Rolling coverage after the third day of the
Leveson Inquiry into media ethics and the News of the World phone
hacking scandal at the Royal Courts of Justice.
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5 Kate McCann felt 'mentally raped' when her private diary was
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• Kate McCann felt 'mentally raped'
when private diary printed
• Met police: Not all 28 names in Mulcaire's notes
are NotW
• 'Self-regulation like handing the police station
to the mafia'
• Sherborne: tabloids 'see no evil, speak no evil,
hear no evil
• 'NotW told private eye Derek Webb to become a
journalist'
• Guardian editor: journalists do not come to work
to snoop
Latest
18.00 We're bringing our live coverage of today's
Leveson Inquiry hearing to a close.
After three days of evidence at the Royal Courts of
Justice, the inquiry has ended for the week. It will resume next Monday,
November 21, at 10am.
We will be live blogging all next week, when
celebrities including JK Rowling, Charlotte Church and Sienna Miller are
expected to take to the witness stand.
For our full coverage and stories from today's
proceedings, visit our Leveson Inquiry and phone hacking archives.
Bob and Sally Dowler, pictured with daughter Gemma, will speak next week
17.57 Bob and Sally Dowler, the parents of murdered
schoolgirl Milly, will be the first witnesses to give evidence when the
inquiry resumes on Monday.
Each of the 21 witnesses to speak next week will be
given no longer than an hour, except for Hugh Grant and Max Mosley, who
may take the stand for longer.
A full schedule of witnesses up to November 28 is
expected to be published online at the Leveson Inquiry website.
17.52 Michelle Stanistreet, the NUJ's general
secretary, and broadcaster Stewart Purvis have been talking about the
Leveson Inquiry and the PCC on this afternoon's BBC Radio Four's Media
Show.
Stanistreet said "corner-cutting" may have led to
the culture within which phone hacking took place:
There are incredibly talented hard-working
journalists working in the tabloid press as well as the quality press..
But there has been more and more focus in recent years on celebrity
tittle-tattle as a cheap way of filling up newspapers.
The kind of quality journalism that we'd all love
to see and what we all want to read, it takes time and it costs a lot of
money.
Listen to the full programme here.
Michelle Stanistreet gave evidence on behalf of the
NUJ
17.50 Our video team have sent this clip of
Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger acknowledging the "damaging" impact of
the phone hacking scandal:
17.47 A full video of today's evidence has now been
uploaded to the inquiry website.
17.34 The BBC's Ross Hawkins, who has been at the
RCJ for the Leveson Inquiry, has written a useful analysis of what Lord
Justice Leveson may be thinking at these early stages.
He writes that Leveson has already given clear
hints about press regulation, control and the likelihood of change in
how newspapers operate:
None of this is to suggest minds are made up. Where
Lord Justice Leveson appears to express an opinion, he is careful to
caveat his comments. The inquiry's barrister is not simply a mouthpiece
for the judge.
They are, for now, inquiring not concluding. But
lawyers and witnesses will monitor Leveson's words carefully, trying to
guess the mind of a man with the future of press regulation in his
hands.
Lord Justice Leveson said he was still trying to
work out what he thought
17.05 David Rowell, head of editorial development
at Johnston Press, has reminded us that it's not all doom and gloom in
the journalism world.
He tweets:
Only hearing from #leveson inquiry about bad things
involving newspapers. Sadly, no mention of good guys - the regional
journos #itsnotnews
16.45 Here's a quick round-up of today's
revelations:
• The mother of Hugh Grant's baby allegedly
received abusive phone calls because the actor criticised the press
• The News of the World tried to convince private
investigator Derek Webb to "become" a journalist by joining the National
Union of Journalists
• Former Formula One boss Max Mosley believes the
News of the World's coverage of his private life contributed to his son
Alexander's suicide
• The mother of Charlotte Church tried to commit
suicide after press allegations about her husband's affair
• Not all 28 'corner names' listed in the notebook
of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were News of the World staff,
contrary to what inquiry counsel Robert Jay previously claimed
• Mr Sherborne compared self-regulation of the
press to "handing the police station over to the mafia"
• He said the tabloid press were part of the "see
no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil brigade" in covering up phone
hacking
• Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian
newspaper, said 99 per cent of journalists do not know how to hack and
most do not come to work to "snoop"
• Michelle Stanisbrook, general secretary of the
NUJ, accused the Press Complaints Commission of being a "self-serving
gentleman's club which has failed abysmally"
Derek Webb, the NotW private eye who was told to
"become" a journalist
16.04 In case you missed it this morning, here is
the full text of Alan Rusbridger's statement to the Leveson Inquiry.
15.54 The hearing has ended for the day. It will
resume on Monday at 10am. Stay tuned today for more comment, reaction
and reports from today's proceedings.
15.52 Lord Justice Leveson says he
may call specific journalists who wrote stories about Christopher
Jefferies and Gerry and Kate McCann in order to "hear the other side" of
Sherborne's case.
Sherborne says he will provide a list of names
within the next three days.
Individual journalists may be called by Lord
Justice Leveson
15.49 The inquiry has resumed. All the legal
difficulties seem to have been sorted out in the break.
Lord Justice Leveson asks lawyer David Sherborne to
provide copies of the articles he mentioned in relation to Christopher
Jefferies and the parents of Madeleine McCann.
You said that similar bylines were visible on the
stories, in other words they were written by the same people... If you
could pick out a number of examples it may be that I will think about
asking the specific journalists to deal with the very points you made.
I'm not saying that I will but I think it's a particularly fruitful line
of inquiry.
15.41 Just before the break, Lord Justice Leveson
agreed that the MPS will appoint a police officer who will look at
witness statements to advise on possible redaction of private details.
Ben Fenton of the FT tweets:
Police have seen something in a statement that they
want redacted, but the QC for Scotland Yard won't say what it is. #leveson
15.39 The inquiry team has already received 2,000
documents, Jay says.
