Mitchell on PHONE HACKING - 'Someone tried to get details of my mobile 'phone account'

What if the original request came from someone inside Downing Street ? No. 10 in 2003.

I wouldn't put it past Bair to get involved in this sort of thing.

The more dirt they have on others, the more powerful they become...

Live Updates: Phone Hacking

MORE Sky sources: police search ongoing at Daily Star offices in Central London
by saramojtehed via twitter 2:51 PMRT @iankatz1000:

BREAKING: Police investigating suspected deletion of millions of emails by News International executive bit.ly ...
by martinbrunt via twitter 2:39 PM



Breaking News

2:34pm UK, Friday July 08, 2011
Coulson Held As Ex-Royal Reporter Re-Arrested

-editor Andy Coulson is being held by police and former royal reporter Clive Goodman has been re-arrested following the News Of The World scandal.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/News-Of-The-World-Andy-Coulson-Former-Editor-Arrested-By-Police-Investigating-Phone-Hacking/Article/201107216026496?lpos=UK_News_Top_Stories_Header_0&lid=ARTICLE_16026496_News_Of_The_World%3A_Andy_Coulson%2C_Former_Editor%2C_Arrested_By_Police_Investigating_Phone_Hacking

candyfloss wrote:Live Updates: Phone Hacking

MORE Sky sources: police search ongoing at Daily Star offices in Central London
by saramojtehed via twitter 2:51 PMRT @iankatz1000:

BREAKING: Police investigating suspected deletion of millions of emails by News International executive bit.ly ...
by martinbrunt via twitter 2:39 PM



Breaking News

2:34pm UK, Friday July 08, 2011
Coulson Held As Ex-Royal Reporter Re-Arrested

-editor Andy Coulson is being held by police and former royal reporter Clive Goodman has been re-arrested following the News Of The World scandal.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/News-Of-The-World-Andy-Coulson-Former-Editor-Arrested-By-Police-Investigating-Phone-Hacking/Article/201107216026496?lpos=UK_News_Top_Stories_Header_0&lid=ARTICLE_16026496_News_Of_The_World%3A_Andy_Coulson%2C_Former_Editor%2C_Arrested_By_Police_Investigating_Phone_Hacking

Coulson on bail. He said there is a lot he would like to say but can't. Perhaps he needs to employ a spokesman?!

sharonl wrote:

Employees have been given a 90-day paid period of consultation. They will then be given a pay-off comprising their notice period plus a month for every year they have worked for the newspaper.

Surprised at that!
That's a pretty good package these days. It appears most will be re-employed for a sunday 'sun'.

As I have mentioned previously, I still can't get my head around the fact that the biggest selling 'daily' is the sun and the biggest selling 'Sunday' is(was) the notw.

It appears, that the majority of the UK, newspaper buyers require trivia!
I back that up with the programming of Freeview/Freesat/Sky/Virgin/BBC/ITV etc. etc.

Obviously - we're easily pleased

News of the World phone hacking: email evidence 'deleted'
Senior executives and staff at the News of the World attempted to obstruct the police investigation into telephone hacking by deleting millions of emails and hiding evidence from detectives, it was claimed last night.

The list of possible victims also features Miss McGuinness’s Lib Dem colleagues, Mr Clegg and Sir Menzies, and Jane Tanner, who was on holiday with the McCanns in Praia da Luz, Portugal, and is convinced she saw Madeleine being carried off by a man Photo: PA
By Victoria Ward, and Mark Hughes9:32PM BST 08 Jul 20114 Comments
An executive from News International, the tabloid’s parent company, allegedly deleted potentially incriminating emails from an internal archive shortly after Scotland Yard began its second investigation in January.
It is also alleged that the contents of a reporter’s desk were removed following his arrest before police had an opportunity to conduct a search.
The allegations came as The Daily Telegraph learnt that detectives have been handed a list of potential telephone hacking victims linked to the Madeleine McCann case.
The list of 67 names and numbers includes Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of the missing child, and politicians including Nick Clegg and Sir Menzies Campbell. It was handed to officers working on Operation Weeting, the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into telephone hacking at the News of the World last year.
The alleged mass deletion of emails, reported by The Guardian newspaper last night, has exacerbated tensions between News International and Scotland Yard.
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£1bn wiped off BSkyB as Ofcom to 'monitor situation closely' 08 Jul 2011
Last month, News International handed over evidence of journalists’ alleged involvement in bribing police officers, but was warned by Scotland Yard not to make a public announcement. When the existence of the emails became public this week detectives concluded that the agreement had been breached.
It is also claimed that after the arrest of James Weatherup, a senior journalist at the newspaper, in April, his desk was cleared and its contents lodged with a firm of solicitors. The Metropolitan Police is said to have consulted the Crown Prosecution Service over whether charges could be brought.
Meanwhile, the list containing details of people linked to the Madeleine investigation suggests the victims of telephone hacking are not confined to names seized from Glenn Mulcaire following his arrest in 2006. Although the three year-old went missing in May 2007, after Mulcaire, the private investigator at the heart of the scandal, had been jailed, some connected to the investigation into her disappearance have raised concerns that their telephones may have been hacked.
One is understood to be Justine McGuinness, a Liberal Democrat adviser who was a spokesman for the McCanns. The list of possible victims also features Miss McGuinness’s Lib Dem colleagues, Mr Clegg and Sir Menzies, and Jane Tanner, who was on holiday with the McCanns in Praia da Luz, Portugal, and is convinced she saw Madeleine being carried off by a man.
Detectives were said to have interviewed Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, about the list, although he was unaware how it came into fruition. Mr Mitchell has confirmed that he met officers after attempts were made to access his Vodafone account.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said of the list: “If anyone is concerned about telephone hacking we are duty bound to take it seriously.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8627011/News-of-the-World-phone-hacking-email-evidence-deleted.html

