News News International back tracks again on phone hacking

[Ch3tan]

7/7 victims families as well.. they have no fucking shame

Graham Foulkes, whose son David died in the Edgware Road blast, told the BBC he was contacted by officers on Tuesday after his details were found on a list as part of the police inquiry in hacking claims.

Mr Foulkes, of Oldham, Greater Manchester, recalled how his family had waited for a week after the 2005 attacks for news of David.

"My wife and I were kind of all over the place, we were chatting to friends on the phone, in a very personal and deeply emotional context - and the thought that somebody may have been listening to that just looking for a cheap headline is just horrendous."

He said police contacted him on Tuesday when they became aware of media reports that 7/7 victims' families may have had their phones hacked.


Mr Foulkes said he would like to meet News International's owner, Rupert Murdoch, to talk to him about "the power he has".

He added: "I certainly think that News International need to come clean, they need to accept their responsibility and their culpability, and they need to do the decent thing, but I suppose they won't."

Also add to that Brookes internal memo: "I have to tell you that I am sickened that these events are alleged to have happened," Mrs Brooks wrote.

"Not just because I was editor of the News of the World at the time, but if the accusations are true, the devastating effect on Milly Dowler's family is unforgivable."

She added: "I hope that you all realise it is inconceivable that I knew - or worse - sanctioned these appalling allegations."

What a cow she is, I hope she's found to have had instigated the whole affair.

 

[ilaya]

and Cameron is gonna let the BSkyB bid go ahead...

sorry... WHAT?!!!

 

[dysfunction]

They all big private school bum chums

...and you thought Tony Blair had cronies.

 

[Tom]

She added: "I hope that you all realise it is inconceivable that I knew - or worse - sanctioned these appalling allegations

What a lying windbag. The idea that a newspaper's editor would not question reporters on the sources they used for their stories is laughable.

 

[DaGaffer]

What a lying windbag. The idea that a newspaper's editor would not question reporters on the sources they used for their stories is laughable.

I'm not sure about that; "plausable deniability" has been a historic refuge for politicians and media companies, and journos often use the same "protecting a source" waffle as policemen. Expect something along the lines of "they were freelancers so we don't have the right to question their sources blah blah blah."

The individual journos will be hung out to dry, but even if they get sent down for some derisory sentence they won't bite the hand that feeds them. Although, having said that, we're now in perverting the course of justice territory, so the sentences can start to get serious. Here's hoping one of them was smart enough to record someone senior in NoTW sanctioning this activity, but as I said, I doubt anyone asked explicitly, to cover themselves for just this eventuality.

 

[cHodAX]

I'm not sure about that; "plausable deniability" has been a historic refuge for politicians and media companies, and journos often use the same "protecting a source" waffle as policemen. Expect something along the lines of "they were freelancers so we don't have the right to question their sources blah blah blah."

The individual journos will be hung out to dry, but even if they get sent down for some derisory sentence they won't bite the hand that feeds them. Although, having said that, we're now in perverting the course of justice territory, so the sentences can start to get serious. Here's hoping one of them was smart enough to record someone senior in NoTW sanctioning this activity, but as I said, I doubt anyone asked explicitly, to cover themselves for just this eventuality.

They can't use the 'freelancers' defence because NotW staffers have been arrested/charged/convicted irc. Also, have a look for the video of the parlimentary commitee that Brooks and Coulson were called before, she openly admits to paying the police for confidential information before Coulson jumps in and backtracks. That was when action should have been taken, when they lied to members of parliment about serious criminal acts.

 

[cHodAX]

YouTube - ‪Rebekah Brooks admits to paying police‬‏

 

[FuzzyLogic]

If she admitted breaking the law in that video, why wasn't she arrested and charged?

Or am I being stupidly naive again?

 

[DaGaffer]

They can't use the 'freelancers' defence because NotW staffers have been arrested/charged/convicted irc. Also, have a look for the video of the parlimentary commitee that Brooks and Coulson were called before, she openly admits to paying the police for confidential information before Coulson jumps in and backtracks. That was when action should have been taken, when they lied to members of parliment about serious criminal acts.

Its all in the timing. The convictions in the Goodman/Mulcaire case we're for an offence committed after all this Millie Dowler stuff happened (2005, when the Millie Dowler thing was 2002). A good lawyer will point that out (so the prosecution can't use the angle that NoTW was supposed to have cleaned up its act after Goodman/Mulcaire). Also Goodman was only convicted because he admitted actually hacking, along with Mulcaire, it doesn't follow, certainly prior to 2006, that any individual journo couldn't claim ignorance of how a freelancer/private investigator got their info (a court would have to prove otherwise).

The big difference is that all the earlier revelations were offences under RIPA and/or Computer Misuse Act; the Millie Dowler one, by deleting the VMs, is Perverting The Course Of Justice, which is a much more serious level of offence.

 

[Embattle]

Our media has been a little bit too free at times, not enough action has/is taken against them.