The hearing breaks while Sherborne, Jay and Garnham
discuss the release of documents.
15.30 Lots of legal argument in Court 73 as Lord
Justice Leveson and Robert Jay QC discuss next week's witness schedule.
Leveson said he would be "disturbed" if statements
given to the inquiry were used by police to identify suspects, as
witnesses have a privilege against self-incrimination under section 22
of the Inquiries Act. He adds:
There is no question of them entering the public
domain. What Mr Garnham is seeking, on my understanding, is that as and
when a document migrates from the private part of the site to the core
participant part of the site, that document may be of interest to the
officers of Operation Weeting.
Sue Akers, deputy assistant commissioner at the Met
Police
15.25 Robert Jay QC confirms that Sue Akers, head
of Operation Weeting - the police investigation into phone hacking -
will give evidence at the Leveson Inquiry.
15.21 His point that not all 28 legible names in
Mulcaire's notebook are necessarily those of News of the World staff is
raising a few eyebrows.
James Robinson of The Guardian tweets:
This is significant. Met's QC says it can't be
assumed that 28 names in Mulcaire notebooks are NoW hacks 'altho a lot
probably are' #leveson
15.17 Garnham raises a few more apparent
misunderstandings between the evidence given by Robert Jay QC, and that
understood by the Metropolitan Police Service.
He also says Kate McCann's diary was not in
possession of the MPS, but the Portuguese police.
Neil Garnham said not all 28 'corner names' in
Mulcaire's notebook are NotW staff
15.14 Neil Garnham, lawyer for the Met police, is
now speaking. He has some corrections to make:
He says there are 28 readable corner names in Glenn
Mulcaire's notebook, but adds: "it is not a resonable inference to
suggest that they are all News of the World employees".
It certainly cannot be said that the MPS have
established that all the notebook corner names were from the News of the
World.
The Mulcaire notebooks indeed went to some 11,000
pages, and they evidence from 2,266 taskings. But the police cannot say,
because they do not know, whether every tasking targets a different
individual, and that is unlikely.
15.11 Inquiry counsel Robert Jay QC is back with
some housekeeping points on next week's witnesses.
He says the evidence of Gary Flitcroft and Ian
Hurst went on to the inquiry's system last night
Statements from Charlotte Church, Steve Coogan,
Anne Diamond and supplementary evidence from Hugh Grant should go on the
system by the end of the day. The statement from Sienna Miller has just
been received.
Evidence will be emailed directly to the core
participants, while the first seven statements should be available
publicly by tomorrow.
Robert Jay QC is the Leveson Inquiry's leading
counsel
15.09 The hearing has started again and Jonathan
Caplan QC is on his feet.
He wants to clarify that the harassment injunction
to protect the mother of Hugh Grant's child was not against Associated
Newspapers, instead against a number of paparazzi.
15.02 Lots of reaction online to that claim that
Hugh Grant's girlfriend received a menacing phone cal during the media
frenzy over their child.
Josh Halliday, reporter at the Guardian, tweets:
Most dramatic moment of Leveson Inquiry so far:
mother of Hugh Grant's child threatened anonymously in recent weeks
The inquiry will hear from Hugh Grant over
allegations about the mother of his child
15.00 The hearing is taking a short five-minute
break.
14.57 Lord Justice Leveson asks Sherborne to ensure
he participates fully in discussion on the way forward for press
regulation.
Sherborne replies:
After listening to Mr Rusbridger it may well be
that there is some common ground.. in looking at a real way, a sensible
way, of dealing with this area.
14.55 Sherborne says he is coming to the end of his
statement.
The victims who I represent don't want to stop
proper investigative or public interest journalism. No-one sensibly
does. But if the relationship between the public and the press needs to
improve and it needs to start now.
Self-regulation by the PCC, as one of my clients
says, is tantamount to handing the police station over to the mafia.
We have had self regulation for many years but
things have not got better; it is time, we say, for real change.
14.53 Thais Portilho-Shrimpton tweets:
Sherborne talking about Anne Diamond, journalist
and broadcaster. Sun published pic of her and her husband holding son's
coffin #Leveson
Sherborne says Ms Diamond was harassed because she
asked Rupert Murdoch why his newspapers ruined people's lives.
14.52 Victims' lawyer David Sherborne QC tells the
court an emergency injunction was granted last week to prevent the
harassment of the mother of Hugh Grant's child.
He says she received an abusive phone call while
Grant appeared on Question Time and claims a photographer tried to run
over her mother. He assures Lord Justice Leveson the police have been
informed.
Actor Hugh Grant had a baby with Tinglan Hong
14.49 Sky's James Old tweets:
So, next week will be uncomfortable for the red
tops and perhaps the media at large. Many angry people are lined up to
tell their stories.
14.45 Sherborne is detailing the
impact of the unauthorised publication of Kate McCann's diary, which had
been in possession of the police. He says she felt "mentally raped" when
it was printed.
Here is our story from 2008 on the
publication of the diary in the tabloid press after it was leaked by a
Portuguese reporter.
Kate and Gerry McCann's daughter
Madeleine went missing in May 2007
14.43 Richard Peppiatt, the former Daily Star
reporter who wrote a very public, damning letter to proprietor Richard
Desmond about ethical practices at the paper is watching today's
hearing.
He tweets:
Sherborne landing devastating blows. His anecdotes
of press excess' are completely ruinous 2 tabloid claims of ethical
priorities.. #Leveson
14.41 James Robinson, media correspondent at The
Guardian, has an update on the Charlotte Church story Sherborne claims
was a "complete fabrication":
People wrote that Church story, BTW. Maybe they
should introduce a page 2 corrections column? #leveson
14.38 The victims' lawyer mentions Christopher
Jefferies, the Bristol landlord of murdered architect Joanna Yates who
was arrested after being vilified in various tabloid newspapers.
