 'cover-up' extended to James Murdoch, boss of News Corporation Calls for U.S. authorities to investigate directors Claimed senior NI figures ordered the 'mass destruction of evidence' He says 486 lies have been told to Parliament over phone-hacking Glenn Mulcaire 'provided daily transcripts of hacked voicemail messages', court papers allege Daily Mail By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 8:20 PM on 28th February 2012 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2107703/MP-claims-phone-hacking-single-largest-corporate-case-250-years-cover-went-highest-levels.html#ixzz1ni7km1oz Phone-hacking will be the single largest corporate corruption case for 250 years and the 'cover up' went up 'to the very highest levels', a senior Labour MP sensationally claimed today. Speaking at a private members' debate held in Westminster Hall, Chris Bryant claimed the scandal at News International extended to executives and chairman James Murdoch. He said that senior figures 'ordered - we know this for sure - the mass destruction of evidence'. Mr Bryant claimed: 'There was a major cover-up at News International which stretched right up to the very highest levels of the company, as we know even up to James Murdoch. 'And that, in the end, I suspect, will prove to have been the biggest crime.' The politician made his dramatic claims as court papers alleged that private investigator Glenn Mulcaire provided the News of the World with daily transcripts of hacked messages. The papers said voicemail interception was approved by at least two executives, the Daily Telegraph reported. Three senior figures figures on the paper were in frequent contact with Mulcaire, it is claimed. The documents say he entered into a conspiracy with executives and 'agreed to provide daily transcripts of voicemail messages to [NGN] journalists.' More...Crimewatch presenter 'was spied on by News of the World because of paper's links to suspects in murder case' Police guilty of 'unforgivable' failure to investigate extent of phone hacking says Lib Dem MP outed by The Sun after it caught him phoning gay chat line Rebekah Brooks was loaned a HORSE by Scotland Yard sparking fresh questions over just how close the Met was with Murdoch empire As the hacking controversy deepened today, Mr Bryant insisted U.S. authorities had a duty to investigate because members of the News Corp board, which is based in America, had failed to prevent staff paying off public officials despite 'incontrovertible evidence'. Mr Bryant claimed Parliament has been told 486 lies about the phone-hacking affair, by News International, police and other organisations. He also said he was 'absolutely sure' that the problems seen at News International 'may well have been replicated' at other newspapers. Mr Bryant sensationally claimed there was a major cover-up at News International which stretched right up to James Murdoch, executive and chairman, pictured, at the Commons Culture Committee Mr Bryant, the Rhondda MP, received £30,000 in compensation from News International last month after his phone was hacked. He said News Corporation directors were at fault for not stopping the attempt to disguise what was going on within the company. He said: 'Senior figures at News International ordered - we know this for sure - the mass destruction of evidence. 'The clear, incontrovertible evidence of corrupt payments to police, which News International had garnered together, they gave to lawyers and squirrelled away and only revealed to the public very recently - I believe that aspect is one of the things that the authorities in the United States of America should be investigating because I don't believe that a single member of the board of directors of News Corp took their responsibilities in this regard seriously enough to prevent the payment of corrupt officials.' Mr Bryant said police apparently told Rebekah Brooks about the original phone hacking investigation As the Labour politician spoke out, Mr Justice Vos ordered that previously redacted court documents submitted for a phone-hacking case in the High Court should be released. The papers revealed the victims wanted News Group Newspapers, the publishers of the NotW to admit that every one of the 6,000 people named in Mulcaire's notebook was a hacking victim. Mulcaire and Clive Goodman were both jailed in 2007 after hacking the phones of senior members of the royal household. Mulcaire has not accepted any of the allegations contained in the court documents - and was opposed to them being released today. Today Mr Bryant also pointed to the 'shocking' revelation that police officers apparently gave Rebekah Brooks details about the original phone-hacking investigation. He claimed this shows that 'the police effectively became a partly-owned subsidiary of News International'. Earlier this week it emerged Scotland Yard told Mrs Brooks in 2006 that there were up to 110 victims of phone hacking at the NotW. Police had seemed to give Ms Brooks, then editor of The Sun, an incredibly detailed briefing about their investigation into the scandal within weeks of the arrest of News of the World royal editor Goodman and private detective Glenn Mulcaire for phone hacking. Mr Bryant said: 'This is like the FBI going to Don Corleone and telling him that he's got a bit of information on what his family has been up to.' The explosive claims came from an email between Tom Crone, head of legal at the News of the World and Andy Coulson, the paper's then editor at 10.34am on September 15, 2006. In addition, Mr Bryant claimed: 'People right at the top of the News of the World knew in 2006 exactly what had gone on.' Mr Bryant used his speech to call for a powerful new media watchdog to be set up in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal - and not just the Press Complaints Commission 'dressed up in a new fur coat'. Communications minister Ed Vaizey said he did not want to pre-judge the findings of the Leveson Inquiry but added it was 'no secret' the Government favoured independent regulation. He said: 'This independence from state intervention is fundamental to our democratic way of life.