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The News International phone-hacking scandal is a controversy involving the now defunct News
of the World and other British newspapers published by News International, a subsidiary of the
then News Corporation. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking,
police bribery, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of stories. Whilst investigations
conducted from 2005 to 2007 appeared to show that the paper's phone hacking activities were
limited to celebrities, politicians and members of the British Royal Family, in July 2011 it was
revealed that the phones of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, relatives of deceased British soldiers,
and victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings had also been hacked. The resulting public outcry
against News Corporation and its owner Rupert Murdoch led to several high-profile resignations,
including that of Dow Jones chief executive Les Hinton, News International legal manager Tom
Crone and chief executive Rebekah Brooks. The commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police
Service, Sir Paul Stephenson, also resigned. Advertiser boycotts led to the closure of the News of
the World on 10 July 2011, after 168 years of publication.[1] Continued public pressure shortly forced
News Corporation to cancel its proposed takeover of the British satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
British prime minister David Cameron announced on 6 July 2011 that a public inquiry, known as
the Leveson Inquiry, would look into phone hacking and police bribery by the News of the World,
consider the wider culture and ethics of the British newspaper industry and that the Press
Complaints Commission would be replaced "entirely".[1][2] A number of arrests and convictions
followed, most notably of the former News of the World managing editor Andy Coulson.
Murdoch and his son, James, were summoned to give evidence at the Leveson Inquiry. Over the
course of his testimony, Rupert Murdoch admitted that a cover-up had taken place within the News
of the World to hide the scope of the phone hacking.[3] On 1 May 2012, a parliamentary select
committee report concluded that Murdoch "exhibited wilful blindness to what was going on in his
companies and publications," and stated that he was "not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of
a major international company."[4] On 3 July 2013, Channel 4 News broadcast a secret tape in which
Murdoch dismissively claims that investigators were "totally incompetent" and acted over "next to
nothing", and excuses his papers' actions as "part of the culture of Fleet Street."[5]
Contents
[hide]
1Early investigations, 1990s-2005o 1.1Operation Nigeriao 1.2Operation Motormano 1.3Operation Glade
22005–2006: Royal phone hacking scandal 3PCC investigations 42009–2011: Renewed investigations
o 4.1The Guardian July 2009 reportso 4.2Scotland Yard's response
o 4.3The Guardian December 2010 report 5January–June 2011: Admission of liability
o 5.1Operation Weeting beginso 5.2Apology and compensation
6July 2011: new allegationso 6.1Milly Dowler's voicemailo 6.2British soldiers' relativeso 6.37/7 London attack victimso 6.4Sara Payneo 6.5Other victims
7Fallout from scandalo 7.1Closure of the News of the Worldo 7.2BSkyB takeover bid withdrawno 7.3New York State contract lost by subsidiary of News Corporationo 7.4Resignationso 7.5Dismissalso 7.6Leaves/Suspensionso 7.7Cautionso 7.8Apologieso 7.9Further arrests
7.9.1Andy Coulson 7.9.2Neil Wallis 7.9.3Rebekah Brooks 7.9.4Stuart Kuttner, Greg Miskiw, James Desborough, Dan Evans and others 7.9.5Jonathan Rees and Alex Marunchak
o 7.10Murdochs and Brooks summonsed to Parliamento 7.11News Corporation's management standards committeeo 7.12Death of Sean Hoareo 7.13Daily Mirror allegationso 7.14Harbottle and Lewiso 7.15Criminal charges and convictions
8Further UK investigationso 8.1Leveson inquiryo 8.2Home Affairs Select Committeeo 8.3Mark Lewiso 8.4Media, Culture and Sport Select Committeeo 8.5Independent Police Complaints Commissiono 8.6Elizabeth Filkino 8.7Clive Goodman's 2007 letter
9Ethical concerns, legal concerns and possible implicationso 9.1Criticism of News International cultureo 9.2Ethical backlash
10Impact in other countrieso 10.1Australia
10.1.1News Limited announces review 10.1.2Australian Government announces formal review
o 10.2United States 11Timeline
12See also 13References 14Further reading 15External links
Early investigations, 1990s-2005[edit]
By 2002, "an organised trade in confidential personal information" had developed in Britain and was
widely used by the British newspaper industry.[6][7] Illegal means of gaining information used included
hacking the private voicemail accounts on mobile phones, hacking into computers, making false
statements to officials, entrapment, blackmail, burglaries, theft of mobile phones and making
payments to public officials.[8][9][10][11][12]
Operation Nigeria[edit]
Private investigators who were illegally providing information to the News of the World were also
engaged in a variety of other illegal activities. Between 1999 and 2003, several were convicted for
crimes including drug distribution, the theft of drugs, child pornography, planting evidence,
corruption, and perverting the course of justice. Jonathan Rees and his partner Sid Fillery, a former
police officer, were also under suspicion for the murder of a private investigator named Daniel
Morgan. The Met undertook an investigation of Rees, entitled Operation Nigeria, and tapped his
telephone. Substantial evidence was accumulated that Rees was purchasing information from
improper sources and that, amongst others, Alex Marunchak of the News of the World was paying
him up to £150,000 a year for doing so.[13] Jonathan Rees reportedly bought information from former
and serving police officers, Customs officers, a VAT inspector, bank employees, burglars, and from
blaggers who would telephone the Inland Revenue, the DVLA, banks and phone companies, and
deceive them into releasing confidential information.[11] Rees then sold the information to the News of
the World, the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and theSunday Times.[14]
The Operation Nigeria bugging ended in September 1999 and Rees was arrested when he was
heard planning to plant drugs on a woman so that her husband could win custody of their child.[13]
[15] Rees was convicted in 2000 and served a five-year prison sentence.[13][16] Others individuals
associated with Rees who were taped during Operation Nigeria, including Detective Constable
Austin Warnes, former detective Duncan Hanrahan, former Detective Constable Martin King and
former Detective Constable Tom Kingston, were prosecuted and jailed for various offences unrelated
to phone hacking.[13][15][17]
In June 2002, Fillery had reportedly used his relationship with Alex Marunchak to arrange for private
investigator Glenn Mulcaire, then doing work for News of the World, to obtain confidential
information about Detective Chief Superintendent David Cook, one of the police officers investigating
the murder of Daniel Morgan. Mulcaire obtained Cook's home address, his internal Metropolitan
police payroll number, his date of birth and figures for his mortgage payments as well as physically
following him and his family. Attempts to access Cook's voicemail and that of his wife, and possibly
hack his computer and intercept his post were also suspected.[18] Documents reportedly held by
Scotland Yard show that "Mulcaire did this on the instructions of Greg Miskiw, assistant editor
at News of the World and a close friend of Marunchak." The Metropolitan Police Service handled this
apparent attempt by agents of the News of the World to interfere with a murder inquiry by having
informal discussions with Rebekah Brooks, then editor for the newspaper. "Scotland Yard took no
further action, apparently reflecting the desire of Dick Fedorcio, Director of Public Affairs and Internal
Communication for the Met who had a close working relationship with Brooks, to avoid unnecessary
friction with the newspaper."[18]
No one was charged with illegal acquisition of confidential information as a result of Operation
Nigeria, even though the Met reportedly collected hundreds of thousands of incriminating documents
during the investigation into Jonathan Rees and his links with corrupt officers.[19][20] Fillery was
convicted for child pornography offences in 2003.[16]Upon Rees' release from prison in 2005, he
immediately resumed his investigative work for the News of the World, where Andy Coulson had
succeeded Rebekah Brooks as editor.
Operation Motorman[edit]
In 2002, under the title Operation Motorman, the Information Commissioner's Office,[21] raided the
offices of various newspaper and private investigators, looking for details of personal information
kept on unregistered computer databases. The operation uncovered numerous invoices addressed
to newspapers and magazines, which detailed prices for the provision of personal information. 305
journalists, working for at least 30 publications, were identified as purchasing confidential information
from private investigators.[6][22]The ICO raided a private investigator named John Boyall, whose
specialty was acquiring information from confidential databases. Glenn Mulcaire had been Boyall's
assistant, until the autumn of 2001 when the News of the World's assistant editor, Greg Miskiw gave
him a full-time contract to do work for the newspaper.[13] When the ICO raided Boyall's premises in
November 2002 they seized documents that led them to the premises of another private investigator,
Steve Whittamore.[23][24] There they found "more than 13,000 requests for confidential information from
newspapers and magazines."[13][18] This established that confidential information was illegally acquired
from telephone companies, theDriver & Vehicle Licensing Agency and the Police National Computer.