"This could happen to any one of us, celebrity or
not", he says, reading out some headlines from the time which labelled
Mr Jefferies "weird" and a "nutty professor".
Sherborne says the coverage was:
A frightening combination of slur, innuendo and
dirt-digging...All of it was nonsense.
It was a devastating destruction of all aspects of
Mr Jefferies' life, from his professional to the deeply personal.. Like
clumsy thieves drunk on the intoxicating frenzy of a good story, the
press broke into his life.
Mr Jefferies is not a celebrity, he is not a
politician. I don't believe that a year ago, even in his worst
nightmares, Mr Jefferies could ever imagine this would happen to him.
14.35 Sherborne says the only
recourse that "worked" in stopping press vilification of the McCanns was
a libel case against the Daily Express.
Reading out a number of headlines,
he says the pursuit of Madeleine McCann's parents during this period
represented "some of the darkest days for this section of the press".
Kate and Gerry McCann are among the
51 'core participants' in the inquiry
14.31 Sherborne now turns to Gerry
and Kate McCann, the parents of missing toddler Madeleine.
He says Gerry McCann will give
evidence next week about what it felt like to be thrust into the
limelight. He will tell the inquiry how "hopelessly inadequate" the PCC
Editors' Code of Practice clause on grief is.
Sherborne tells Lord Justice Leveson:
Apparently journalists were being told, he will
say, that they had to get a front page story or their job was on the
line.
14.25 Sheryl Gascoigne will tell the inquiry how
she became a villain in certain sections of the press as soon as she
married footballer Paul, Sherborne says.
Charlotte Church also comes up again, this time in
relation to "deeply irresponsible" stories about her personal life as a
teenager. Sherborne says:
She will dismiss the myth of the so-called
whingeing celebrity', as well as the line trotted out by various tabloid
newspapers taht celebrities somehow need this publicity, and only
complain when it is negative.
She will recount how a week or so ago a story hit
the newspapers about how she is meant to have made an exhibition of
herself drunkenly proposing to her boyfriend while singing karoeke in a
bar... the problem is that it was a complete fabrication. To use the
Kelvin McKenzie line: 'It sounds right, so it probably is. Let's bung it
in.'
Sheryl Gascoigne married Paul in 1996 but divorced
two years later
14.23 Andy Davies of Channel 4 News tweets:
Sherborne on paparazzi: 'an aggressive breed of
unregulated males equipped with a camera' #Leveson
14.20 JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter
books, will also speak next week.
Sherborne says:
The fact that Ms Rowling has tried to carve out
some semblance of normal life for her children but has failed to do so,
despite her best efforts, just highlights the excesses of the press.
Just because children have famous parents does not
mean they are public property as well. Adults can make choices; children
cannot.
...She will explain the very real corrosive effect
this has had on her children.
14.15 The victims' lawyer now turns to Charlotte
Church, whose mother attempted suicide after a series of "lurid"
revelations about her husband's affair.
Church will give evidence at the Leveson Inquiry on
Monday. Sherborne adds:
This is the real, brutally real, impact which this
kind of journalism has.
He also discusses Steve Coogan, who was hounded by
the press despite actively shunning publicity. Sherborne runs though a
list of "dirty tricks" that are part of media intrusion, including
chasing victims and tailing their cars.
Comedian Steve Coogan will give evidence to the
inquiry next week
14.12 Sherborne asks whether Flitcroft's privacy
was really outweighted by "the need to satisfy an insatiable public
appetite for salacious gossip".
We do need to ask what price we place now on
privacy in our society; one we would like to think of as a mature and
tolerant one.
14.10 Mr Flitcroft got an injunction to prevent
publication of his marital affair in 2001, but it was overturned in
2002, Sherborne says.
He says the impact of the media treatment of the
story on his life was "enormous":
Following the very public humiliation of him and
the feeding frenzy in the media when his anonymity was lifted, his
family was ripped apart. He told his wife about the affair before the
injunction was lifted.. but any chance they had of dealing with the
problems this had caused was shattered by the public humiliation they
had to endure; both of them.
In the full glare of the media spotlight it is no
wonder that they had absolutely no chance of dealing with a situation
which those not in the public domain can deal with in private.
Gary Flitcroft, a former Blackburn player, will
speak to the inquiry next week
14.05 David Sherborne QC, the lawyer for the
victims, is back on his feet.
He returns to the matter of celebrity kiss and tell
stories, starting with the case of former footballer Gary Flitcroft, who
was the subject of the first such injunction decided by the British
courts after the Human Rights Act was introduced.
14.02 Just a few minutes now until the hearing
resumes. You can watch the proceedings live here.
Ashley Highfield, the chief executive of Johnston
Press, reminds us that the claims being made about press behaviour may
not apply to all types of newspapers. He tweets:
Under-reported #Leveson Inquiry opening remarks
that "The issues may also be very different in relation to the regional
titles.."
13.53 A reminder from BBC royal correspondent Peter
Hunt of the scale of the allegations:
"victims" lawyer: the nearly 6000 people hacked by
NotW could fill the new Olympics velodrome. #Leveson #hacking
Sherborne said the alleged hacking victims could
fill the Olympic velodrome
13.45 Here's a quick lunchtime summary of what we
heard this morning:
• Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the
NUJ, said the PCC was a "self-serving gentleman's club" which "failed
abysmally" to investigate complaints
• She said the News of the World tried to force
private investigator Derek Webb to "become" a journalist by joining the
NUJ. Stanistreet called this "unbelievably cynical"
• She spoke of a "genuine culture of fear" of
speaking out against news editors
• Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger defended
journalists, saying 99% of them do not know how to hack phones and "they
do not come to work to snoop"
• He said the PCC should be "given teeth" to
include mediation and cover libel complaints
• David Sherborne QC, victims' lawyer, said the
British tabloid press had become "tawdry" and followed a "see no evil,
speak no evil, hear no evil" philosophy over press misbehaviour
• Sherborne said hacking was not a "cottage
industry", as Robery Jay QC suggested on Monday, but an "industrial
revolution" among the tabloids
• Hacking into Milly Dowler's voicemail was
"despicable" and gave her parents "euphoria", while Max Mosley believes
press intrusion may have led his son to take his life
Lord Justice Leveson will hear more from victims'
lawyer David Sherborne later today
13.30 Lots of reaction online to David Sherborne
QC's powerful description of how press intrusion affected Max Mosley's
life.