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2107703/MP-claims-phone-hacking-single-largest-corporate-case-250-years-cover-went-highest-levels.html#ixzz1ni7km1oz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Poster's note: Is James Murdoch's resignation a prelude to his criminal prosecution? ___________________________________________ James Murdoch steps down at NI The Independent Wednesday, 29 February 2012 James Murdoch is to step down as executive chairman of News International, it was announced today. Parent company News Corporation said in a statement the move would allow him to focus on expanding the company's international TV businesses. Mr Murdoch has faced intense scrutiny in the wake of the News of the World phone hacking scandal. The company said Mr Murdoch, who is its deputy chief operating officer, was stepping down from the role in NI, which is its UK publishing unit, following his relocation to the company's headquarters in New York. His father Rupert Murdoch, who is News Corporation's chairman and chief executive officer, said: "We are all grateful for James' leadership at News International and across Europe and Asia, where he has made lasting contributions to the group's strategy in paid digital content and its efforts to improve and enhance governance programmes. "He has demonstrated leadership and continues to create great value at Star TV, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia, and BSkyB. "Now that he has moved to New York, James will continue to assume a variety of essential corporate leadership mandates, with particular focus on important pay-TV businesses and broader international operations." Mr Murdoch junior said: "I deeply appreciate the dedication of my many talented colleagues at News International who work tirelessly to inform the public and am confident about the tremendous momentum we have achieved under the leadership of my father and Tom Mockridge. "With the successful launch of The Sun on Sunday and new business practices in place across all titles, News International is now in a strong position to build on its successes in the future. "As Deputy Chief Operating Officer, I look forward to expanding my commitment to News Corporation's international television businesses and other key initiatives across the Company." Mr Mockridge was appointed chief executive officer of News International last summer after former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks was forced to resign in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. Mr Murdoch found himself at the centre of the hacking scandal after it was claimed he had been told that phone-hacking was more widespread at the News of the World than was originally admitted. He had previously told the Commons Culture Committee he was not aware of the notorious "For Neville" document, which blew apart the company's stance that hacking was the fault of a single rogue reporter - former royal correspondent Clive Goodman, who was paying private investigator Glenn Mulcaire to carry it out. But Tom Crone, former legal chief of NoW publisher News Group Newspapers told MPs he was "certain" he told Mr Murdoch Jr about the now-notorious email. Labour MP Chris Bryant, who received a £30,000 settlement after having his phone hacked by the News of the World, said: "After all we've heard, James Murdoch's resignation is long overdue. "On his watch, we have seen the biggest corporate corruption scandal since 1720 and historic titles like The Sun have been brought into disrepute. "It is time he also left BSkyB. He is not a fit and proper person." James Murdoch's close involvement, alongside father Rupert, in the family's media empire was never more visible than during the pair's joint select committee appearance last July. But it was also clear who was in charge, as the media mogul at one point silenced his son with a mere touch on the arm to declare: "I would just like to say one sentence. This is the most humble day of my life." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 James Murdoch resigns as News International chairman Murdoch remains News Corporation chief operating officer and keeps responsibility for BSkyB as he moves to New York By Dan Sabbagh guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 February 2012 09.49 EST James Murdoch has stepped down as chairman of News International, the publisher of the Sun and Times, in an internal News Corporation reshuffle. Wednesday's move sees him give up responsibility for News Corp's crisis-hit British newspaper operation as he completes his relocation to New York. The man once seen as his father Rupert Murdoch's automatic heir at the top of News Corp retains existing responsibility for "global television", overseeing busineses including the company's 39% stake in BSkyB, Sky-branded pay-TV companies in Europe and Star in Asia – and only gains the opportunity to become involved with the company's US Fox television operation as he settles in across the Atlantic. James Murdoch's managerial move away from News International explains why he was not in London to help oversee the launch of