"Media, especially newspapers, insurance companies and local authorities chasing council tax
arrears all appear in the sales ledger" of the agency.[23] Whittamore's network gave him access to
confidential records at telephone companies, banks, post offices, hotels, theatres, and prisons,
including BT Group, Crédit Lyonnais, Goldman Sachs, Hang Seng Bank, Glen Parva prison,
and Stocken prison.[24]
Although the ICO issued two reports, "What price privacy?" in May 2006 and "What price privacy
now?" in December 2006, much of the information obtained through Operation Motorman was not
made public.[23][25] Although there was evidence of many people being engaged in illegal activity,
relatively few were questioned. Operation Motorman's lead investigator said in 2006 that "his team
were told not to interview journalists involved. The investigator...accused authorities of being too
'frightened' to tackle journalists."[26] The newspaper with the highest number of requests was the Daily
Mail with 952 transactions by 58 journalists; the News of the World came fifth in the table, with 182
transactions from 19 journalists.[22] The Daily Mail rejected the accusations within the report insisting
it only used private investigators to confirm public information, such as dates of birth. [22]
Operation Glade[edit]
Learning that Steve Whittamore was obtaining information from the police national computer, the
Information Commissioner contacted the Metropolitan Police and the Met's anti-corruption unit
initiated Operation Glade.[13] Whittamore's detailed records identified 27 different journalists as having
commissioned him to acquire confidential information for which they paid him tens of thousands of
pounds. Invoices submitted to News International "sometimes made explicit reference to obtaining a
target's details from their phone number or their vehicle registration."[24] Between February 2004 and
April 2005, the Crown Prosecution Service charged ten men working for private detective agencies
with crimes relating to the illegal acquisition of confidential information.[13][27][28] No journalists were
charged.[28] Whittamore, Boyall, and two others pleaded guilty in April 2005. According to ICO
head Richard Thomas, "each pleaded guilty yet, despite the extent and the frequency of their
admitted criminality, each was conditionally discharged [for two years], raising important questions
for public policy."[13][23]
2005–2006: Royal phone hacking scandal[edit]Main article: News of the World royal phone hacking scandal
On 14 November 2005, the News of the World published an article written by royal editor Clive
Goodman, claiming that Prince William was in the process of borrowing a portable editing suite
from ITV correspondent Tom Bradby. Following the publication, the Prince and Bradby met to try to
figure out how the details of their arrangement had been leaked, as only two other people were
aware of it. Prince William noted that another equally improbable leak had recently taken place
regarding an appointment he had made with a knee surgeon.[29] The Prince and Bradby concluded it
was likely that their voicemails were being accessed.[30]
The Metropolitan Police set up an investigation under Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter
Clarke reporting to Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman, commander of theSpecialist
Operations directorate, which included royal protection.[31][32] By January 2006 Clarke's team had
concluded that the compromised voice mail accounts belonged to Prince William's aides, not the
Prince himself, and that there was an "unambiguous trail" to Clive Goodman, the News of the
World royal reporter, and to Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator.[33] The detectives put Goodman
and Mulcaire under surveillance and, on 8 August 2006, searched Goodman's desk at the News of
the World and raided Mulcaire's home. There they seized "11,000 pages of handwritten notes listing
nearly 4,000 celebrities, politicians, sports stars, police officials and crime victims whose phones
may have been hacked."[34][35][36] The names included eight members of the royal family and their staff.[35] There were dozens of notebooks, two computers containing 2,978 complete or partial mobile
phone numbers and 91 PIN codes, plus 30 tape recordings made by Mulcaire. Significantly, there
were at least three names of News of the World journalists other than Goodman and a recording of
Mulcaire instructing a journalist how to hack into private voice mail.[35][36] All this material was taken to
Scotland Yard.
In August 2006, Goodman and Mulcaire were arrested by the Metropolitan Police, and later charged
with hacking the telephones of members of the royal family by accessing voicemail messages, an
offence under section 79 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.[37] The News of the
World had paid Mulcaire £104,988 for his services. In addition, Goodman had paid Mulcaire £12,300
in cash between 9 November 2005 and 7 August 2006, using the code name Alexander on his
expenses sheet for him.[38] The court heard that Mulcaire had also hacked into the messages of
supermodel Elle Macpherson, publicist Max Clifford, MP Simon Hughes, football agent Sky Andrew,
and Gordon Taylor.[33] On 26 January 2007, both Goodman and Mulcaire pleaded guilty to the
charges and were sentenced to four and six months imprisonment respectively.[39] On the same
day, Andy Coulson resigned as editor of the News of the World, while insisting that he had no
knowledge of any illegal activities. In March 2007, a senior aide to Rupert Murdoch told a
parliamentary committee that a "rigorous internal investigation" found no evidence of widespread
hacking at the News of the World.
After Goodman and Mulcaire pleaded guilty, a breach of privacy claim was started by Gordon Taylor,
chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association who was represented by his solicitor
Mark Lewis. That claim settled for a payment of £700,000 including legal costs.[40] James Murdoch
agreed the settlement.[41]
PCC investigations[edit]
The Press Complaints Commission, PCC, is the organisation charged with self-regulation of the
newspaper and magazine industry in Britain. The PCC's inquiry into phone hacking in 2007
concluded that the practice should stop but that "there is a legitimate place for the use of subterfuge
when there are grounds in the public interest to use it and it is not possible to obtain information
through other means."[42][43] News of the World editor Colin Myler told the PCC that Goodman's
hacking was "aberrational", "a rogue exception" of a single journalist. The PCC opted not to question
Andy Coulson on the grounds that he had left the industry, and not to question any other journalist or
executive on the paper, apart from Myler, who had no knowledge of what had been going on there
before his appointment. The PCC's subsequent report failed to uncover any evidence of any phone
hacking by any newspaper beyond that revealed at Goodman's trial.[44]
In 2009 the PCC held another inquiry, to see whether they were misled by the News of the World in
2007, and if there was any evidence that phone hacking had taken place since then. It concluded it
had not been mislead and that there was no evidence of ongoing phone hacking.[45] This report and
its conclusions were withdrawn on 6 July 2011, two days after it was revealed that Milly Dowler's
phone had been hacked.[46][47][48]
2009–2011: Renewed investigations[edit]Main article: News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations
It was reported that the News of the World may have hacked the phones of relatives of 7/7 attack victims
(survivors pictured aboard one of the bombed Underground trains)
After the 2006 conviction of Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire, and with assurances from News
International, the Press Complaints Commission and the Metropolitan Police Service that no one
else had been involved in phone hacking, the public perception was that the matter was closed. Nick
Davies and other journalists from The Guardian, and eventually other newspapers, however
continued to examine evidence from court cases and use Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests
to find evidence to the contrary.[49][50]
The Guardian July 2009 reports[edit]
A small number of victims of phone hacking engaged solicitors and made civil claims for invasion of
privacy. By March 2010, News International had spent over £2 million settling court cases with
victims of phone hacking. As information about these claims leaked out,The Guardian continued to
follow the story. On 8 & 9 July 2009, the newspaper published three articles alleging that:
News Group Newspapers , NGN, a subsidiary of News International, agreed to large settlements
with hacking victims, including Gordon Taylor. The settlements included gagging provisions to
prevent release of evidence that NGN journalists had used criminal methods to get stories.
"News Group then persuaded the court to seal the file on Taylor's case to prevent all public
access, even though it contained prima facie evidence of criminal activity."[51] That evidence
included documents seized in raids by the Information Commissioner's Office as well as by the
Met.[44]
If the suppressed evidence became public, hundreds more phone hacking victims might be able
to take legal action against News International newspapers and might lead to police inquiries
being re-opened.[51]
When Andy Coulson was editor of the News of the World, journalists there openly engaged
private investigators for illegal phone hacking and raised invoices that itemised illegal acts.[44]
Everybody at the News of the World knew what was going on and knew that there was no public
interest defense for phone hacking. The way investigations had been pursued raised serious
questions about the Metropolitan Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the courts which,
"faced with evidence of conspiracy and systemic illegal actions,...agreed to seal the evidence."
rather than make it public.[52]
The Met held evidence that thousands of mobile phones had been hacked into by agents of
the News of the World and that Members of Parliament, including cabinet ministers, were among
the victims.[51]
"The Metropolitan Police took the decision not to inform all the individuals whose phones had
been targeted and the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to take News Group executives
to court."[44]
News International executives had misled a Parliamentary select committee, the Press
Complaints Commission and the public about the extent of their newspaper's illegal activities.[51]
Scotland Yard's response[edit]
When the Guardian articles were published, Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner Sir Paul
Stephenson asked Assistant Commissioner John Yates to look at the phone hacking case to see if it
should be reopened. Yates reportedly took just eight hours to consult with senior detectives and
Crown Prosecution lawyers to conclude there was no fresh material that could lead to further
convictions.[53] His review did not include an examination of the thousands of pages of evidence
seized in the 2006 Mulcaire raid.[54] In September 2009, Yates maintained his position to the
Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee saying, "There remain now insufficient grounds or
evidence to arrest or interview anyone else and...no additional evidence has come to light.[55] Upon
review of the first inquiry, he concluded that there were "hundreds, not thousands" of potential
victims."[34] Yates told the Committee, "It is very few, it is a handful" of persons that had been subject
to hacking.[56] Although Yates was aware of the "Transcript for Neville" email that indicated more than
a single rogue reporter was involved, he did not interview Neville Thurlbeck nor any other journalist
at the News of the World, nor look into the cases of victims beyond the eight named in court in 2006.[56][57] The Committee's findings, released in February 2010, were critical of the police for not pursuing
"evidence that merited a wider investigation."[36][58]
The Committee Chairman John Whittingdale also questioned whether the Committee had been
misled by several of the News International executives who had testified before it in 2007 that
Goodman alone was involved in phone hacking. The Committee again heard evidence from Les
Hinton, by then chief executive officer of Dow Jones & Company, and Andy Coulson, by then
director of communications for the Conservative Party. Their report concluded that it was
"inconceivable" that noone, other than Goodman, knew about the extent of phone hacking at the
paper, and that the Committee had "repeatedly encountered an unwillingness to provide the detailed
information that we sought, claims of ignorance or lack of recall and deliberate obfuscation".[58]
Assistant Commissioner Yates returned to the Committee on 24 March 2011 and defended his
position that only ten to twelve victims met the criteria given to the police by theCrown Prosecution
Service. The CPS denied that what they had told the Met could be reasonably used to limit the
scope of the investigation.[59] Further, they claimed to have been misled by the Met during
consultations on the Royal Household inquiry. Met officials reportedly "didn’t discuss certain
evidence with senior prosecutors, including the notes suggesting the involvement of other
reporters”[36]
The Home Affairs Select Committee also questioned Yates in 2009 about the Met's continuing
refusal to reopen the investigation "following allegations that 27 other News International reporters
had commissioned private investigators to carry out tasks, some of which might have been illegal."
Yates responded that he had only looked into the facts of the original 2006 inquiry into Goodmans
activities.[60] The Home Affairs Committee began another inquiry on 1 September 2010 and later
published a report highly critical of the Met, stating, "The difficulties were offered to us as justifying a
failure to investigate further, and we saw nothing that suggested there was a real will to tackle and
overcome those obstacles."