But Jules Lewis tweets:
David Sherborne's bit on Max Mosley at #Leveson
appears to flatly contradict Thurlbeck's self-exoneration in Press
Gazette... #phonehacking
Here's a link to that Neville Thurlbeck exclusive
in Press Gazette in case you missed it earlier.
13.03 The hearing has resumed until 2.05pm. Stay
with us for comment and analysis of this morning's proceedings.
13.00 Sherborne continues:
As I always tell my children, things that you enjoy
are rarely good for you. And if they can understand that, I'm sure
journalists can can. I'm not saying that stories printed need to be
boring.
It is important to remember the distinction between
these two different and recognised roles of the press in society:
namely, on the one hand, reporting facts..what we like to call the press
as a public watchdog.. and on the other hand, reporting on the private
lives of individuals. The former has a legitimate public interest; the
latter does not.
Mr Sherborne criticises 'kiss and tell' stories and
celebrity gossip
12.56 David Sherborne QC has now turned to the
death of Max Mosley's son Alexander of a suspected overdose.
He says Mr Mosley firmly believes this was related
to the allegations made about him in the press - a "terrible postcript"
to his ordeal.
12.52 He claims blackmail was "commonplace" at the
News of the World, accusing the paper of not putting the allegations to
Max Mosley because they were worried he would seek an injunction to stop
publication.
Sherborne says the Nazi theme was a preconceived
idea that editors at the paper needed the facts to fit, which Neville
Thurlbeck tried to bribe a female prostitute to act out.
It is an insight into how this section of the press
regards itself as being above the law. This inquiry may recognise the
rubbishing by editors of those who make the decisions as a way of
undermining the process itself.
12.48 Sherborne has turned to injunctions. He says
it is stories about sex and scandal drive the press, because they make
money and attract advertisers.
The victims' lawyer moves on to discuss the
allegations about Max Mosley's private life, "which has nothing
whatsoever to do with public interest".
Is this the right way for law to work? It certainly
is how the press want it to be. Whilst the original story with the Nazi
lie was bad, in the follow-up story, the newspaper (NotW) sought to rub
salt in the wounds... Who can look at him without thinking what he
chooses to do with other consenting adults in private?
Mr Mosley was faced with a choice: whether to
retreat and accept this humiliation, something which the papers were
counting on that he would do. Or he could prepare himself for a full
trial, with all the cost and embarrassment that this would bring.
Max Mosley will give evidence at the Leveson
Inquiry next Thursday
12.43 Martin Evans tweets:
There is a difference between freedom of speech and
freedom of the press, Mr Sherborne says. #Leveson #hacking
12.40 Sherborne deals with the potential clash
between freedom of expression and the right to privacy, using a metaphor
about his own holiday photos.
The respect given to an individual's privacy is as
much a mark of a tolerant and mature society as a free and forceful
press. Freedom is not an unqualified concept.
12.37 Sherborne continues, saying the "role call of
dirty tricks" used by the press include activities broader than just
hacking and intrusion into privacy.
He adds:
I know I'm meant to say freedom of speech is
essential, but more importantly it is only one part of equation
12.34 The inquiry has reopened. Mr Sherborne is
looking at What Price Privacy Now, the report compiled under Richard
Thomas, the former Information Commissioner, into press misbehaviour.
The document detailed the findings of Operation
Motorman, the inquiry in 2006 that found 3,522 suspected cases of
illegal access to records by the media.
Here is the What Price Privacy Now report in full:
What Price Privacy
12.30 Martin Evans has filed this story on the
statement by Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, that it is
'unbelievable that phone hacking was the work of one rogue reporter'.
12.22 The inquiry has stopped for 10 minutes.
Press reform campaigner YorkieRosie tweets:
Sherbourne's submission to Leveson Committee so far
makes Tom Watson's Mafia references last week seem an
understatement.....#leveson
12.20 The victims' lawyer continues his assault on
the News of the World:
What a culture, what an ethical vacuum, at a paper
whose ethical values are still being championed, even yesterday. It is,
or at least was, a fairly representative newspaper, and fairly similar
in many respects to the rest of the tabloid market.
What we have so far many only be just the tip of
the iceberg.
He explains how two victims, army officer Ian Hurst
and colleague Jane Winter, had their computers hacked by Trojan viruses.
12.17 Sherborne says the inquiry will hear from
Mark Lewis, the NotW lawyer who was involved in negotiations over a
settlement in the Gordon Taylor case. He says the lawyer was targeted
after standing up to his former employer:
The story about what happened at the News of the
World would read a little like a John Grisham novel, if only it was
fictional. But the truth, as Mark Twain said, is sometimes stranger than
fiction.
Mr Sherborne accuses the NotW of using tactics of
"fear" and "desperation"
12.11 Sherborne says the revelations about hacking
at the NotW revealed a "tangled web" at the newspaper. "Someone,
somewhere, is not telling the truth," he adds.
He is now referring to a statement on the NotW
website about investigations over hacking after the Gordon Taylor case,
which claimed that no evidence was found at the paper.
News International knew perfectly well from 2008
that the "rogue reporter" defence was blatantly untrue.
12.10 Sherborne continues:
The very foundations of this very popular newspaper
[the News of the World] were built on manifestly unholy and undefensible
ground. And, it must surely raise questions about who knew what and at
what level. That is something about which I will have much more to say.