the Sun's Sunday edition, which has been personally supervised by his father. Friends say he has been eager to leave the UK and drop responsibility for the Wapping newspapers for several months as the phone hacking scandal enveloped the London outpost of the organisation. He has faced repeated questions over what he knew about the extent of phone-hacking at the News of the World. Although the hacking is known to have gone on until 2006, before Murdoch arrived, he presided over a period in 2009 and 2010 where News International denied again and again that phone-hacking was more widespread than the activities of a "single rogue" reporter. News International, meanwhile, becomes the only newspaper unit of the company not to report directly to a man named Murdoch. News International chief executive Tom Mockridge will now report to Chase Carey, the US television executive who is the company's number two, its president and chief operating officer. By contrast those who run Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal publisher, and News Ltd, the Australian newspaper operation, both report directly to Rupert Murdoch. James Murdoch took up the job overseeing News International in December 2007, when he joined News Corp from BSkyB, where he had been chief executive. At the time he also became the chief executive for News Corporation Europe and Asia, responsibilities which he retains. The company said in a statement: "News Corporation today announced that, following his relocation to the company's headquarters in New York, James Murdoch, deputy chief operating officer, has relinquished his position as executive chairman of News International, its UK publishing unit. "Tom Mockridge, chief executive officer of News International, will continue in his post and will report to News Corporation president and COO Chase Carey." Rupert Murdoch praised his son's four year stewardship of News Corp's international businesses from London. "We are all grateful for James' leadership at News International and across Europe and Asia, where he has made lasting contributions to the group's strategy in paid digital content and its efforts to improve and enhance governance programs," he said. "He has demonstrated leadership and continues to create great value at Star TV, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia, and BSkyB. Now that he has moved to New York, James will continue to assume a variety of essential corporate leadership mandates, with particular focus on important pay-TV businesses and broader international operations." James Murdoch said: "I deeply appreciate the dedication of my many talented colleagues at News International who work tirelessly to inform the public and am confident about the tremendous momentum we have achieved under the leadership of my father and Tom Mockridge. "With the successful launch of the Sun on Sunday and new business practices in place across all titles, News International is now in a strong position to build on its successes in the future. As deputy chief operating officer, I look forward to expanding my commitment to News Corporation's international television businesses and other key initiatives across the company." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dolva Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Poster's note: Is James Murdoch's resignation a prelude to his criminal prosecution? ___________________________________________ James Murdoch steps down at NI The Independent Wednesday, 29 February 2012 James Murdoch is to step down as executive chairman of News International, it was announced today. Parent company News Corporation said in a statement the move would allow him to focus on expanding the company's international TV businesses. Mr Murdoch has faced intense scrutiny in the wake of the News of the World phone hacking scandal. The company said Mr Murdoch, who is its deputy chief operating officer, was stepping down from the role in NI, which is its UK publishing unit, following his relocation to the company's headquarters in New York. His father Rupert Murdoch, who is News Corporation's chairman and chief executive officer, said: "We are all grateful for James' leadership at News International and across Europe and Asia, where he has made lasting contributions to the group's strategy in paid digital content and its efforts to improve and enhance governance programmes. "He has demonstrated leadership and continues to create great value at Star TV, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia, and BSkyB. "Now that he has moved to New York, James will continue to assume a variety of essential corporate leadership mandates, with particular focus on important pay-TV businesses and broader international operations." Mr Murdoch junior said: "I deeply appreciate the dedication of my many talented colleagues at News International who work tirelessly to inform the public and am confident about the tremendous momentum we have achieved under the leadership of my father and Tom Mockridge. "With the successful launch of The Sun on Sunday and new business practices in place across all titles, News International is now in a strong position to build on its successes in the future. "As Deputy Chief Operating Officer, I look forward to expanding my commitment to News Corporation's international television businesses and other key initiatives across the Company." Mr Mockridge was appointed chief executive officer of News International last summer after former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks was forced to resign in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. Mr Murdoch