The Guardian continued to be critical of Yates, who responded by hiring a firm of libel lawyers, paid
for by the Met, to threaten legal action against anyone that claimed he had misled Parliament. [13]
[61] Eventually, as celebrities and politicians continued asking if they had been victims of hacking,
Yates directed that the evidence from the Mulcaire raid, that had been stored in bin bags for three
years, finally be entered into a computer database. Ten people were assigned the task. Yates
himself did not look at the evidence saying later, “I’m not going to go down and look at bin bags. I am
supposed to be an Assistant Commissioner."[54] He did not re-open the investigation.
Days after the settlement with Gordon Taylor was revealed by The Guardian in July 2009, Max
Clifford, another of the eight victims named in 2006, announced his intentions to sue. In March
2010, News International agreed to settle his suit for £1,000,000, a much greater than expected
settlement if hacking Clifford's phone was the only issue.[62] These two awards encouraged other
victims to explore legal redress, resulting in more and more phone hacking queries to the
Metropolitan Police, which they were often slow to respond too.[63] One commentator observed that
"the Goodman-Mulcaire revelations and subsequent prosecution were supposed to have settled the
hacking matter forever and might have done just that, except that successful law suits... kept
popping up against News of the World after the convictions.'[64]
The Guardian December 2010 report[edit]
The Guardian newspaper was at the forefront of reporting on the phone hacking scandal.
On 15 December 2010, The Guardian reported that some of the documents seized from Glenn
Mulcaire in 2006 by the Metropolitan Police Service and only recently disclosed in open court,
implied that News of the World editor Ian Edmondson specifically instructed Mulcaire to hack voice
messages of Sienna Miller, Jude Law, and several others. The documents also implied that Mulcaire
was engaged by News of the World chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck and assistant editor Greg
Miskiw, who had then worked directly for editor Andy Coulson.[65] This contradicted testimony to
the Culture, Media and Sport Committee by News International executives and senior Met officials
that there was no evidence of hacking by anyone other than Mulcaire and Goodman. Within five
weeks of the article appearing,
Ian Edmondson was suspended from the News of the World,[66]
Andy Coulson resigned as Chief Press Secretary to David Cameron,[67][68]
the Crown Prosecution Service began a review of evidence it had,[69]
the Met renewed its investigation into phone hacking, something it had previously declined to do.[65]
January–June 2011: Admission of liability[edit]Operation Weeting begins[edit]Main article: Operation Weeting
The Metropolitan Police announced on 26 January 2011 that it would begin a new investigation into
phone hacking, following the receipt of "significant new information" regarding the conduct of News
of the World employees.[70] Operation Weeting would take place alongside the previously announced
review of phone hacking evidence by the Crown Prosecution Service.[71] Between 45 and 60 officers
began looking over the 11,000 pages of evidence seized from Mulcaire in August 2006.[72][73]
In June 2011, the issue of computer hacking was addressed with the launch of Operation Tuleta.
Having failed thus far to put the phone hacking issue to rest, News International's law firm, Hickman
& Rose, hired former Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald to review the emails that News
International executives had used as the basis of their claim that no one at the News of the
World but Clive Goodman had been involved in phone hacking. Macdonald immediately concluded,
regardless of whether others had been involved, that there was clear evidence of criminal activity,
including payments to serving police officers. Macdonald arranged for this evidence to be turned
over to the Met, which led to their opening in July 2011 of Operation Elveden, an investigation
focused on bribery and corruption within the Met's ranks.
The first arrests as part of Operation Weeting were made on 5 April 2011. Ian Edmondson and
the News of the World ' s chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck were arrested on suspicion of unlawfully
intercepting voicemail messages.[74][75] Both men had denied participating in illegal activities. The
paper's assistant news editor, James Weatherup, was taken into custody for questioning by the
Metropolitan Police on 14 April 2011.[76][77][78][79][80] He had also dealt with some major fiscal issues,
"managing huge budgets" and "crisis management" at the newspaper.[76][81][82]
The Guardian, referring to the Information Commissioner's report of 2006, queried why the
Metropolitan Police chose to exclude a large quantity of material relating to Jonathan Rees from the
scope of its Operation Weeting inquiry.[83] The News of the World was said to have made extensive
use of Rees' investigative services, including phone hacking, paying him up to £150,000 a year.[84] On the basis of evidence obtained during Operation Nigeria, Rees was found guilty in December
2000 of attempting to pervert the course of justice and received a seven-year prison sentence.[85] After he was released from prison the News of the World, under the editorship of Andy Coulson,
began commissioning Rees' services again.[84]
The Guardian journalist Nick Davies described commissions from the News of the World as the
"golden source" of income for Rees' "empire of corruption", which involved a network of contacts
with corrupt police officers and a pattern of illegal behaviour extending far beyond phone hacking.[86] Despite detailed evidence, the Metropolitan Police failed to pursue effective in-depth
investigations into Rees' corrupt relationship with the News of the World over more than a decade.[84]
On 12 July 2011, Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Sue Akers told MPs and the
Home Affairs committee chairman Keith Vaz that police had contacted 170 of the 3,870 people
named in Glenn Mulcaire's files to date.[87][88]
Apology and compensation[edit]
News International announced on 8 April 2011 that it would admit liability in some of the breach of
privacy cases being brought in relation to phone hacking by the News of the World. The company
offered an unreserved apology and compensation to eight claimants, but would continue to contest
allegations made by other litigants.[89][90]
The eight claimants were identified in media reports as:[74][91][92][93]
Sienna Miller , actress
Kelly Hoppen , interior designer and Miller's stepmother
Tessa Jowell , Member of Parliament and former cabinet minister
David Mills , lawyer and Jowell's former husband
Andy Gray , sports pundit and former footballer
Joan Hammell, aide to the former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott
Sky Andrew , sports talent agent
Nicola Phillips, assistant to the publicist Max Clifford
At the time of News International's announcement, 24 individuals were in the process of taking legal
action against the News of the World on breach of privacy grounds.[89] Comic actor Steve
Coogan was reported to be one of the suspected victims of phone hacking.[74][92][93]
Hoppen lodged a further claim against the News of the World and one of its reporters, Dan Evans,
for "accessing or attempting to access her voicemail messages between June 2009, and March
2010".[94] News International has not admitted liability in relation to the claim.[90][94]
On 10 April, Tessa Jowell and her former husband David Mills, Andy Gray, Sky Andrew, Nicola
Phillips, Joan Hammell, and Kelly Hoppen all received the official apology and compensation, but
actor Leslie Ash and John Prescott, who both had also claimed breach of privacy, did not.[94][95]
Scottish politician Danny Alexander predicted further arrests would be made. The shadow Secretary
of State for Wales Peter Hain called on the legal authorities to conduct a "full and proper public
investigation" and then claimed the police investigation had been "tardy".[95]
The first individual to accept the News of the World ' s apology and compensation was actress Sienna
Miller, who received £100,000 plus legal costs.[96] Sports pundit Andy Gray followed in June,
accepting a payout of £20,000 plus legal costs.[97] Prior to the settlements, both individuals' litigation
claims had been identified as phone hacking "test cases" to be heard in January 2012.
In January 2012 it was reported that Respect politician George Galloway, who was not an MP at the
time, had settled out of court.[98] Galloway had begun legal proceedings for breach of privacy in 2010
after being told by the Met that he had probably been targeted by Mulcaire. The terms of the
settlement were not disclosed.[99] Galloway said the apology was a cynical attempt to protect
Rebekah Brooks.
In April, The Observer reported claims from a former minister that Rupert Murdoch tried to persuade
Prime Minister Gordon Brown early in 2010 to help in resisting attempts by Labour MPs and peers to
investigate the affair, and to go easy on News of the World in the run-up to the UK's general election
of May 2010.[100] News International described the report as "total rubbish"; a spokesperson for Brown
declined to comment.