Can it really be sensibly argued that this is a
simple case where checks and balances were not properly observed and a
handful of rogue journalists were allowed to run amok with the company
chequebook?
There was on any view a concerted effort to conceal
the ugly truth from ever surfacing. There is little that can be said
about this because of the criminal prosecutions, at least because of the
individuals involved.
James Murdoch insisted he did not know about phone
hacking at NotW
12.06 Max Mosley is sitting directly behind Mr
Sherborne. While others in the courtroom take notes, he has his arms
crossed and appears to be listening intently to the evidence.
The victims' lawyer continues, saying he will avoid
repeating the numbers drawn from Glenn Mulcaire's notebook:
The evidence demonstates not so much a 'cottage
industry', as Mr Jay called it, but rather an industrial revolution. A
cultural change, we would say, away from good old fashioned journalistic
activity.
12.03 Sherborne says none of the stories resulting
from hacking had "any public interest defence whatsoever". He says
hacking was a "systematic and very well organised network".
Ben Fenton of the FT tweets:
NotW's "former glory has been so fatally befouled
by its cultural dependency on the dark arts which give ...journalism a
bad name. #Leveson
12.00 Sherborne is running through a list of
victims who will speak at the inquiry next week, including the anonymous
'HJK', Joan Smith and Tom Rowland, a former Telegraph journalist, whose
phone was allegedly hacked by the NotW.
He then turns to Sara Payne, mother of murdered
schoolgirl Sarah Payne, who was told by detectives that a mobile phone
she was given by the NotW may have been hacked by Glenn Mulcaire.
Sherborne says:
The press are even prepared to turn on their own.
Perhaps one of the cruelest twists in this saga is that one of the
newspaper's most prominent targets had also been one of its most
prominent supporters.
Former NotW editor Rebekah Brooks with Sara Payne
11.55 He now turns to Mary-Ellen Field, adviser to
supermodel Elle Macpherson, who was sent to a clinic in America after
refusing to accept responsibility for selling stories about her employer
to the press.
The stories were, in fact, the product of voicemail
hacking by the tabloid newspapers. Lord Justice Leveson will hear from
her next week.
Intellectual property expert Mary-Ellen Field
worked with Elle Macpherson
11.52 David Sherborne QC continues with a swipe at
the PCC:
It's an inconvenient truth for the press. The press
largely, but not entirely, held out through self-interest and
self-preservation. Or, to put it another way, continuing
self-regulation.
11.50 Martin Evans tweets:
Tabloids are part of the "see no evil, speak no
evil, hear no evil brigade" Sherborne says. #Leveson #hacking
11.45 The victims' lawyer is now addressing the
allegations that Glenn Mulcaire, acting for the NotW, accessed the
voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
He turns to Bob Dowler, sitting behind him, saying
he will tell of the "false hope" given by the "despicable" act, which
caused him to think his daughter was still alive:
The Dowlers were subjected to terrible intrusion by
the press, intrusion at a time of immense grief. And as I will explain,
they are not alone in experiencing this.
Milly's parents Sally and Bob Dowler will give
evidence on Monday
11.44 David Sherborne QC turns to the "breaking
point" that led to the Leveson Inquiry being set up.
In the beginning was the word, and the word was
hacking... While its significance may not have impacted heavily upon the
public consciousness at the time, it was something that the press - or
certain sections of it - chose to ignore publicly.
David Sherborne QC addresses Lord Justice Leveson
11.38 He continues with a strong case for press
regulation:
The press is a powerful body. They have a common
interest and a self-serving agenda. Why wouldn't they, after all? This
is about survival.
However the press have a very powerful voice, and
this voice should not be allowed to drown out the voices of the victims.
A number of individuals have already been vilified for agreeing to share
their opinions.
Radio and TV presenter Anne Diamond is one of Mr
Sherborne's clients
11.35 Sherborne, who represents 51 victims of press
intrusion and hacking, starts with a condemnation of the "tawdry
journalistic trade" in the UK
He says there has been a "serious breakdown in
trust between the press and the public", adding that the whole of the
press - but principally the tabloids - are in the dock of the court of
public opinion for accessing emails, blagging sensitive data, bribery
and intrusion.
He adds:
My role on behalf of those who have suffered at the
hands of the press over a number of years means that I am here to
highlight the wrong; systemic, flagrant and deeply entrenched as they
are.
11.28 While we wait, Neville Thurlbeck, the News of
the World reporter implicated in phone hacking through the infamous "for
Neville" email, has written an exclusive article for Press Gazette.
In 'I am either a fool or an innocent man... You
decide', he explains his version of the events leading up to his
dismissal from the newspaper. Thurlbeck writes:
I too must take my fair portion of blame. It is a
matter of great personal regret that I failed to walk into Rebekah
Brooks’ office. I had discussed doing so with friends and colleagues
many times. I was naive to assume she and James Murdoch had been fully
appraised.
I had a warm and trusting relationship with Rebekah
over many years. I had been her news editor. She would have opened her
door to me. I should have grown a spine and gone over my boss’s head.
Any member of this dramatis personae who feels
aggreived by my script, I say to them - you watched as I carried your
burden for two and a half years. I am merely giving back what belongs to
you.
With that explanation and confession, I hope to
leave my brief appearance on the stage for the time being.
David Sherborne QC has just re-opened the inquiry -
more on Thurlbeck's article later.
Neville Thurlbeck has spoken for the first time
about the infamous email
11.21 Formula One boss Max Mosley and Bob Dowler,
the father of Milly, are in court today, Andy Davies of Channel 4 News
tweets.
We heard yesterday that Mosley, who was awarded
damages of £60,000 after the News of the World exposed his involvement
with prostitutes, has submitted a 450-page witness statement to the
inquiry.
He is expected to be among those taking to the
witness stand next week.
Max Mosley after winning his privacy case at the
High Court in 2008
11.19 David Sherborne QC, acting for victims of
hacking and other illicit press activities, is expected after the break.