found himself at the centre of the hacking scandal after it was claimed he had been told that phone-hacking was more widespread at the News of the World than was originally admitted. He had previously told the Commons Culture Committee he was not aware of the notorious "For Neville" document, which blew apart the company's stance that hacking was the fault of a single rogue reporter - former royal correspondent Clive Goodman, who was paying private investigator Glenn Mulcaire to carry it out. But Tom Crone, former legal chief of NoW publisher News Group Newspapers told MPs he was "certain" he told Mr Murdoch Jr about the now-notorious email. Labour MP Chris Bryant, who received a £30,000 settlement after having his phone hacked by the News of the World, said: "After all we've heard, James Murdoch's resignation is long overdue. "On his watch, we have seen the biggest corporate corruption scandal since 1720 and historic titles like The Sun have been brought into disrepute. "It is time he also left BSkyB. He is not a fit and proper person." James Murdoch's close involvement, alongside father Rupert, in the family's media empire was never more visible than during the pair's joint select committee appearance last July. But it was also clear who was in charge, as the media mogul at one point silenced his son with a mere touch on the arm to declare: "I would just like to say one sentence. This is the most humble day of my life." Indeed. Perhaps now its time to go after Mister Big. This sacrificial lamb hasn't really lost anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Murdoch Inquiry Covers Four UK Newspapers Published: Tuesday, 28 Feb 2012 | 2:11 PM ET By: Reuters http://www.cnbc.com/id/46558460 A massive email cache that a corporate cleanup team has assembled as part of its effort to cooperate with British police contains message traffic generated by journalists at all four British newspapers once published by Rupert Murdoch, sources familiar with the unit's work said. The cleanup team, known as the Management and Standards Committee (MSC) of Murdoch's US-based News Corp [NWSA 20.045 0.235 (+1.19%) ] , is investigating reporting practices across all Murdoch's current and former UK properties, said one of the sources familiar with the company's internal investigations. These include the now-defunct News of the World as well as The Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times, all of which still publish. An "investigation across all News International titles remains ongoing," the source said. From fragments of data that company officials allegedly tried to delete, the MSC and outside consultants managed to assemble a database containing an estimated 300 million emails covering roughly the last decade, the source said. A team of police investigators has set up shop in an office suite close to a separate suite in Murdoch's newspaper publishing campus occupied by MSC members and a battery of outside lawyers. However, the source familiar with its work says the MSC has worked out a set of procedures with the police that the company team believes constitutes an effective mechanism for protecting journalistic sources. According to the source, the procedure works this way: The police team embedded at Murdoch's complex in London's Wapping district provide the MSC with "search terms" which MSC representatives and their legal advisers then use to tap into the 300 million email database. If they find message traffic relevant to the search terms, the source said, before being handed over to police, that traffic is reviewed by MSC officials and lawyers from the London firm Linklaters to see if it contains information that should be redacted. This could include sensitive information covered by legal privilege or which would identify confidential sources. Only after a careful legal review, and the redaction of sensitive material based on the advice of lawyers, is the material from the data bank turned over to police investigators, said the source familiar with the procedure. Police have "no live access" to the underlying data pool, the source said. However, under the procedure they can ask follow-up questions after receiving censored data to seek additional information or searches. In public testimony on Monday before an inquiry into British reporting practices headed by High Court Judge Brian Leveson, Sue Akers, the deputy assistant commissioner of London police in charge of three parallel inquiries into potentially illegal reporting tactics, said that police had sought advice from prosecutors on how to investigate journalists and newspaper offices. Akers said that in unspecified instances where "there is an evidential base to request information, the MSC have provided it in unredacted format to enable police to identify the public official concerned." However, she added, the MSC is providing police with information in redacted form in connection with their more general investigation of cash payments. She said that the sources' names would remain redacted "until police are able to produce evidence that can justify identifying the source." She said that, initially, a police team assigned to Operation Elveden, which is specifically focused on questionable payments to police and other public officials, based on material supplied to it by Murdoch's News International, focused on journalists from the News of the World. Murdoch closed that newspaper last summer amid uproar over the alleged involvement of the paper's journalists in widespread voicemail hacking. More recently, Akers said, police expanded Operation Elveden to include journalists on The Sun, whose