The BBC reported on 20 May 2011 that a senior News of the World executive was implicated,
according to actor Jude Law's barrister in the High Court. This report also said that the number of
people whose phones may have been hacked may be much larger than previously thought. The
High Court was said to have been told that "notebooks belonging to a private investigator hired by
News Group Newspapers contained thousands of mobile phone numbers" and "police also found
149 individual personal identification numbers and almost 400 unique voicemail numbers which can
be used to access voice mail".[101]
July 2011: new allegations[edit]Milly Dowler's voicemail[edit]
It was first reported by The Guardian on 4 July 2011 that police had found evidence suggesting that
the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire collected personal information about the family of the missing
schoolgirl Milly Dowler, following her disappearance in March 2002 and the subsequent discovery of
her body six months later.[102] According to the paper, journalists working for the News of the
World had hired private investigators to hack into Dowler's voicemail inbox while she was still
missing. It was alleged that they had deleted some messages, giving false hope to police and to
Dowler's family who thought that she might have deleted the messages herself and therefore might
still be alive, and potentially destroying valuable evidence about her abduction and murderer Levi
Bellfield, who was convicted of Milly's murder and jailed for life in June 2011 – he had already been
convicted of two murders and an attempted murder which all took place after Milly's disappearance
and the discovery of her body. Dowler's phone had deleted the messages automatically 72 hours
after being listened to.[103] The Guardian commented that the News of the World did not conceal from
its readers in an article on 14 April 2002 that it had intercepted telephone messages and also
informed Surrey police of this fact on 27 March 2002, six days after Milly went missing.[102]
In July 2011, it was announced that the Dowler family was preparing a claim for damages against
the News of the World.[104] News Group Newspapers described the allegation as "a development of
great concern".[102] Reacting to the revelation, Prime Minister David Cameron said that the alleged
hacking, if true, was "truly dreadful". He added that police ought to pursue a "vigorous" investigation
to ascertain what had taken place.[105][106] Leader of the opposition Ed Miliband called on Rebekah
Brooks, the News of the World ' s editor in 2002, and then the chief executive of News International,
to "consider her conscience and consider her position".[106] Brooks denied knowledge of phone
hacking during her editorship.[107][108]
It was in the wake of the Dowler allegations that a significant number of people, including former
deputy prime minister John Prescott and other politicians, began to seriously question whether the
takeover of BSkyB by News Corporation ought to be blocked.[109] The Media Standards Trust formed
the pressure group Hacked Off, to campaign for apublic inquiry. Soon after launch, the campaign
gained the support of suspected hacking victim, the actor Hugh Grant, who became a public
spokesperson, appearing onQuestion Time and Newsnight.[110]
In January 2012 it was revealed that Surrey Police knew soon after Dowler's death that News of the
World staff had accessed her mobile phone messages, but did not take issue with this. Instead, a
senior Surrey officer invited News of the World staff to a meeting to discuss the case. [111]
British soldiers' relatives[edit]
On 6 July 2011, The Daily Telegraph reported that the "phones" (more precisely, the voicemail
accounts) of some relatives of British soldiers killed in action in Iraq since 2003
and Afghanistan since 2001 may have been accessed by the News of the World.[112] The personal
details and phone numbers belonging to relatives of dead service personnel were found in the Glen
Mulcaire's files.[113] In response to the allegations, The Royal British Legion announced that it would
suspend all ties with the News of the World, dropping the newspaper as its campaigning partner.[114]
[115]
7/7 London attack victims[edit]
On the day before the sixth anniversary of the 7 July 2005 London bombings, it was reported that
relatives of some victims may have had their telephones accessed by the News of the World in the
aftermath of the attacks. A man who lost two children in the bombings told the BBC that police
officers investigating phone hacking had warned him that their contact details were found on a target
list, while a former firefighter who helped rescue injured passengers also said he had been
contacted by police who were looking into the hacking allegations.[116] A number of survivors from the
bombings also revealed that police had warned them their phones may have been accessed and
their messages intercepted, and in some cases were advised to change security codes and PINs.[117]
[118][119]
Sara Payne[edit]
On 28 July, The Guardian reported that the News of the World hacked into the voicemail of media
campaigner Sara Payne, whose seven-year-old daughter, Sarah Payne, was murdered in West
Sussex by paedophile Roy Whiting in July 2000. This news was arguably met with even more public
outrage than the Dowler revelations, given the prominent role that Rebekah Brooks and the News of
the World played in spearheading the passage of Sarah's Law, which strengthened sex
offender laws in the UK after the child's murder. Sara Payne has been an active campaigner in
favour of such laws with News International and other media and charity organisations since the
immediate aftermath of her daughter's death.
Brooks developed a long-standing friendship with Sara Payne in the years since her daughter's
death; Payne wrote a column praising the News of the World ' s support for Sarah's Law in its final
issue, writing that the paper's staff "supported me through some of the darkest, most difficult times of
my life and became my trusted friends".[120] Brooks used the Sarah's Law campaign to defend
the News of the World when she was questioned by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
Scotland Yard had reportedly found materials pertaining to Payne in Glenn Mulcaire's notes. They
also discovered that Payne's voicemail was on a mobile phone given to her by Brooks, ostensibly to
help her keep in touch with supporters. Brooks issued a statement denying that the News of the
World was aware of Mulcaire's targeting of Payne, saying that such an idea was "unthinkable".
Payne was said to be "absolutely devastated and deeply disappointed" at the disclosure, while a
colleague close to her said that she was "in bits" over the affair.
Other victims[edit]
Some email messages were discovered suggesting Jonathan Rees[121] made requests for sums of
around £1,000 for contact details of senior members of the Royal Family and friends.[122]
Former deputy prime minister John Prescott claimed he knew of "direct evidence" indicating The
Sunday Times was involved in illegal news gathering activities.[123] Former prime minister Gordon
Brown alleged his bank account was accessed by The Sunday Times in 2000, and that The
Sun gained private medical records about his son, Fraser.[123] Rebekah Brooks telephoned Brown to
tell him that The Sun was going to reveal that his son had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and
tried to persuade him not to spoil the newspaper's exclusive by announcing it himself first.[124] The
Guardian later ran a front page story accusing The Sun of improperly obtaining the medical records
of Brown's son, but was later forced to issue an apology upon discovering that the information came
from a member of the public.[125]
Other victims of hacking included former Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner John Yates,
who revealed on 12 January 2011 that his phone was hacked between 2004 and 2005.[126] The
phone of chat show host Paul O'Grady was also hacked by the News of the World after he suffered
a heart attack in 2006.[127][128]
In May 2012 it was reported that billionaire Robert Agostinelli had been targeted by a private
detective named Steve Whitamore working for Rupert Murdoch's newspaper to gain confidential
information pertaining to Agostinelli's business affairs – this evidence brought to light the fact that
high-profile U.S citizens were targeted by private investigators in the UK within Rupert Murdoch's
empire. This was revealed once the Information Commissioner's Office raided Steve Whittamore's
offices and was subsequently convicted of illegally trading personal information.[129]
In July 2011 it was reported that Mark Stephens had been one of a group of high-profile lawyers who
may have been the victim of "News International phone hacking scandal".[130]
Mary Ellen Field, the former business manager of model Elle Macpherson, lost her job after Field
was accused of leaking confidential information to the News of the World, which had published a
story about Macpherson's split with Arpad Busson. Field realised their voicemails could have been
intercepted after Glenn Mulcaire admitted in court to accessing Macpherson's phones.[131]
A cousin of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian man shot dead by police who mistook him for a
fugitive suspected of involvement in the 21 July 2005 attempted bombings in London, may also have
had his phone hacked by the News of the World after Menezes's death.[132][133][134][135] A spokesperson
from the Justice4Jean campaign group said: "The Menezes family are deeply pained to find their
phones may have been hacked at a time at which they were at their most vulnerable and
bereaved."[132][133]
Carole Caplin, the former fitness adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair, announced that the
Metropolitan police had told her that her mobile phone was probably hacked, dating back to 2002 –
along with the Milly Dowler case in the same year, this is one of the earliest cases so far discovered.[136]
Fallout from scandal[edit]Closure of the News of the World[edit]
The closure of the News of the World after 168 years in print was the first significant effect of the
scandal.
The final edition of News of the World, published on 10 July 2011.
In the days leading up to 7 July 2011, Virgin Holidays, The Co-operative Group, Ford Motor
Company and General Motors (owner ofVauxhall Motors) had all pulled their advertisements from
the News of the World in response to the unfolding controversy. Several other major advertisers also
considered doing likewise. [137]
James Murdoch announced on 7 July 2011 that after 168 years in print the News of the World would
publish its last-ever edition on 10 July, with the loss of 200 jobs.[138][139][140] News Corporation said that
all profits from the final edition would go to good causes. Downing Street said it had no role in the
decision.[141] James Murdoch conceded the paper was "sullied by behaviour that was wrong", saying
"if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company."[142]
Other executives of the company said the phone hacking was more widespread than previously
believed and that they are co-operating with investigations into the allegations.[143][144][145] Editor
Rebekah Brooks told staff at a meeting that she recognised following an internal investigation that
"other shoes would drop", a phrase indicating that further revelations of wrongdoing would follow. [146]
There was immediate speculation that News International will launch a Sunday edition of The Sun to
replace its sister paper News of the World.[147] The Sun on Sunday was launched on 26 February
2012.
BSkyB takeover bid withdrawn[edit]Main article: News Corporation takeover bid for BSkyB
Rupert Murdoch announced on 13 July that News Corporation was withdrawing its proposal to take
full control of the subscription television broadcaster BSkyB, due to concerns over the ongoing
furore.[148][149][150] The announcement was made a few hours before the House of Commons was due to
debate a motion, supported by all major parties, calling on News Corporation to withdraw its
proposal.[149] In a symbolic gesture the House later passed the motion unanimously byacclamation.[151]
[152]
New York State contract lost by subsidiary of News Corporation[edit]
The week of 22 August 2011, Wireless Generation,[153] a subsidiary of News Corporation, lost a no-
bid contract with New York State to build an information system for tracking student performance as
a direct consequence of the News International phone hacking scandal. Citing, ". . . vendor
responsibility issues with the parent company of Wireless Generation," state comptroller Thomas
DiNapoli said that the revelations surrounding News Corporation had made the final approval of the
contract "untenable".[154]
Resignations[edit]
A number of senior employees and executives resigned from News International and its parent
company after the emergence of the new allegations, along with high-ranking officers of
the Metropolitan Police Service.
News International's legal manager Tom Crone left the company on 13 July.[155] As part of his role at
the publisher, Crone had served as the News of the World ' s chief lawyer and gave evidence before
parliamentary committees stating that he had uncovered no evidence of phone hacking beyond the
criminal offences committed by the royal editor Clive Goodman. He maintains that he did not see an
internal report suggesting that phone hacking at the paper reached more widely than Goodman.[156]
Two key resignations were announced on 15 July. Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News
International, quit following widespread criticism of her role in the controversy.[157] In a statement,
Brooks said that "my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate", and
stated that she would "concentrate on correcting the distortions and rebutting the allegations about
my record".[158] Her exit was welcomed by political leaders. Prime Minister David Cameron's office
said that her departure was "the right decision", while Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband agreed
but suggested that she should have departed ten days earlier.[157] Tom Mockridge, the long-time chief
executive of the Italian satellite broadcaster Sky Italia, was announced as Brooks' replacement at the
head of News International.[157]
Later on the same day, Les Hinton resigned as the chief executive of the News Corporation
subsidiary Dow Jones & Company.[159][160] Hinton had served as chief executive of News International
between 1997 and 2005. He had previously told parliamentary committees that there was "never any
evidence" of phone hacking beyond the case of Clive Goodman. In his resignation announcement,
Hinton said that he was not told of "evidence that wrongdoing went further", but indicated that he
nevertheless felt it "proper" to resign from his position.[160]
On 17 July, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and Britain's most senior police officer, Sir
Paul Stephenson, announced his resignation with immediate effect. He had faced criticism for hiring
former News of the World executive editor Neil Wallis as an advisor and for having received free
hospitality at a luxury health spa owned by a company for which Wallis also worked.[161] Stephenson's
resignation was followed by that of assistant commissioner John Yates on 18 July. Yates had been
criticised for failing to re-open the original 2006 investigation into phone hacking at News
International despite new evidence coming to light in 2009.