Ben Fenton from the FT says today's line-up has
drawn more people to the public gallery at the RCJ. He tweets:
Breaking News: there are actual members of the
public in the public section of the #leveson marquee. Just noticed.
there are about 7.
11.15 The hearing has taken a short break for 15
minutes.
Lord Justice Leveson says he supports Rusbridger's
idea of a system that would allow readers to make claims against
newspapers outside the courts:
I think there's a great deal of scope in finding
some mechanism that allows for the resolution of disputes between
members of the public and the press, short of the courts, because it has
become so expensive.
11.11 The pair are now debating libel, including
the so-called 'Reynolds defence', which claims that a paper acted in
good faith in publishing claims that are being disputed.
Rusbridger says the meaning of the defence is not
clear.
The Guardian's James Robinson tweets:
Rusbridger says hacks scared they will be
'unemployable if they sad bad things about the industry' #leveson
11.05 Alan Rusbridger attempts to answer some of
the queries raised:
The only way it's going to work is for people to
come together around a public interest defence that they believe in..
Unless you have universal principles that we all agree to, it has to be
around a common idea of what the common good and common interest is, and
we must mean that, including arguing it in court.
The best investigative journalists at the Guardian
know that they may have to answer these questions. It's about who the
source is, what's the quality of the information, have you put the
information to the people you're writing about, have you included their
response?
Rusbridger says the Guardian's investigative
journalists have to check their sources
11.02 A final plea from Lord Justice Leveson:
I want this inquiry to mean something. I am very
concerned that it should not simply form a footnote in some professor of
journalism's analysis of the history of the 21st century, while it
gathers dust. This is an opportunity for your profession, for
journalism, and I'm very keen that it is used so that the vast expense
that we are incurring isn't wasted.
11.01 Lord Justice Leveson is giving Mr Rusbridger
a lengthy series of questions about how to expose wrongdoing in the
press:
Should I be requiring a conscience clause? I am
concerned about extent to which the law should be prescribing any of
these things. I think there is a great deal of scope in finding some
mechanism that allows for the resolution of disputes between the public
and the press short of the courts.
I would like to investigate the idea of having some
sort of service that does that, that ties into the law and that runs
parallel. I do feel that everybody could benefit from some mechanism. At
least I think I feel; I'm only beginning. None of these views are
formed, they're only thoughts.
But then how am I going to persuade those who don't
even subscribe to the PCC that it's a sensible approach. And how am I
going to persuade that other great media outlet, the internet, to buy
in? I feel it's likely the approach is likely to require something more
nuanced than one or the other - but how can we find an approach that
doesn't impact on the freedom of the press of the freedom of expression,
both of which I believe are absolutely fundamental to our society.
Lord Justice Leveson says he needs advice from Mr
Rusbridger on the way forward
10.55 Martin Evans tweets from the courtroom:
99% of journalists would not know how to hack a
phone and don't go to work to snoop, Rusbridger tells inquiry. #Leveson
#hacking
10.49 Rusbridger concludes with a plea to Lord
Justice Leveson:
It's our hope that you and your team can find a way
to bolster the best in journalism while weeding out the worst.
Lord Justice Leveson welcomes his submissions but
says he wants to hear some examples of a solution; not just a list of
the problems affecting the press. He asks:
How am I going to get to the bottom of the culture
which is hinted at, which is spoken about, unless people are prepared to
say it?
Lord Justice Leveson says he has a series of
questions for Alan Rusbridger
10.48 Rusbridger continues:
All journalists worry about any form of
interference in freedom of expression. From one point of view, no-one
currently gains very much from regulation...The PCC, for all its
failings, was born from the view that there was an overriding imperative
to agree a code, to which we would not only pay lip service but would
actually inform everything that we did.
Only by acting together would be protect ourselves
from the people who really were trying to dye our hands. And so we
lashed ourselves together.
10.46 Telegraph reporter Martin Evans tweets:
Guardian was not impressed with the way the PCC
handled phone #hacking Rusbridger tells the #Leveson inquiry.
10.40 Rusbridger joins Stanistreet in slamming the
PCC. He says there have been a series of "lamentable failures", urging
the PCC to be a press standards and mediation commission covering libel
and privacy
He says a self-regulatory system needs to be a
one-stop-shop, cheap, responsive and quick to act. It needs to have
teeth:
We don't agree with those who say that everything
is currently ok, subject to a touch on the tiller.
10.38 He reminds the tribunal of a "record payout"
of £800,000 made to a journalist at the News of the World under the
editorship of Andy Coulson, for what an employment tribunal described as
a "culture of bullying". He asks:
How did News International leverage its commercial,
political and - as we now know - outsourced criminal muscle?
Andy Coulson, David Cameron's former communications
chief, was NotW editor
10.34 The Guardian editor is now discussing
developing privacy law and how the new digital world is changing
journalism:
Equally important in our view is to look at the
failures of the 18-month period once the so-called 'rotten apple'
defence had been exploded by the Guardian... These events seem to be
worth examinining as they show the dogs that didn't bark. Why didn't
they?
Here's a reminder of how The Guardian broke the
story that NotW journalists allegedly hacked Milly Dowler's voicemail.
10.34 Rusbridger says:
All the events which led to this inquiry were
shocking and immensely damaging. There was, in short, a failure of the
normal checks and balances in society to hold power to account.
10.31 The NUJ general secretary has finished her
evidence. Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger is up next.
Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger addresses Lord
Justice Leveson
10.30 Michelle Stanistreet finishes her evidence
with a staunch defence of journalists:
For us this is an inquiry that could shape the
future of our industry and it is vital that the views of working
journalists are considered.
But Lord Leveson isn't letting her get away so
quickly. He asks her how phone hacking went on under the noses of NUJ
chapels at News International.
Why didn't one of your fearless journalists raise
the issue of phone hacking after the Guardian first broke the story?