first Sunday edition was personally launched by Murdoch last weekend. As a result of information provided to police by the MSC, Operation Elveden inquiries led to the arrest of 10 Sun journalists since last November, including some of the paper's longest-serving and most senior employees. None of those arrested has been charged with violating any law. In her testimony, Akers stressed her investigation was not interested in petty dealings between journalists and sources, such as the buying of drinks or meals. She alleged that Operation Elveden had found evidence of a "network of corrupted officials" in the police, military, UK health service, government and prison service, and that there had been a "culture at The Sun of illegal payments" as well as systems in place to hide the identities of officials receiving money. She said that in one case, emails revealed that one unnamed person received payments totaling more than 80,000 British pounds. One of the journalists who has been arrested, Akers said, over several years received more than 150,000 pounds in cash to pay his sources, "a number of whom were public officials Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 News Corp shareholders step up bid to oust James Murdoch Shareholders already drafting resolutions ahead of AGM to call for James Murdoch to be removed from News Corp board By Dominic Rushe in New York guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 February 2012 14.28 EST Shareholders are planning to step up their campaign to oust James Murdoch from News Corp following his decision to quit the UK and return to New York. News Corp announced on Monday that Murdoch was giving up his position as executive chairman of News International – the British publishing division hit by the phone-hacking scandal – and returning to New York "to assume a variety of essential corporate leadership mandates". Shareholders are already drafting resolutions ahead of this year's annual general meeting to step up pressure for change at the media firm. The deadline to file is May. "It's business as usual," said Julie Tanner, director of socially responsible investing at shareholder Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS). "This is a very minor step in the right direction. I have not seen any significant changes in governance policies or a code of ethics." CBIS led last year's shareholder revolt against the Murdochs at News Corp's AGM. That vote ended with 35% of shareholders voting against James Murdoch's re-election to the board. After subtracting the shares controlled by Rupert Murdoch, 67% of the vote went against James Murdoch. "Given these ongoing allegations, I expect the vote against will be even larger this year," she said. The Rev Seamus Finn, of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, who also voted against Rupert and James Murdoch and other senior executives at News Corp's annual general meeting last year, said: "This raises further concerns about the way this company is governed." "It is clear to us that there are too many conflicts of interest in the way this company is run." James Murdoch, once News Corp's heir apparent, is the highest profile executive at the company to lose his job amid a scandal that has led to more than 20 arrests and triggered the closure of the News of the World, News International's most profitable paper. "We are all grateful for James's leadership at News International and across Europe and Asia, where he has made lasting contributions to the group's strategy in paid digital content and its efforts to improve and enhance governance programs," Rupert Murdoch said in a statement. He said James would "continue to assume a variety of essential corporate leadership mandates, with particular focus on important pay-TV businesses and broader international operations." But senior media executives in New York have dismissed the suggestion that James can continue to play a major role at the company while the phone-hacking scandal continues. One senior executive, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Murdoch's role within the company was becoming increasingly difficult. He said the idea of James Murdoch running any significant part of News Corp's US business was "ridiculous". "There's too much trouble hanging over his head. All this newspaper stuff just seems to get worse by the day. How can anyone expect him to fully commit to anything else? And anyone who works with him is going to be wondering how long he's going to be around. It would have been easier to let him go. Looks like Rupert is getting sentimental." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/9114105/James-Murdoch-resigns-from-News-International-as-firm-admits-papers-could-be-sold-off.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 CBS Evening News tonight (Feb. 29, 2012)reported that executives of News Corp., an American corporation, have been contacted by the FBI as part of an U.S. investigation into the Murdoch criminal enterprise. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7400525n&tag=contentMain;contentBody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 James Murdoch's ignominious exit from News International Disliked within News Corp and disgraced by the phone-hacking scandal, James Murdoch played corporate politics – and lost By Michael Wolff guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 February 2012 12.39 What's done is done – even if they don't yet acknowledge that it is 100% done. James Murdoch, hopelessly tarred by the phone-hacking scandal, exits his position as chairman of News International, the tainted News Corp subsidiary in the UK, and takes up, in his father's words, "a variety of essential corporate leadership mandates, with particular focus on important pay-TV businesses and broader international operations." Let us first dispense with that fig leaf: James Murdoch does not have a role at News Corp. He is the shadow man. Nobody talks to him – not even, at least not meaningfully, his father. (They once spoke two or three times a day, managing the affairs of their world.) His siblings shun or pity him. He has not existed as a force, and hardly as presence, since the meltdown of the News of the World last summer. And, to say the least, there is no possibility that he will inherit the top job. The reality is stark: everybody in the company blames James for the terrible things that have happened in London. They blame his father for falling under James's sway – but blame James more for swaying him. In a way, it's even starker than that: since he left the top job at BSkyB at his father's behest and took over News Corp's operations in Europe and Asia, James has become the most disliked man in the company. This is partly because, for all the obvious reasons, Murdoch's entitled children would breed a predictable resentment. But additionally, it is because James is an extraordinarily cold, abrasive know-it-all. "Who would have thought anybody could make Lachlan look good," said one of Murdoch's close executives, referring to the contrast between James and his brother Lachlan, who once was the heir apparent – and, in his moment, another headquarters albatross. But starker still, within News Corp, there is a structural analysis of why everything in London went so wrong – with James as the faulty linchpin. In his father's determination to elevate James, James Murdoch found himself with vastly more power than he should have had. He used it, as power-mad people are wont to do, to grab more power. He did this by pressuring his father to push out all the key executives – chief operating officer Peter Chernin, general counsel Lon Jacobs, communications chief and Rupert-right hand Gary Ginsberg – who, for so long, had so adroitly steered Rupert and the company. And they had had a tight hold on his ear – for Murdoch often tends to listen most to the last person he has spoken to. Thus, in the end, with everybody else gone, James was calling most of the shots. His was the strategic mind dealing with the meltdown in London. Or worse: his was the strategic mind that allowed Rebekah Brooks, the former Sun editor who became the CEO of News International, to be the strategic mind. And then, the Taylor payment: one News Corp view is that he authorised the vast settlement payment to Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association, whose voicemail the News of the World had hacked – not so much because he was afraid of what Taylor might say, but because he thought any potential scandal might provide an excuse for American executives to take a greater oversight role of what was now his domain. James Murdoch was not trying to cover up the company's crimes – and it never quite made sense why he would. Rather, he was playing internal politics. Hence the smoking gun: his legal approach during his testimony before the British parliament this summer was the tried-and-true theory of "plausible deniability". If he carefully couched his testimony, then, ultimately, there would just no way of truly knowing what he knew. Except there was. In essence, the bureaucracy, in the form of Tom Crone, the company lawyer, and Colin Myler, the News of the World editor, whom James had implicitly blamed, rebelled – saying they had told him all. And they had an email to prove it. James's only defence was that he had not read it all. Plausible deniability gone. He should, of course, step down and out. Not be a distraction, until name is cleared, etc. He continues as an executive now because his father has great difficulties saying the obvious. And because James himself has determined that his personal interests are best served by staying on the inside and being able to pick up what scuttlebutt he can. The story, however, is not completely over. He will not be the chief executive of News Corp, or much of anything else, but even from jail, if that is where he finds himself, he will be one of four siblings who each control 25% of their birthright company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 The Sun's defence editor, latest journalist arrested The Telegraph By Martin Evans 2:06PM GMT 01 Mar 2012 Virginia Wheeler, defence editor of The Sun, has been arrested by police investigating corrupt payments to public officials. Miss Wheeler, 32, was arrested by appointment and is currently in custody at a South London police station. She is the 23rd person arrested as part of Operation Elveden, launched by Scotland Yard to investigate allegations that journalists at News International had paid police officers and other public officials for information. Last month detectives launched a series of dawn raids detaining nine senior journalists from the Sun newspaper. A serving member of the Armed Forces, a Ministry of Defence employee and a Surrey Police officer were also detained. All have been bailed to a future date. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Service said: “Detectives from Operation Elveden have today arrested a 32 year old woman by appointment on suspicion of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 and aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office (contrary to common law) and conspiracy in relation to both offences. “She is currently in custody at a south London police station. This is the twenty third arrest as part of Operation Elveden.” The spokesman added: “The operation is investigating suspected payments to police officers and public officials and is not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately.” Miss Wheeler has worked at The Sun for six years and last year was promoted becoming the paper's first ever female defence editor. She has reported from Afghanistan and Libya during her time in the role. Earlier this week Dep Asst Commissioner Sue Akers, who is running the investigation, told the Leveson Inquiry into press standards that police had uncovered “network of corrupt public officials” who had received tens of thousands of pounds from journalists. She said the investigation had uncovered a “culture” of corrupt payments at The Sun but added the majority of information traded was “salacious gossip” rather than stories in the public interest. Those already arrested as part of the probe include The Sun's deputy editor Geoff Webster, picture editor John Edwards, chief reporter John Kay, chief foreign correspondent Nick Parker, and news editor John Sturgis. Head of news Chris Pharo, 42, and Mike Sullivan, the paper’s long serving crime editor, along with former executives at the paper, Fergus Shanahan, 57, and Graham Dudman, were also detained. Their arrests led The Sun's associate editor, Trevor Kavanagh, to launch an attack on police, claiming his colleagues had been treated like "members of an organised crime gang". He described the investigation as a "witch-hunt" and suggested that free speech in the UK was under attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Murdoch Jr flies away from trouble – but it may follow him to America US authorities expected to investigate NI's illicit practices as executive chairman quits to run father's TV business The Independent By Ian Burrell Thursday, 1 March 2012 James Murdoch severed ties with his father's stable of British newspapers yesterday as he resigned from News International following fresh revelations of a corporate cover-up of the company's involvement in phone hacking and bribery of public officials. Mr Murdoch gave up his position as executive chairman of NI only two days after a senior police officer gave evidence that the news organisation presided over a "culture of illegal payments" at The Sun. The Leveson Inquiry into media standards also heard on Monday that NI's chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, was being privately briefed by Scotland Yard on its original phone-hacking inquiry into NI when she was editor of The Sun in 2006. Ms Brooks, James Murdoch's immediate deputy before her resignation last summer, has been arrested and questioned by detectives working on the inquiries into hacking and bribery. Yesterday's resignation means that James Murdoch no longer has a responsibility for the company amid growing expectation of an investigation by American authorities into the illicit practices of News Corp's British subsidiary. James Murdoch, who remains as News Corp's deputy chief operating officer, will continue to have responsibility for international businesses including Star TV, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia and BSkyB. Rupert Murdoch said of his son in a statement: "We are all grateful for James's leadership at News International and across Europe and Asia, where he has made lasting contributions to the group's strategy in paid digital content and its efforts to improve and enhance governance programmes." James Murdoch has had limited involvement in NI, which also publishes The Times and The Sunday Times, since he was promoted to a New York-based role in March last year. One well-placed source compared that move to "an SAS operation to remove a hostage from a vulnerable situation". Since then, James Murdoch was recalled to give evidence last July before a parliamentary committee on phone hacking, when he told MPs there were "no immediate plans" to create a Sunday edition of The Sun in place of the News of the World. When Rupert Murdoch flew to Britain to oversee last Sunday's launch of a new edition of The Sun, he pointedly left James behind and took his elder son, Lachlan, on a morale-boosting tour of the paper's newsroom. In his own statement yesterday, James Murdoch linked the birth of the new paper to his departure. "With the successful launch of The Sun on Sunday and new business practices in place across all titles, News International is now in a strong position to build on its successes in the future," he said. Since reopening its investigation into NI, Scotland Yard has arrested two dozen former and current members of NI staff. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers told the Leveson Inquiry on Monday that the company financed a "network of corrupted officials". One former NI executive said last night: "The real story here is the cover-up and conspiracy that News International could be culpable of." The resignation of James Murdoch does not mean he will avoid Britain in future. As chairman of BSkyB he will attend board meetings of the satellite broadcaster and he retains an office at its headquarters in Isleworth, west London. The media analyst Douglas McCabe, of Enders Analysis, highlighted Mr Murdoch's talents as a television executive and said he would be "relieved" to concentrate on what he does best. "It is about distancing him from News International and from problems at The Sun but he maintains his wider roles," he said. "Within the broader context you have to remember that newspapers are a relatively small part of revenue and profits within News