Dismissals[edit]
Matt Nixson was escorted by security from the Wapping headquarters of The Sun newspaper the
evening of 20 July 2011. His computer was seized by News International officials and the police
were said to have been informed. Nixson was a features editor at The Sun. It was reported that
Nixson's dismissal was related to the time he spent at theNews of the World from 2006, when it was
edited by Coulson. At the News of the World he reported to assistant editor Ian Edmondson. [162] On
20 September it was reported that the Metropolitan police had written to News International to inform
them that they did not intend to question Nixson over phone hacking. Nixson was reported to be
considering bringing a case for unfair dismissal against his former employers.[163]
Leaves/Suspensions[edit]
Pending the result of an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC – see below) enquiry
into his dealings with Neil Wallis (see below), a former assistant editor of the News of the World,
Dick Fedorcio,[164] director of public affairs and internal communication for the Metropolitan Police,
was put on extended leave 10 August 2011. [165]
Cautions[edit]
Details emerged 7 September 2011 that senior journalist Amelia Hill of The Guardian was
questioned under caution, but not arrest, for several hours by officers from Operation Weeting the
previous week. Hill, 37, has reported the names of individuals linked to the phone hacking scandal
minutes after their arrests and it is thought her questioning is linked to the earlier arrest of a 51-year-
old detective suspected of leaking information to the newspaper. [166]
Apologies[edit]
A full-page apology ad published in British newspapers by News International. The letter, signed by Rupert
Murdoch, begins: "The News of the World was in the business of holding others to account. It failed when it
came to itself."[167]
From 15 July, onwards, News Corp began to change its position through a series of public
apologies. On 15 July, Rupert Murdoch in interview with the News Corp owned The Wall Street
Journal apologised for the News of the World letting slip the group's standards of journalism.[citation
needed] Murdoch also alleged that the group's legal advisers, Harbottle & Lewis, had made "a major
mistake" in its part in the internal investigation into phone-hacking in 2007.[168] On 18 July, Harbottle &
Lewis issued an open letter outlining its position, and appointed Luther Pendragon to handle PR
issues relating to the affair.[169]
On 16 and 17 July, News International published two full-page apologies in many of Britain's national
newspapers. The first apology took the form of a letter, signed by Rupert Murdoch, in which he said
sorry for the "serious wrongdoing" that occurred. The second was titled "Putting right what's gone
wrong", and gave more detail about the steps News International was taking to address the public's
concerns.
On the afternoon before the ads were published, Rupert Murdoch also attended a private meeting in
London with the family of Milly Dowler, where he apologised for the hacking of their murdered
daughter's voicemail. The Dowler family's solicitor later said Murdoch appeared shaken and upset
during the talks. He added that the Dowlers were surprised Murdoch's son James did not attend and
called on the News International chairman to "take some responsibility" in the affair.[170]
In March 2012 the Daily Mail published a story which it claimed was "evidence of the incestuous
relationship between the Metropolitan Police and News International" and a political connection to
David Cameron. In late 2010 the Mail had sought confirmation from the Prime Minister's office of a
rumour theat that Cameron had been seen out riding horses with Rebekah Brooks's husband,
Charlie Brooks, a horse trainer. Coulson, as Communications Director for Cameron had denied this.
In March 2012, after the PM's office had denied the story again for three days, the Mail reported that
Cameron had finally admitted that he had been out riding with Brooks back in 2010. He also
admitted that the horse had been Raisa, a horse on loan to Rebekah Brooks from the Metropolitan
Police.[171]
Further arrests[edit]Main article: Phone hacking scandal reference lists § Arrests
Since 1999, over 100 people have been arrested in conjunction with illegal acquisition of confidential
information. Over 90 of these have been arrested or rearrested since police investigations were
renewed in 2011. Of these, 26 have been formally charged with crimes.
Andy Coulson[edit]
The Guardian reported on 7 July 2011, that former News of the World editor and David Cameron's
former spokesman Andy Coulson was to be arrested the following day, along with a senior journalist
the paper refused to name.[172] Sky News reported on 8 July 2011, that Coulson had been formally
arrested,[173] although the Metropolitan Police would only confirm that a "43-year-old man" had been
arrested for "conspiring to intercept communications," he was then released without charge.[174]
However, on 30 May 2012 Coulson was charged with perjury,[175] and later that year his and Rebekah
Brooks trial date was set for 9 September 2013.[176]
Neil Wallis[edit]
Former News of the World executive editor Neil Wallis was arrested in west London on 14 July on
suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications. He joined the paper in 2003 as a deputy to
Coulson and in 2007 became an executive editor before leaving in 2009. Later that year his media
consultancy company began to advise Paul Stephensonand John Yates, two high-ranking
Metropolitan Police officers, providing "strategic communications advice" until September 2010.
During that time, Yates made the decision that the phone hacking needed no further investigation,
despite The Guardian alleging that the previous investigation had been inadequate.[177] He was also
paid to advise commissioner Stephenson and Yates.[135]
Rebekah Brooks[edit]
Rebekah Brooks, the former editor of the News of the World and former chief executive of News
International, was arrested on 17 July 2011 on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications
and on suspicion of corruption. She was arrested by appointment at a London police station [178][179] by
detectives working on Operation Weeting, the Metropolitan Police's phone hacking investigation,
and Operation Elveden, the probe examining illicit payments to police officers.[180]
Following twelve hours in custody, Brooks was released on bail until late October.[181]
On 18 July, police reported the discovery of a rubbish bag containing a laptop, documents, a phone
dumped in an underground parking garage near Brooks' home.[182] Brooks' husband had initially tried
to claim the trash bag, which he said contained his property unrelated to the investigation.[183]
Ms. Brooks was arrested again in March 2012, this time on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the
course of justice.[184] Her husband, Charlie Brooks, was arrested with her. Two months later, on 15
May 2012, they were both charged along with four others with conspiracy to pervert the course of
justice by allegedly removing documents and computers from News International offices to conceal
them from investigating detectives.[185][186]
Stuart Kuttner, Greg Miskiw, James Desborough, Dan Evans and others[edit]
Stuart Kuttner, the former managing editor of the News of the World, was arrested on 2 August 2011
on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and on suspicion of corruption. He was
arrested by appointment at a London police station by Operation Weeting and Operation
Elveden detectives.[187][188] (Kuttner was re-arrested 30 August, for further questioning.[189]) On 24 July
2012, he was formally charged with conspiracy to intercept communications between 3 October
2000 to 9 August 2006 without lawful authority regarding communications of Milly Dowler and David
Blunkett, MP.[190][191]
Eight days later, Greg Miskiw, a former News of the World news editor, was arrested on suspicion of
unlawful interception of communications and conspiring to intercept communications. He was
arrested by appointment at a London police station by detectives working on Operation Weeting, the
police investigation into phone hacking.[192][193] On 24 July 2012, he was charged with conspiracy to
intercept communications without lawful authority during the period from 3 October 2000 to 9 August
2006 from the phones ofMilly Dowler, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Abigail Titmuss, John Leslie Andrew
Gilchrist, David Blunkett MP, Delia Smith, Charles Clarke MP, Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Sienna Miller,
andWayne Rooney .[190][191]
James Desborough was arrested after arriving, by appointment, at a south London police station the
morning of 18 August 2011 for questioning concerning criminal activities at the News of the World.
His arrest was based on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications. Desborough was
promoted to be the newspaper's Los Angeles-based US editor in 2009. Prior to that appointment, he
was an award-winning show-business reporter based in London. [194]
Dan Evans, a former reporter for News of the World, was arrested and later bailed on 19 August
2011.[195] An unnamed 30-year-old man was arrested and later bailed on 2 September 2011.[196]
In an early morning raid on his North London home on 7 September 2011, deputy football editor
of The Times Raoul Simons (on extended leave from his job since September 2010) was arrested
and held for questioning on suspicion of conspiracy to intercept voicemail messages by police
officers from Operation Weeting.[197]
A reporter working for The Sun was arrested and taken to a southwest London police station at
10.30 am on 4 November 2011. The man is the sixth person to be arrested in the UK under
the News International-related legal probe, Operation Elveden.[198] The 48-year-old The Sun journalist
Jamie Pyatt had been arrested by detectives on 4 November 2011 investigating illegal payments to
police officers by journalists and has been released on bail.[199][200][201][202][203]
Jonathan Rees and Alex Marunchak[edit]
On 2 October 2012, two individuals associated with the earliest investigations (1999) into the phone
hacking scandal were arrested. Private investigator Jonathan Rees and News of the World journalist
Alex Marunchak were arrested for alleged offences under section 3 of the Computer Misuse Act
1990 and sections 1 and 2 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 by police officers
working on Operation Kalmyk, part of Operation Tuleta dealing with computer hacking.[204] These
arrests came thirteen years after Rees' premises were raided under Operation Nigeria, during which
large amounts of evidence indicating widespread illegal trafficking in confidential information was
seized by the Metropolitan Police Service. Marunchak was arrested by Scotland Yard detectives on
2 October 2012 and remained on bail for 23 months until 16 September 2014 when he was released
from bail. In a formal letter to him the following year, on 9 September 2015, the Crown Prosecution
Service stated it had "concluded that there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of
conviction in respect of offences contrary to the Computer Misuse Act (for ‘computer hacking’
offences)", "that there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any
associated or alternative offences" and "that no further action be taken in relation to this matter."