10.25 Journalist Thais Portilho-Shrimpton tweets:
It's the view of the NUJ and its members that the
PCC failed, abysmally so - @nuj_michelle #leveson
10.23 Stanistreet accuses the PCC of being "a
self-serving gentleman's club".
She is encouraging Leveson to implement regulation
similar to the "conscience clause" in the NUJ's code of conduct, which
was rejected by the PCC and Society of Editors in 2003.
It goes as follows:
The NUJ believes a journalist has the right to
refuse an assignment or be identified as the author of editorial that
would break the letter or spirit of the code. The NUJ will fully support
any journalist disciplined for asserting her/his right to act according
to the code
10.18 She is now talking about her time as an NUJ
chapel member at the Daily Express. She says she made complaints to the
PCC while working there about the paper's coverage of asylum seekers and
gypsies entering the EU:
In both cases we believed the paper was guilty of
breaking the PCC's code of conduct on discrimination.
10.11 Stanistreet says News International's line
that phone hacking was confined to a single rogue reporter is "as daft
as it is unbelievable":
She says a NotW executive told Derek Webb, it
private eye, to "become" a journalist, join the NUJ and get its press
card. This was "breathtakingly cynical", she adds.
News International's parent company News Corp is
owned by Rupert Murdoch
10.10 Ben Fenton of the FT tweets:
NUJ attacks managements for cuts. "Playing fast and
loose with out industry" Affects quality. Threatens investigation.
Churnalism. Pressures lead to abandonment of fundamental principles, to
journalists being asked to write stories that are not accurate. Stark
expectation from on high to bring in story by whatever means. If not,
consequences are clinically brutal. #leveson
10.08 Lord Justice Leveson asks Michelle
Stanistreet to slow down for the second time, telling her her words
aren't being picked up by the shorthand writers.
She continues, talking about the pressure in
newsrooms:
These practices are the product of the culture. You
cannot separate the practices of journalism and the culture.. It's not
journalists who develop and foster the culture in their newspaper group.
In any workplace, where does the power lie? There is often a stark
expectation from on high. Editors rule the roost. They set the tone.
Michelle Stanistreet said newsroom cultures can
often be pressurised
10.06 The Telegraph's editorial legal director,
Adam Cannon, is at today's hearing. He tweets:
Day 3 of leveson. More crowded today. Perhaps to
hear the editor of the guardian deliver their opening #leveson
10.03 Stanistreet says the NUJ is asking
journalists to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry, but at some
publications there is a "genuine climate of fear" over speaking out:
The reality is that putting your head above the
parapet and speaking out openly is simply not an option for many
journalists, who would risk losing their job or failing to get
employment in the future.
10.01 Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of
the NUJ, has opened the third day of the inquiry.
She says:
It's vital that in an inquiry reflecting on the
problems affecting our industry that the concerns, the expressions and
the insights of ordinary journalists are heard. They are at the sharp
end.
09.47 James Old, field producer for Sky News, is at
the Royal Courts of Justice ahead of today's hearing. He tweets:
Day 3 of the #LevesonInquiry. Opening statements
from the Guardian and NUJ. Also hoping for more details of next weeks
celeb witnesses.
09.41 David Sherborne QC, the lawyer representing
victims of phone hacking and other press misbehaviour, will address Lord
Justice Leveson third today.
Sherborne is a barrister at media and entertainment
chambers 5RB and has represented celebrity clients including Diana,
Princess of Wales, Nicole Kidman, Mick Jagger, Lewis Hamilton and David
Beckham.
According to his online profile, he has acted for a
number of the Leveson witnesses previously, including Sienna Miller,
Jude Law, Charlotte Church and Max Mosley. He has also worked on a
number of high profile divorce cases and anti-paparazzi injunctions.
David Sherborne QC has represented celebrities
including David Beckham
09.30 The paparazzi will be out in force at Leveson
next week, when 21 witnesses from the "core participant" group,
including Hugh Grant, Steve Coogan, Charlotte Church and JK Rowling, are
expected to give evidence.
Dan Sabbagh, writing in The Guardian, has this
warning for tabloid newspaper editors:
In a culture obsessed by fame and victimhood, these
are all people who will command the national attention. Newspapers that
have traditionally dipped in and out of the hacking story will have
little choice but to take an interest in what they say. Each person
giving evidence has a chance to put those who once pursued them for news
back in the dock.
No wonder Richard Wallace, the editor of the Daily
Mirror, warned at the Society of Editors conference on Monday that
newspapers will have to endure a torrid week or two as the public hears
how people were harassed or hacked for stories.
Singer Charlotte Church has asked to be included in
the Leveson Inquiry
09.23 Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, is
up second this morning before Lord Justice Leveson.
Here's a reminder of the Orwell Lecture he gave
last week: Hacking away at the truth.
In his lecture, Rusbridger urged journalists at all
publications to learn from the phone hacking scandal and its aftermath:
We write stories all the time attacking councils,
corporations and governments for snooping or being careless with
personal data. We understand “privacy” in many other contexts. An
Englishman’s home is his castle and all that.
But here was a newsroom blinded to the moral
darkness of such intrusion when it came to their own behaviour. And, in
that inability to turn a mirror on themselves, I doubt they are alone.
09.17 A reminder that you can watch today's
proceedings live on the inquiry website.
You can also catch up on yesterday's hearing.
Transcripts of evidence and witness statements are expected up on the
site shortly.
Part Two of the Leveson Inquiry will look at phone
hacking at NotW
09.05 Lord Ashcroft, writing for ConservativeHome,
has posted his views on the Leveson Inquiry.
He reckons revelations about the activities of the
'quality' press may yet be the most interesting:
For now, it is the tabloid press that is bearing
the brunt of the public outrage over its activities while the so-called
“quality” press is devoting endless pages to reporting on the “shocking”
evidence submitted to the Leveson inquiry.