Corp as a whole." Since succeeding Ms Brooks as chief executive of NI last summer, Tom Mockridge, a News Corp veteran, has tried to cleanse the company's reputation at its headquarters in Wapping, east London. James Murdoch: His mistakes Gordon Taylor settlement Failed, according to his own testimony, to fully investigate the circumstances behind NI's decision to offer a £725,000 settlement to the footballers' union boss. The 'for Neville' email Denied claims by NOTW lawyer Tom Crone and editor Colin Myler that they told him about the "for Neville" email which confirmed voicemail interception had gone beyond a single "rogue" reporter. The 'smoking gun' email Claimed not to have read an email exchange sent to him by Mr Myler which suggested that hacking was "rife" at the NOTW. His aggressive denials Said the company had moved into "aggressive defence too quickly" when revelations were made about the true extent of hacking in 2010. The CV from: Harvard to the Leveson Inquiry 1995 Dropped out of Harvard just three terms into a film and history degree. 1996 Set up independent label Rawkus Records, launching the career of Mos Def. Sells the company to his father later that year. 1997 Appointed head of News Corp's music and internet strategy and chairman of the company's music label, Australia-based Festival Records. 2000 Appointed chairman and chief executive of News Corp's Asian satellite service, Star Television. 2003 Became the youngest-ever boss of a FTSE-100 listed company after being made chief executive of BSkyB at the age of 30. 2007 Became chairman and CEO of News Corp Europe & Asia, with direct responsibility for the strategic and operational development of the company's television, newspaper and related digital assets there and in the Middle East. March 2011 Took up the newly created post of News Corp's deputy chief operating officer, making him the third most senior individual in the media empire. September 2011 As questions mount over what he knew about phone hacking, James Murdoch resigns as director of News Group Newspapers Limited, publisher of The Sun, and Times Newspapers Limited. He then quits NI completely just six months later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Leveson Inquiry: John Yates' dinners and lunches with NOTW executives John Yates, the former Scotland Yard officer who twice refused to reopen the phone hacking investigation, enjoyed a series of previously undisclosed dinners, lunches and meetings with News of the World executives, the Leveson inquiry heard. By Mark Hughes, Crime Correspondent The Telegraph 4:15PM GMT 01 Mar 2012 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/leveson-inquiry/9116231/Leveson-Inquiry-John-Yates-dinners-and-lunches-with-NOTW-executives.html Mr Yates was also the subject of an email sent from a member of staff at the News of the World to the paper’s crime reporter, Lucy Panton in which she was told to “call in all those bottles of champagne” she had bought the officer. Mr Yates resigned from the Metropolitan Police last year following criticism of his handling of the phone hacking scandal and scrutiny over his friendship with Neil Wallis, the former deputy editor of the paper who has since been arrested in the new Scotland Yard investigation into phone hacking. Yesterday it was revealed that Mr Yates arranged to meet Mr Wallis privately at least 10 times during a period of 16 months when the Met were being criticised for their failure to properly investigate the hacking scandal. The inquiry heard that Mr Yates only attended eight of these meetings but that the pair attended a further three football matches together, watching games involving Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. However Mr Yates said he had never discussed the hacking case with Mr Wallis. The inquiry heard that the pair had dined and drank together at London restaurants Scalini, Scotts and Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental. But that Mr Yates did not declare these meetings in the Scotland Yard hospitality register because they were private and not work-related, but they do appear in his diary. He said: “It was a private appointment, it was friends, it had nothing to do with policing at all, that’s why is says ‘private appointment’”. Mr Yates said that he met Mr Wallis because the pair were friends. He added: “I have always been completely open, he is a good friend. Certainly he was a good friend; I haven’t seen him for nigh on a year.” The inquiry was also shown an email from James Mellor, a member of the News of the World newsdesk, to Lucy Panton which mentions Mr Yates. The email, sent in October 2010, discusses a terrorism story that Mr Mellor is asking Miss Panton to enquire about. He suggests Mr Yates would know about the story. He writes: “Think John Yates could be crucial here. Have you spoken to him? Really need an exc [exclusive] splash line so time to call in all those bottles of champagne.” Robert Jay QC, for the inquiry, said that the email suggested: “Lucy Panton is plying you with Champagne. That was known about by James Mellor and the suggestion is that the favour needs to be returned.” Mr Yates accepted that he may have drank Champagne in the company of Miss Panton, but said: “It is a turn of phrase and no, I had not been plied with champagne by Lucy Panton and I think it is an unfortunate emphasis you are putting on it.” Miss Panton has since been arrested in the new Scotland Yard probe into allegations that journalists paid police officers for information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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