Despite Marunchak's arrest in 2012 he was never charged nor brought to court.[205]
Murdochs and Brooks summonsed to Parliament[edit]
On 14 July, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the House of Commons served
a summons on Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks, expecting them to appear
before the parliamentary committee on 19 July. After an initial invitation to give evidence to the
committee, Brooks stated she would attend but the Murdochs declined. Rupert Murdoch claimed to
be unavailable on that date but said he would be "fully prepared" to give evidence in Leveson's
inquiry, while James Murdoch offered to appear on an alternative date, the earliest of which was 10
August. The Murdochs did, however, later confirm they would attend after the committee issued
them a summons to Parliament.[206]
Tom Watson and Martin Hickman report in their book Dial M For Murdoch that:
Unbeknown to members of the Culture Committee, the NOTW established a team to investigate
their private lives. For several days, as chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck would later tell Tom Watson,
reporters searched for any secret lovers or extra-marital affairs that could be used as leverage
against the MPs.
Thurlbeck said: "All I know is that, when the DCMS [Department of Culture, Media and Sport Select
Committee] was formed or rather when it got onto all the hacking stuff, there was an edict came
down from the editor and it was find out every single thing you can about every single member: who
was gay, who had affairs, anything we can use.
"Each reporter was given two members and there were six reporters that went on for around 10
days. I don't know who looked at you. It fell by the wayside; I think even Ian Edmondson [the news
editor] realised there was something quite horrible about doing this."[207]
At their appearance before the committee, Rupert Murdoch said it had been "the most humble day of
my life" and argued that since he ran a global business of 53,000 employees and that the News of
the World was "just 1%" of this, he was not ultimately responsible for what went on at the tabloid; he
added that he had not considered resigning. Meanwhile, his son James described the "illegal
voicemail interceptions" as a "matter of great regret" but that the company was "determined to put
things right and make sure they do not happen again". James Murdoch stated that News
International had based its "push back" against new allegations on the combination of three pieces
of evidence: that the Metropolitan Police had closed their investigation; that the Crown Prosecution
Service had closed their prosecution; and that they had received the previously submitted written
advice from their then legal advisors Harbottle & Lewis, that there was nothing to suggest phone
hacking was not the work of one "rogue reporter" working with private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.[208] Towards the end of the Murdochs' two hours of evidence, a protestor sitting in the public gallery,
identified as comedian Jonnie Marbles, threw ashaving-foam pie at Rupert Murdoch.[209][210] The
incident propelled Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng Murdoch, into the media spotlight for her athletic
response in defence of her husband.[211][212] Marbles later said that he had "much respect" for Deng for
fighting back.[213] Marbles, real name Jonathan May-Bowles, was sentenced to six weeks in prison for
the attack.[214]
Harbottle & Lewis later commented that it could not respond to "any inaccurate statements or
contentions" about the 2007 letter to News International due to client confidentiality.[208] Later on the
same day, giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, former director of public
prosecutions Lord MacDonald stated that it took him "three to five minutes" to decide that the same
emails contained in the file passed to Harbottle & Lewis contained "blindingly obvious" evidence of
corrupt payments to police officers, which had to be immediately passed to the Metropolitan Police. [70]
[215]
Brooks answered questions at the committee after the Murdochs and independently of them. [216]
[217] She began by calling the practice of phone hacking at the newspaper she edited as "pretty
horrific".[218] Upon questioning, she confirmed that under her editorship she knew the News of the
World hired private detectives but denied having ever met Glenn Mulcaire.[219]
The testimony of James Murdoch was questioned by two former News International executives.
Murdoch had denied reading or being aware of an email, sent after he authorised an out-of-court
payment to Gordon Taylor over the hacking of his phone, which suggested the practice was more
widely used than just by a rogue News of the World reporter. A former editor of the newspaper, Colin
Myler, and Tom Crone, the former News International legal manager, both said they "did inform" him
of the email.[220]
News Corporation's management standards committee[edit]
On 18 July, News Corporation announced that its UK management standards committee would be
removed from News International. It will now be housed in a separate building,[221] under the
chairmanship of Lord Grabiner, and reporting to News Corporation director Joel Klein. As a result,
existing News International executives Will Lewis and Simon Greenberg will resign their existing
positions with News International and become News Corporation employees, focused initially on the
clean-up of News International.[221]In September 2011 it was reported that the MSC was not issuing
employees of News International who had had their contracts terminated with the reasons for their
dismissal in case this would compromise the ongoing police inquiry.[222]
Death of Sean Hoare[edit]
On 18 July, former News of the World journalist Sean Hoare, who was the first reporter to tell of
"endemic" phone hacking at the publication for which he used to work, was found dead at his home
in Watford, Hertfordshire. A police spokesperson said the death was treated as "unexplained" but
not suspicious.[223][224] In November 2011, the coroner for Hertfordshire concluded that Hoare died of
natural causes after suffering from liver disease.[225]
Daily Mirror allegations[edit]
On 20 July Private Eye questioned how the Sunday Mirror had in early 2003 obtained a transcript of
phone calls by Angus Deayton, and in October 2003 had come into possession of every call and text
message made by Rio Ferdinand one afternoon (when he claimed to have missed a drugs test due
to having his mobile switched off). The latter story was co-written by James Weatherup, who moved
to the News of the World the following year.[226]
On 22 July, former Daily Mirror financial journalist James Hipwell spoke to The Independent,
claiming that the practice had been "endemic" at the Mirror during his time there under the editorship
of Piers Morgan.[227][228]
“ "They would call a celebrity with one phone and when it was answered they would then
hang up. . . . After they'd hacked into someone's mobile, they'd delete the message so
another paper couldn't get the story. There was great hilarity about it."[229] ”He also alleged that phone hacking took place at some of the Mirror's sister publications. Trinity
Mirror, the publisher of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror, rejected Hipwell's claims. A spokesman
said: "Our position is clear. . . Our journalists work within the criminal law and the Press Complaints
Commission code of conduct."[228] The BBC's Newsnightprogramme reported other sources at
the Sunday Mirror confirming use of phone hacking, with one source saying "At one point in 2004, it
seemed like it was the only way people were getting scoops." It was also said that the paper made
use of private investigators.[230] On 26 July Trinity Mirror announced an internal review of its editorial
procedures.[231]
On 3 August Heather Mills alleged that a senior journalist working for Trinity Mirror had admitted to
her in 2001 that the company had access to voicemail messages which they knew to have been
obtained by hacking. In response Trinity Mirror repeated the statement used in rejecting James
Hipwell's claims, saying "Our position is clear. All our journalists work within the criminal law and the
PCC code of conduct."[232]
Also on 3 August Piers Morgan issued a statement through CNN, his then employer, that "I have
never hacked a phone, told anyone to hack a phone, nor to my knowledge published any story
obtained from the hacking of a phone."[233] However, this statement omitted comment on whether he
had any knowledge of phone hacking by employees or paid contractors of the Mirror during the
period he was editor there.
That Morgan did have knowledge of phone hacking is suggested in his own 2006 article in the Daily
Mail regarding a phone message from Paul McCartney to his then girlfriend Heather Mills in which
Morgan stated, "At one stage I was played a tape of a message Paul had left for Heather on her
mobile phone. It was heartbreaking. . . The couple had clearly had a tiff, Heather had fled to India,
and Paul was pleading with her to come back. He sounded lonely, miserable and desperate, and
even sang 'We Can Work It Out ' into the answer phone."[234] On 3 August, Heather Mills told BBC's
Newsnight: "There was absolutely no honest way that Piers Morgan could have obtained that tape ...
unless they had gone into my voice messages."[235]
Harbottle and Lewis[edit]
During the internal investigation into the unfair dismissal claim against News Group Newspapers
Limited by Clive Goodman, News International hired law firm Harbottle & Lewis(H&L) and passed on
hundreds of internal emails to them.[236] Lawrence Abramson of Harbottle & Lewis wrote a letter on 29
May 2007, to News International head of legal affairs Jon Chapman which said that they had
“ reviewed e-mails to which you have provided access from the accounts of Andy
Coulson, Stuart Kuttner, Ian Edmondson, Clive Goodman, Neil Wallis, Jules
Stenson . . .
. . . did not find anything in those e-mails 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. ”The letter from Mr Abramson to Mr Chapman makes no mention of whether the e-mails contain
evidence of wrongdoing by journalists other than Mr Goodman[237]
It was reported[when?] that NI executives urged H&L to give them a clean bill of health in the strongest
possible terms, that earlier draft letters by H&L were rejected by NI, and that lawyers on both sides
seemed to struggle to find language that said the review had found no evidence of wrongdoing.[238] This information was provided by "two people familiar with both the contents of the e-mails and
the discussions between the executives and the law firm".
This letter was subsequently used by various News International executives in their defence during a
parliamentary investigation into phone hacking in 2009.[237]
In July 2011, Rupert Murdoch alleged in interview with The Wall Street Journal that H&L made "a
major mistake" in its part in an internal investigation into phone-hacking at News International.[239] On
18 July 2011, the H&L issued an open letter outlining its position,[240] and appointed Luther
Pendragon to handle PR issues relating to the affair.[240] On 19 July, Lord MacDonald the former
Director of Public Prosecutions engaged by News Corporation to review the emails handed to
Harbottle & Lewis in 2007, said in evidence to theHome Affairs Select Committee:[215]
“ I have to tell you that the material I saw was so blindingly obvious that anyone trying to
argue that it shouldn't be given to the police would have had a very tough task ”At his appearance before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 19 July, James Murdoch
stated that News International had based its "push back" against new allegations on the combination
of three pieces of evidence, and one of these was the previously submitted written advice from their
then legal advisors H&L.[239]
On 20 July, H&L issued a statement saying that they had asked News International to release them
from their professional duty of confidentiality, which had been declined by News International. The
company had since written to John Whittingdale MP, chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport
Committee, asking to provide evidence to the committee.[241][242]
On 21 July, News International authorised H&L to answer questions from the Metropolitan Police
Service and parliamentary select committees in respect of what they were asked to do.[243] Neil Rose,
editor of legalfutures.co.uk, commented that the exact form of News International's waiver means
H&L will not be able to declare its innocence, but only answer questions by the police or parliament.[244]
On 22 July, Tom Watson MP published a letter from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, in response
to his letter expressing concerns about Harbottle and Lewis's part in the phone-hacking affair. In the
letter, Anthony Townsend, chief executive of the SRA said:[245]
“ On the basis of our preliminary review of the public domain material, we have decided
to instigate a formal investigation. We will pursue our investigation vigorously and
thoroughly, but emphasise that our inquiries are at an early stage, and that no
conclusions have been reached about whether there may have been any impropriety by
any solicitor ”The Culture, Media and Sport Committee wrote to H&L on 29 July asking a series of detailed
questions about the interaction between NI and H&L.[246]
H&L replied to this request on 11 August.[247][248] in what was described as "a withering attack on News
International and the Murdochs".[249]
H&L said that it provided very narrow advice on whether the emails in question could be used to
support Clive Goodman's allegations that his illegal activities were known about and supported by
other employees at NOTW. They were not retained to provide NI with a "good conduct certificate"
which they could show to parliament.