 

[Chilly]

In theory, there's nothing wrong with the press paying for information from the police on the sly. The whole point of "in the public interest" is to allow journos to get around the system without going to jail as long as it's actually in the public interest to do so. That's why a lot of this stuff is quasi-legal and extremely difficult to sort out.

 

[cHodAX]

If she admitted breaking the law in that video, why wasn't she arrested and charged?

Or am I being stupidly naive again?

The polititians are scared of those two and Rupert Murdoch, plain and simple. That video has been on national news dozens of times and they still haven't been pulled in for questioning or charged?

 

[cHodAX]

In theory, there's nothing wrong with the press paying for information from the police on the sly. The whole point of "in the public interest" is to allow journos to get around the system without going to jail as long as it's actually in the public interest to do so. That's why a lot of this stuff is quasi-legal and extremely difficult to sort out.

Odd, the select comittee made it quite clear that ANY payments to serving police officers IS and WAS completely illegal at the time of the allegations. That does not indicate any legal grey area at all.

 

[Tom]

I'm not sure about that; "plausable deniability" has been a historic refuge for politicians and media companies, and journos often use the same "protecting a source" waffle as policemen. Expect something along the lines of "they were freelancers so we don't have the right to question their sources blah blah blah."

If she uses that then I'd question her ability as an editor. Ask Piers Morgan about editorial responsibility.

It was her job to ensure that what was printed was accurate, and she should have done that by asking her reporters where exactly the information was coming from. If she was lied to, then she'll have evidence to support her claims. If she never asked the question then she was unfit for the post. If her reporters wouldn't tell her then the stories should never have been printed.

I hope they lock her up if she's guilty. It might make some of the gutter press think twice before they publish more bullshit.

 

[Lamp]

This Rebecca character is damned whatever she does. If she genuinely didn't know about the hacking, what kind of an editor was she who didn't know how such news was generated & didn't question how the info was discovered. And if she did know about it, then she's as complicit as the rest of em.

 

[Shagrat]

lot of big companies are pulling there advertising from NotW apparently, Ford, vauxhall, mitsubishi and virgin have already pulled out, and more are "reviewing the situation".

 

[Cerb]

I think they better think it out again.















I'm here all week

 

[DocWolfe]

Not really phone 'hacking' is it. It's stealing someones mobile phone.

 

[Ch3tan]

Not really phone 'hacking' is it. It's stealing someones mobile phone.

What?

Doc, you actually are an idiot mate.

 

[yaruar]

This Rebecca character is damned whatever she does. If she genuinely didn't know about the hacking, what kind of an editor was she who didn't know how such news was generated & didn't question how the info was discovered. And if she did know about it, then she's as complicit as the rest of em.

It's amazing that Coulson denied knowing anything about the hacking and somehow before he left NI huge chunks of his emails pertaining to that period disappeared. Wade/Brooks isn't quite so lucky as since then they've implemented a policy whereby a select executives have had all their email retained, and as we've seen from the select committee she may be ruthless and a great manipulator of people but she isn't too clever about covering her tracks.

Of course they knew, all the controversial stories are run past legal before they run then, and the scary thing is they almost got away with it, their arrogance got them caught out in the end, I'm sure that Murdoch could have paid off Coulson to go quietly from the Conservatives rather than brazen it out and the heat would have been off, after all no one cared when it was just celebs.

 

[TdC]

wikileaks should tell us! go wikileaks!

 

[Embattle]

BBC News - Dead soldiers' families 'hacked by newspaper'

 

[Gumbo]

Of course this is lowering the share price of NI companies like mad. Including BSkyB.

Who is it who wants to buy a bunch of BSkyB shares? Oh Yeah, NI.

How long did the News of The World have left to be published anyway? 5 years?

It's all nice and convenient timing to come out now.

 

[DocWolfe]

What?

Doc, you actually are an idiot mate.

If I wanted your opinion I'd post on a public forum.

 

[cHodAX]

If I wanted your opinion I'd post on a public forum.

lol

 

[DaGaffer]

Wow

News of the World to close on Sunday

Closing the whole shitty enterprise down. Got to admit, I didn't expect that.

 

[dysfunction]

Excellent news!! I was hoping that would happen but thought they would carry on.
I guess the pressure got to them on top of major advertisers boycotting the paper.



I would not be surprised if on Monday a new newspaper is launched by News International!

 

[Lamp]

They'll just set up another tabloid to replace it & it will prob be as popular as the NotW. This Sunday's rag will be sold out everywhere.

 

[Corran]

Sundays paper could become a collectors item, so guess it will be purchased alot for that reason as well.

This sends out "guilty as fuck" message, and I hope that everyone involved gets royally screwed. Also now hope this puts an end to Murdoch's attempts to purchase Sky and the F1 rights

 

[megadave]

great news but some other shit rag will just fill the void


i guess this is just murdoch's damage control to make sure he gets his sky deal and monopolises the media in this country