14 Dec 2011 | Leveson Inquiry
Lord Justice Leveson has dismissed claims that the Milly Dowler case was the only reason his Inquiry into press standards and ethics was set up.
Agreeing with the lawyer for victims of phone hacking David Sherborne, Leveson said the past month of evidence of press intrusion and harassment should “dispel any doubt” that the hacking and deletion of messages on the murdered schoolgirl’s phone was the only reason the Inquiry was taking place.
This follows what Sherborne dubbed had been a “storm of misreporting” after the Metropolitan police announced that the News of the World may not have deleted the girl’s voicemails and giving her family false hope she was alive.
Yesterday Richard Caseby, managing editor of the Sun, accused the Guardian of having “sexed up” their original coverage of the case in which they reported the News of the World was responsible for deleting Dowler’s messages.
Yet it remains uncontested that the tabloid did hack into her phone.
This morning Sherborne told the Inquiry that hacking victims’ solicitor Mark Lewis was contacted on Tuesday evening by a Daily Mail reporter who asked him if the Dowler family will be giving money back in light of revisions.
The Dowlers had previously issued a statement through Lewis, stating they had a “clear recollection” that the police had told them the now-defunct News of the World had deleted their daughter’s voicemails.
Lewis told BBC News the reporter’s actions were “appalling”.
Leveson reiterated the significance of the issue, stressing that it was in the public interest to be resolved in an “orderly manner”.
Follow Index on Censorship’s coverage of the Leveson Inquiry on Twitter – @IndexLeveson.
12 Dec 2011 | Leveson Inquiry
The former chief reporter of the News of the World has Denied any involvement with the paper’s strategy over publishing a story accusing ex-Formula 1 boss Max Mosley of engaging in a Nazi-themed orgy,
Neville Thurlbeck told the Leveson Inquiry he was not involved in any decison to put video footage of Mosley’s orgy on the News of the World website. He added that he was not instructed by the newsdesk to notify Mosley of the story, and therefore did not seek his comment.
“I am just person who is investigating [a story]”, Thurlbeck said.
Lord Justice Leveson seemed stunned at Thurlbeck’s lack of involvement. “Aren’t you being a bit unkind to yourself,” he asked, “you were the chief reporter.”
Thurlbeck responded that strategy decisions were made by the editor. “The chief reporter and the news editor…are all very grand-sounding titles but they don’t really call the shots at all.”
Thurlbeck said he imagined the editor would fear the story would be prevented from coming out if Mosley were notified prior to publication. “We all know Mr Mosley would have sought an injunction,” he told the Inquiry. in the event of an interim injunction, he said, the story would have been leaked and become the “currency and property of our rivals.”
Thurlbeck agreed with counsel to the Inquiry, Robert Jay QC, that there was no public interest in the piece without the suggestion of a Nazi theme, and it was this feature that “persuaded” him the story was in the public interest. He said the consenus at the paper was “we had a legitimate story we need to run.”
Thurlbeck received fierce questioning from Jay and Leveson. He was examined over emails to the women involved in the Mosley orgy about a follow-up story. They were offered anonymity, a sum of money and pixellation of their photographs, or the opposite if they did not agree to the paper’s terms. Thurlbeck took full responsibility for sending the emails, but told the Inquiry they were drafted by news editor Ian Edmonson.
“It was offering the girls a choice,” Thurlbeck claimed. Leveson pressed him, reminding him of Mr Justice Eady’s inference that the emails constituted blackmail, and asked if the girls’ right to privacy had been discussed at any point. Thurlbeck said it had not.
Mosley sued the paper for a breach of privacy in 2008. He was paid £60,000 in damages.
Thurlbeck also defended his splash on David Beckham’s affair with Rebecca Loos, noting that the footballer had cultivated and marketed an image of having a fairytale marriage. “We felt it important to expose it as a sham,” Thurlbeck said.
He repeatedly refuted evidence given to the Inquiry by former News of the World reporter Paul McMullan that painted an image of corruption at the redtop. Thurlbeck asserted that the paper’s staff were “exemplary” and that the culture at the paper was one of “thoroughness”. He added that McMullan’s view that circulation defined public interest was a “travesty”.
Thurlbeck added that a greater focus on privacy matters had rendered kiss and tell stories a “dead” genre.