H&L state that the terms of their contract with NI explicitly stated that their advice should not be
disclosed to a third party without H&L's prior written consent. They also state that if NI "had
approached them (as it should have done) before presenting the letter to Parliament as evidence of
its corporate innocence, H&L would not have agreed to this without further discussion".
They also state that they could not have reported NI to the police even if they had found evidence of
criminal activity in the emails, because of client confidentiality.
Their fee for the work was £10,294 + VAT. The letter suggests that this amount be compared with
James Murdoch's evidence where he said that he had been told that the litigation costs in the
Gordon Taylor and Max Clifford cases were expected to be between £500,000 and £1m.
Criminal charges and convictions[edit]Main article: Metropolitan Police role in the News International phone hacking scandal
Charges and a total of seven convictions concerning the illegal acquisition of confidential information
were made in three separate waves in 2004/2005, 2006, and 2012. Further convictions resulted from
the R v Coulson, Brooks and others trial which concluded in July 2014.[250]
Between February 2004 and April 2005, the Crown Prosecution Service charged ten men working
for private detective agencies with crimes relating to the illegal acquisition of confidential information.[27][28][251][252] No journalists were charged. Three private investigators and two of their sources pleaded
guilty or were otherwise convicted. Steve Whittamore and John Boyall pleaded guilty to breaching
the Data Protection Act 1998.[27] Alan King and Paul Marshall pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit
misconduct in a public office.[27] John Gunning was convicted of acquiring private subscriber
information from British Telecom's database.[13][28] Most of the evidence obtained during these
investigations remained unevaluated at Scotland Yard for ten years. Boyall's assistant was Glenn
Mulcaire until the autumn of 2001, when News of the World's assistant editor,Greg Miskiw, attracted
Mulcaire away by giving him a full-time contract to do work for the newspaper.[13]
In August 2006, private investigator Glenn Mulcaire and News of the World Royal editor Clive
Goodman were arrested.[253][254] During their court proceedings, a small number of other victims of
Mulcaire's phone hacking were mentioned, including Sky Andrew, Max Clifford, Simon Hughes, Elle
Macpherson, and Gordon Taylor.[255] On 29 November 2006, Goodman and Mulcaire pleaded guilty
to conspiracy to intercept communications without lawful authority with respect to three of the royal
aides.[255][256] It was clear from court testimony that Mulcaire had hacked at least five other phones and
that he did work for more than just Goodman.[36]
On 15 May 2012, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charged six individuals with conspiring to
pervert the course of justice.[257] Charged in relation to removal of documents and computers to
conceal them from investigating detectives were former News International CEO Rebekah Brooks,
her husband, her personal assistant, her bodyguard, her chauffeur, and the head of security at News
International. These charges were made about one year after the Metropolitan Police Service
reopened its dormant investigation into phone hacking,[258] about three years after the then Assistant
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service told the Commons Culture, Media and Sport
Committee that "no additional evidence has come to light,"[55] five years after News International
executives began claiming that phone hacking was the work of a single "rogue reporter,"[259] ten
years after The Guardian began reporting that the Met had evidence of widespread illegal acquisition
of confidential information,[260] and 13 years after the Met began accumulating "boxloads" of that
evidence but kept it unexamined in bin bags at Scotland Yard.[16]
On 24 July 2012, charges were brought against eight former employees and agents of the News of
the World including editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson. Of the thirteen suspects that had
been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by the Metropolitan Police Service for review
under Operation Weeting, eight were charged with a total of nineteen charges, three were not to be
pursued due to insufficient evidence, and two were to continue to be investigated. Seven of the eight
were "charged with conspiring to intercept communications without lawful authority from 3rd October
2000 to 9th August 2006." All eight were charged regarding illegal interception of communications
relating to specific individuals[190][191]
The trial R v Coulson, Brooks and others began in October 2013. In December 2013 the trial judge
announced that Ian Edmondson was unwell and that his case would be considered at a separate
hearing when he recovered.[261]
On 24 June 2014 the trial jury found Coulson guilty of one charge of conspiracy to hack phones and
failed to agree a verdict on two other charges in relation to the alleged purchase of confidential royal
phone directories in 2005 from a police officer. Brooks and the five remaining defendants were found
not guilty.[250] On 30 June 2014 the trial judge announced that Coulson and Clive Goodman, would
face a retrial on the outstanding charges.[262]
Sentences were announced on 4 July 2014, with Coulson receiving 18 months imprisonment, former
chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck and news editor Greg Miskiw sentences of six months each, former
reporter James Weatherup a four-month suspended sentence and former private investigator Glenn
Mulcaire a six-month suspended sentence. Weatherup and Mulcaire also received 200 hours of
community service.[263]
On 3 October 2014, Ian Edmondson pleaded guilty to conspiring with Glenn Mulcaire and others to
intercept private voicemails between 3 October 2000 and 9 August 2006. Edmondson was jailed for
eight months on 7 November 2014.[264]
Further UK investigations[edit]
The scandal has triggered multiple investigations from various governmental agencies looking at
other News Corporation-owned media outlets in addition to News of the World.
With the unfolding scandal at the News of the World came allegations that another News
Corporation-owned tabloid, The Sun, itself engaged in phone hacking. In February 2011, the
Metropolitan Police investigated the claims of Scottish trade union leader Andy Gilchrist, who
accused The Sun of hacking into his mobile phone to run negative stories about him; the stories
were published shortly after Rebekah Brooks was installed as the paper's editor.[265]
On 5 July 2011, the head of the Press Complaints Commission Baroness Buscombe said in
interview with Andrew Neil on the BBC programme The Daily Politics, that she had been lied to by
the News of the World over phone hacking.[266] Buscombe said that she did not know the extent of the
scandal when she joined the PCC in 2009, but stated that she had been "misled by the News of the
World" after she had previously concluded just the opposite.[266] Buscome further admitted that her
statement put out in 2009, when the PCC had reviewed the 2007 evidence, that "Having reviewed all
the information available, we concluded that we were not materially misled;"[267] was now[when?] in
hindsight incorrect.[266] This led to Labour leader Ed Miliband calling the PCC a "toothless poodle,"
and in agreement with Prime Minister David Cameron proposed the creation of a new press
watchdog.[268]
On 11 July, the day after the News of the World ceased publication, The Guardian reported that
Scotland Yard was investigating both The Sun and The Sunday Times for illegally gaining access to
the financial, phone, and legal records of former prime minister Gordon Brown. It was also reported
that The Sun improperly obtained medical information on Brown's infant son to publish stories about
his diagnosis of cystic fibrosis. Brown issued a statement saying that his family was "shocked by the
level of criminality and the unethical means by which personal details have been obtained."[269] On 22
July, the satirical publication Private Eye reported that sometime between 2001 and 2004, a PR man
for the BBC series EastEnders had suspected his voicemail was being intercepted. The Eye said
that the man's suspicions were confirmed when he had a friend leave a voicemail concerning a fake
story about EastEnders, and that same evening received call from a Sun reporter declaring that they
had "proof" of the fake story.[270]
Leveson inquiry[edit]Main article: Leveson Inquiry
On 6 July 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron announced to parliament that a public government
inquiry would convene to further investigate the affair. On 13 July, Cameron named Lord Justice
Leveson as chairman of the inquiry, with a remit to look into the specific claims about phone hacking
at the News of the World, the initial police inquiry and allegations of illicit payments to police by the
press, and a second inquiry to review the general culture and ethics of the British media.[2]
On 20 July 2011, Cameron announced to Parliament the final terms of reference of Leveson's
inquiry, stating that it will extend beyond newspapers to include broadcasters andsocial media. He
also announced a panel of six people who will work with the judge on the inquiry:[271]
It was subsequently reported in the media that Leveson had attended two parties in the prior 12
months at the London home of Matthew Freud, a PR executive married toElisabeth Murdoch, the
daughter of Rupert Murdoch.[272][273]
Home Affairs Select Committee[edit]
The Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) has taken various forms of evidence and undertaking
during the whole affair, and continues to investigate various aspects as part of its normal
parliamentary undertakings.