I believe that, when the Leveson inquiry looks into
“the extent of unlawful or improper conduct” by newspapers, it will be
elements of the “quality” press that will start to squirm and feel the
heat of public outrage.
And, once again, I suspect it will be the News
International titles – The Times and The Sunday Times – which have most
to fear. I have no grievance with the current management or staff of The
Times but more than 12 years ago – throughout 1999 – the paper waged a
relentless, unscrupulous and, at times, illegal campaign to discredit me
when I was Treasurer of the Conservative Party and when the paper had
chosen to ally itself with New Labour.
Lord Ashcroft says he is looking forward to hearing
evidence presented to the inquiry
09.00 Paul Waugh, editor of Politics Home, and Tim
Montgomerie of ConservativeHome are speaking on BBC Radio Four's Today
programme about the possible impact of the Leveson Inquiry on the
blogosphere.
Tim Montgomerie says:
I think the best form of regulation is competition.
And if you look at how The Sun and The News of the World were found out,
it wasn't by regulation but it was by a competitor, The Guardian, a
fellow newspaper. If we try and regulate this incredibly dynamic and
fast-moving sphere, we will limit it; we will send it abroad.
Paul Waugh is also "fiercely against any statutory
regulation of print and online":
I think we could possibly see something coming out
of Leveson where he has an idea for a reformed PCC, where we see a
committee with possibly some bloggers sitting on it, which could
encourage the press to sign up to some standards.
Tim Montgomerie said he was concerned Lord Justice
Leveson wouldn't deal with blogs
08.55 Here are some of the headlines from this
morning's papers:
Ben Webster, writing in The Times, points out that
the admission hacking may have continued at NotW until 2009 is damaging
to James Murdoch because it could mean the practice was ongoing when he
became chairman of News International in 2007.
He says the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly
Dowler will be first to give evidence to the inquiry next week (£).
James Robinson and Lisa O'Carroll in The Guardian
say both NI and Associated Newspapers "struck a defiant note" in their
evidence yesterday. They write:
Jonathan Caplan QC, for the Daily Mail's owner
Associated Newspapers, cautioned against making changes to the current
self regulatory regime based on what had happened in the industry in the
recent past.
'We need to be clearly aware that any
recommendations...are not simply introduced on the basis of historic
transgressions which no longer occur,' he said.
James Murdoch, chairman of NI, has repeatedly
denied he knew about phone hacking
08.52 Lots of comment and reaction this morning to
Rhodri Davies QC's insistence that News International only knew about
five - not 28 - staff names in the notebooks of private investigator
Glenn Mulcaire.
Mr Davies asked for the numbers, read out in court
on Monday by Robert Jay QC, to be re-checked. Here's a reminder of what
he said:
Yesterday's [Monday's] statement has occasioned
some surprise on our side. We do not have all the notebooks, but we knew
that there were five legible corner names which could be correlated with
News of the World reporters' names, those being Mr Goodman's name and A
to D.
Our understanding is that it certainly does not add
up to 27.
08.45 Telegraph reporter Martin Evans will be in
Court 73 again this morning, tweeting and reporting live from the
inquiry.
Follow him on Twitter @evansma. We've also compiled
a Twitter list of journalists, MPs and campaigners to follow during the
inquiry.
In his report from yesterday's hearing, he picked
up on Rhodri Davies QC's admission that phone hacking at News
International may have carried on until 2009. He writes:
Mr Davis said News International had not had sight
of all of Mr Mulcaire’s notebooks, which documented some 2,266 taskings
from journalists.
But he said there had been “some surprise” within
the company at the suggestion that 27 reporters had been identified as
allegedly being involved. “We would like to have this information
re-checked,” he said.
During opening submissions Mr Jay had referred to
an action brought against The Sun newspaper by the actor Jude Law, who
claimed its journalists had hacked his mobile phone. But Mr Davies said
The Sun disputed the claim and did not accept that documents referred to
by Mr Jay provided evidence of such an activity.
Actor Jude Law alleged journalists from The Sun had
intercepted his voicemails
08.40 Here is a quick round-up of the main points
to come out of yesterday's proceedings:
• Rhodri Davies QC, lawyer for News International,
apologised to hacking victims, admitting the practice was "shameful" and
"wrong"
• He said NI disputed that the names of 28 NI
journalists were found in the notebooks of private investigator Glenn
Mulcaire. Davies said the group was only aware of five
• He asked for the numbers read out by Robert Jay
QC to be re-checked
• Davies said he "could not guarantee" that phone
hacking stopped at NotW in 2007, after the prosecution of royal reporter
Clive Goodman
• Jonathan Caplan QC, acting for Associated
Newspapers, said Operation Motorman uncovered no evidence that
journalists at the Daily Mail asked private investigator Steve
Whittamore to do anything illegal
• Caplan urged journalists to "give evidence
openly", without fear or retribution or speaking out against editors
• He said the group was against statutory
regulation of the press but admitted the PCC needs to be "beefed up"
• Lord Justice Leveson will hear evidence from 21
witnesses next week, including celebrities Hugh Grant and JK Rowling
• The inquiry will also hear from Alistair Campbell
and former Information Commissioner Richard Thomas next month
Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into media ethics is
split into two parts
08.35 Today's hearing is due to start at 10am.
Lord Justice Leveson will hear from:
• Michelle Stanistreet, the NUJ general secretary,
at 10am
• Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, at 11am
• David Sherborne QC, acting for the victims, at
11.45am
Alan Rusbridger is the first national newspaper
editor to speak at the inquiry
08.30 Welcome to our rolling coverage of the third
day of the Leveson Inquiry, live from the Royal Courts of Justice in
London.
The public inquiry into journalistic ethics was
launched in the wake of the phone hacking scandal that engulfed News
International in July and August.
For full coverage of the events leading up to the
inquiry, visit our Leveson Inquiry and phone hacking archives. |