The Inquiry continues tomorrow, with evidence from the News of the World’s former head of legal, Tom Crone; Farrer & Co lawyer Julian Pike; and Harbottle & Lewis’ Lawrence Abramson.
Follow Index on Censorship’s coverage of the Leveson Inquiry on Twitter – @IndexLeveson.
15 Nov 2011 | Leveson Inquiry
The need for a free press is now “as great, if not greater, than it has ever been”, a lawyer for News International said today as the Leveson Inquiry began its second day of hearings.
For Rhodri Davies QC, a key issue is “not why does the press know so much, but why does it know so little”. He stressed that NI supported a model of independent self-regulation, that the PCC could be improved, and that the press is “not above the law.”
Davies also apologised to phone hacking victims, stressing that the practice was “shameful” and “should not have happened”. He added that NI accepts “there was no public interest justification” in hacking.
Regarding the hiring of a private investigator to carry out surveillance on hacking victims’ lawyers and members of the select committee, Davies said “it wasn’t journalism at all and it was unacceptable.”
Davies contested the figure revealed yesterday by Robert Jay QC, counsel to the Inquiry, that 28 NI reporters had been involved in phone hacking. He said that believes the police are the only people who have seen the entire set of Glenn Mulcaire’s notebooks, which contained five corner names — Clive Goodman and other News of the World staff referred to as A, B, C and D — and asked Jay’s figure of 28 be “rechecked”.
He conceded, however, that the 2,266 requests for voicemails cited in the 11,000 pages of notes were “2,226 too many”. Referring to the five reporters, Davies said “five names is five names too many”.
He added that he was not going to give any assurances that phone hacking did not occur “by or for the News of the World after 2007”, but stressed that lessons had been learned from the jailing of Goodman and Mulcaire. He cited the setting up of an internal committee at NI as one of the steps the company was taking to ensure phone hacking did not happen again.
Also speaking this morning was Jonathan Caplan QC on behalf of Associated Newspapers. He too condemned the practice of phone hacking, adding that no journalist at Associated Newspapers has engaged in phone hacking, bribed or bribes police officers.
Caplan also stressed that the PCC could be made more effective but “did not need to be replaced.” The virtue of the current system, he said, is that complaints are generally heard and resolved quickly, free of charge and without the use of lawyers.
He made the case for all newspapers being part of a self-regulatory system, adding that it was “unacceptable” that a newspaper owner should be permitted to opt out of one.
To this, Leveson said he could not see how this would be achieved without a law forcing all newspapers to sign up.
The hearing will continue this afternoon with an opening statement by Northern and Shell, which publishes the Express and Daily Star.
Follow Index on Censorship’s coverage of the Leveson Inquiry on Twitter – @IndexLeveson.
14 Nov 2011 | Leveson Inquiry
The names of 28 News International employees were written in notebooks belonging to private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, the Leveson Inquiry heard today as it began proceedings at London’s high court.
Robert Jay QC, counsel to the inquiry, also revealed that the words ‘Daily Mirror’ had been written in the corner of Mulcaire’s notebook, but a Trinity Mirror spokesman has said the company has “no knowledge of ever using Glenn Mulcaire”. Mulcaire was jailed in 2007 alongisde former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman for intercepting voicemail messages of members of the Royal family.
11,000 pages of Mulcaire’s notes reveals he received a total of 2,266 requests from the News International, with 2,143 being made by four unnamed journalists. The inquiry was told that a reporter referred to as ‘A’ — and who cannot be named for fear of prejudicing the ongoing criminal investigations — made 1,453 separate requests for information from Mulcaire.
When Mulcaire’s home was raided in 2006, police also seized 690 audio recordings and a record of 586 voicemail messages intended for 64 individuals.
Jay also confirmed that Mulcaire’s notes cited 5,795 names who may be potential victims of phone hacking.
Today’s revelations suggest a culture of phone hacking at News International, Jay said, adding that the scale of Mulcaire’s work suggested that NI must have employed the private investigator full-time.
He asked if there was a “culture of denial, or worse, a cover up” at News International.
He added, “either senior management knew what was going on and therefore condoned illegal activity, or they did not and systems failed.”
Follow Index on Censorship’s coverage of the Leveson Inquiry on Twitter – @IndexLeveson.