On the afternoon of 19 July 2011, the HASC took evidence from both holders of the position of the
Director of Public Prosecutions, for the period which covered the scandal.[70]Lord Macdonald, in
charge of the Crown Prosecution Service when prosecution of Goodman and Mulcaire was
undertaken, stated that he had only been alerted to the case due to the convention that the DPP is
always notified of crimes involving the royal family.[70] Committee member Mark Reckless, the then
Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood, stated that the original 2007 police investigation and the
2009 review had both been hindered by the advice from the CPS, that "phone hacking was only an
offence if messages had been intercepted before they were listened to by the intended recipient;"
which was in fact incorrect.[70] Current[when?] DPP Keir Starmer in evidence stated that the CPS had told
the Metropolitan Police that "the RIPA legislation was untested."[70] Mark Lewis, the solicitor acting for
a number of phone hacking victims including the family of Milly Dowler, stated in evidence that he
was sacked from his job when fellow partners at his law firm stated they no longer wished to pursue
other victims' claims. Lewis stated that he, The Guardian newspaper, and Labour MP Chris Bryant
had all been threatened to be sued by solicitors Carter-Ruck acting for AC John Yates, all the costs
for which after the actions were dropped were picked up by the Metropolitan Police; Lewis submitted
letters from Carter Ruck in evidence to the committee. In closing, Lewis stated that the reason for
the investigation having taken so long was not only due to the Metropolitan Police: "The DPP seems
to have got it wrong and needs to be helped out."[70]
On 20 July 2011, the HASC published their completed report on the UK Parliament website. In that
report, the Committee says:[274]
"We deplore the response of News International to the original investigation into hacking. It is almost impossible to escape the conclusion voiced by Mr Clarke that they were deliberately trying to thwart a criminal investigation."[275]
Mark Lewis[edit]
Lewis, who is not connected with the Harbotte & Lewis firm, first engaged with News of the World in
2005 when it was moving to print a story asserting marital infidelity on Gordon Taylor's part. Lewis
worked for George Davies Solicitors LLP in Manchester specialising in defamation cases and was
able to persuade the paper not to run the story. In 2006, in the criminal trial over the hacking of
royals' voicemail accounts, it became public that the paper had also hacked, among others, Taylor's
voicemail. In his "eureka moment", Lewis realised then that it was hacked information which had led
to the earlier story about Taylor. From that insight came the realisation that the paper had a potential
civil liability from its hacking practices, and that led to Taylor's civil case. In 2011, working now with
Taylor Hampton Solicitors in London, Lewis seems about to close a $4.7 million settlement in the
Dowler case and has "more than 70 clients who believe News of the World illegally intercepted their
cellphone voice mails", according to a Wall Street Journal story.[276]
Media, Culture and Sport Select Committee[edit]
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee spent 6 September 2011 questioning four witnesses: the
News of the World's former editor Colin Myler, News Group Newspapers' former legal manager Tom
Crone, its former group human resources director, Daniel Cloke, and News International's former
director of legal affairs, Jonathan Chapman:.[277]
Independent Police Complaints Commission[edit]
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has been charged or filed to perform various
investigations. These presently include:[278]
An investigation of the relationship between Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and Neil Wallis,
and the Commissioner's stay at Champneys health resort
An investigation into the conduct of Assistant Commissioner John Yates, with regards his review
of the original investigation in 2009
An investigation into the conduct of Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, with regards
his conduct within the original investigation in 2007
An investigation into the conduct of Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman, with regards his
conduct within the original investigation in 2007
An investigation into Met Police head of PR Dick Fedorcio, his links with Neil Wallis, and the
circumstances under which the Metropolitan Police awarded a contract to Wallis's media
consultancy firm Chamy Media[278]
An investigation of the employment of Neil Wallis's daughter Amy with the Metropolitan Police,
alleged to have been at the request of John Yates
Elizabeth Filkin[edit]
On 18 July 2011, it was announced that former parliamentary commissioner for standards Elizabeth
Filkin would "recommend changes to links between the police and the media, including how to
extend transparency."[279]
Clive Goodman's 2007 letter[edit]
It was revealed that both John Whittingdale and Tom Watson may need to speak to James Murdoch
again as the Commons culture select committee about recalling James Murdoch. An MP has
released a letter from the now jailed journalist, alleging senior News of the World figures knew that
the hacking scandal was going on, when the former royal editor, Clive Goodman, wrote his letter to
News International as he appealed against his dismissal in 2007.[280]
"The News of the World ' s legal manager Tom Crone attended virtually every meeting of my legal
team and was given full access to the Crown Prosecution Service's evidence files." according
to Clive Goodman's letter.[280]
Ethical concerns, legal concerns and possible implications[edit]
See also: News Corporation scandal
Criticism of News International culture[edit]
Private Eye cover satirising the scandal.
The effect of the phone hacking scandal originating with the News of the World also raised wider
questions about the ethics employed by companies under Murdoch's ownership, as well as the
effects the scandal will have on the ethics employed specifically by print journalists and to some
extent the wider world of journalism.[281]
Murdoch had previously been criticised for building a media empire that lacked any ethical
base[281] and replacing responsible journalism with "gossip, sensationalism, and manufactured
controversy."[282] Karl Grossman, a professor of journalism at State University of New York at Old
Westbury, accused Murdoch of building the most "dishonest, unprincipled and corrupt" media empire
in history and of "making a travesty of what journalism is supposed to be about." Grossman also
claimed that News Corporation changes the culture of their newly acquired news outlets, using them
to promote Murdoch's political and financial interests. Once-acclaimed newspapers such as the New
York Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Times have been accused of becoming an "instrument"
to aide politicians that Murdoch favours.[281]
In Newsweek in July 2011, one of Murdoch's former top executives was quoted as saying: "This
scandal and all its implications could not have happened anywhere else. Only in Murdoch's orbit.
The hacking at News of the World was done on an industrial scale. More than anyone, Murdoch
invented and established this culture in the newsroom, where you do whatever it takes to get the
story, take no prisoners, destroy the competition, and the end will justify the means." This same
executive went on to say, "In the end, what you sow is what you reap. Now Murdoch is a victim of
the culture that he created. It is a logical conclusion, and it is his people at the top who encouraged
lawbreaking and hacking phones and condoned it."[282]
In 2010, it was also suggested that the journalistic approach of such newspapers at the News of the
World had brought into public focus that there had been a shift away from the traditional ethics of
journalism, raising serious questions about privacy, freedom of speech, and confidentiality.[283] There
were also observations in the North American Press about the ethics employed by the News of the
World. NBC New York noted that the old journalistic maxim, "Get it first. But, first, get it right,"
although speaking for accurate reporting does not address the situation where in the case of
the News of the World information was allegedly obtained in an unethical way or by illegal means.[284] The approach was also criticised by Stephen B. Shepard, dean of the CUNY Graduate School of
Journalism, who commenting on the phone hacking scandal, said: "It's wrong. It's not a grey area.
What they did was illegal and, even if it weren't, it's just plain wrong. There's no defence for it. Even
the government needs a warrant to get into a house or a computer. You can't break into something
like this and get away with it."[284]
Ethical backlash[edit]
Prime Minister David Cameron first intimated in early July 2011 that an investigation
by Parliament on media ethics and standards will be carried out. Soon after he announced that two
independent enquiries, led by a senior judge would take place. This led to anxieties being expressed
by newspaper editors about the impact of state media regulation on the free press.[285] There was
also concerns amongst journalists that new regulations would be enacted as a means of reining in
the press—"an attack on the power of the press itself"—rather than more effective self-regulation
and ensuring a stricter enforcement of existing legislation to deter the use of phone hacking,
breaches of privacy laws and bribery of public officials.[286] A further major concern was expressed
that more stringent regulation will not assist the ordinary people who were the subject of
investigative journalism, whereas powerful corporations will still have the money, power, and
resources to get out of any tough situation they might encounter.[286]
The consequences of the exposure of ethical transgressions that occurred at News of the
World have also led to concerns that such practices could be happening at other News Corporation
titles in Britain. Furthermore, there has been speculation that American news companies that are a
part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire may have become implicated.[287]
In July 2011 the Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) of the Church of England,
England's Established church, issued a statement stating that "The behaviour of the News of the
World has been utterly reprehensible and unethical."[288] In August 2012 the EIAG further announced
that it had no confidence in News Corporation's stated intention of returning to ethical practices, and
that as a result all Church of England organisations would cease investment in News Corporation. In
practical terms this involved the Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board
in selling shareholdings valued at around £1.9 million.[289]
Impact in other countries[edit]Main article: News Corporation scandal
Australia[edit]
News Limited announces review[edit]
In light of News Corporations global review, John Hartigan, the CEO of News Corporation's
Australian company News Limited, announced a review of all payments in the previous three years,
and that he was personally willing to co-operate with any Australian Government led inquiry.[290] The
Australian Green party called for a parliamentary inquiry into News Limited, but Hartigan directly
denied allegations by both the Greens and the governing Labor party that News Limited has been
running a campaign against them, describing his group's journalism as "aggressive but fair."[290]
Australian Government announces formal review[edit]
While the scope of the enquiry was yet to be finalised, a spokesman for the Communications
Minister, Stephen Conroy, said that the current administration under the Labor Party had decided
that an investigation was required.
The News Limited chairman, John Hartigan, vowed full co-operation with the government inquiry.[291]
United States[edit]
In the United States, where News Corporation is headquartered and operates multiple media outlets,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a probe on 14 July 2011, to determine whether News
Corporation accessed voicemails of victims of the 9/11 attacks. On 15 July, US Attorney
General Eric Holder announced an additional investigation by the Department of Justice, looking into
whether the company had violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
News Corporation owns a multitude of news outlets in the United States, including the New York
Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Fox News Channel. Several media critics[who?] have called for
investigations into whether they too engaged in phone hacking activities. In addition to any possible
illegal activities in the US, News Corporation and/or its executives might also face civil and criminal
liability under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.[292]
In 2005 US Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) wrote to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales after a
small New Jersey marketing company called FLOORgraphics alleged that News America Marketing
engaged in illegal computer espionage by breaking into password protected computer systems and
obtaining confidential information.[293]
Further controversy was aroused by an unsigned editorial[294] in the News Corporation-owned Wall
Street Journal which lashed out against the company's critics, specifically mentioning the BBC, The
Guardian and the news website ProPublica. At the same time, the editorial praised
former Journal publisher Les Hinton, who had just resigned in the wake of the phone hacking
scandal.[294] Many observers were frustrated by The Wall Street Journal ' s comments. In tweets, Jay
Rosen, professor of journalism at New York University, referred to the "deluded dishonest whining
victimology delivered in the form of a Wall Street Journal editorial on the phone hacking crisis"
and Sarah Ellison of Vanity Fair commented: "Tonite's WSJ Editorial is sad. I've always defended
the Edit page, but now It's a PR arm."[295]
Timeline[edit]