I have merged your topic with this one Rosa to keep discussion on hacking in one place.

Mitchell works for Freud Communications and of course was planted in Camerons team in the run up to the last election, working for Coulson.

Relationships with PR firms such as Matthew Freud’s Freud Communications were so close that if they called the newsdesk with a story, you had to run it. If you told them it wasn’t a story but just a piece of PR fluff, they would phone Rebekah’s office, the reporter would be told off and the story would go in as Freud wanted it.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013046/Rebekah-Brooks-Sun-News-World-run-fictional-stories-insider-claims.html#ixzz1Rg5Kx3Tf

Two big front page stories spring to mind : Cooper Man and the "Evidence" that Maddie was abducted.

Insider reveals: 'PR men would think up a story and Rebekah's Sun and News of the World would run it, word for word. Some were complete fiction '

By Anonymous

Last updated at 11:35 PM on 9th July 2011

There was fury at News International when journalists discovered that the 200 staff of the News of the World were to be sacrificed to save the career of Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks.

Here one Murdoch insider, whose identity is known by The Mail on Sunday but who has been guaranteed anonymity, describes what it is like working for Mrs Brooks...
The integrity of The Sun and the News of the World started crumbling the moment Rebekah Brooks got her hands on them.
'Love-bombed': Brooks, the Sun editor, chats with PM Tony Blair in 2004 at a party
Throughout her career, she has had one aim only: self-glorification. She used the papers to promote her own interests, not to break stories or to entertain.
Whether it was securing seat A1 on her favourite airline, claiming the best view at a West End show or winning access to the Prime Minister’s inner sanctum, Rebekah would do whatever it took.
More...Blair tried to hush up hacking scandal as whistleblower MP told: 'Rebekah Brooks will pursue you for the rest of your life'
Cameron, Rebekah Brooks and 'the Chipping Norton set': The powerful clique's gilded life
'We are going to the pub': After 168 years, and 8,674 editions, the last ever News of the World goes is put to bed
'I had no knowledge of phone hacking while I was editor of NotW', Rebekah Brooks tells MPs as Rupert Murdoch flies to UK to sort out mess
James Murdoch 'could face prosecution' under corruption law in America over newspaper payments to police officers

Good journalism was secondary. When she took charge of The Sun, it was an abrasive, aggressive paper known for breaking big stories. Really big stories. It was feared by the powerful because they knew they would be pursued with bulldog determination by a crack, well-led team.
In those days, The Sun was the embodiment of the old adage ‘publish and be damned’. It frequently was damned by the rich and powerful. It upset people. It trod on people’s toes. When it got things wrong, it apologised.
Naturally, it devoted plenty of space to the frivolity of celebrities and gossip. But it was fundamentally a serious paper, which was taken seriously by serious people. It showed that a tabloid newspaper could be produced with the highest degree of professionalism.
Like a daughter to him: As Rupert Murdoch has grown older and more frail, he has become closer and more dependent on Brooks
That was a truly remarkable achievement. From the day Rebekah rose to the top, that reputation was surrendered to her desire to mingle with the rich and powerful. Under her leadership, the News of the World and The Sun became crammed with trivia.
No editor behaved like she did. When Prime Ministers spoke to Kelvin MacKenzie, one of Rebekah’s predecessors as editor of The Sun, they were scared stiff of him.
When Prime Ministers spoke to Rebekah, they were love-bombed. That was a betrayal of the papers and a betrayal of their readers.
She had the same, craven relationship with public relations practitioners. Scores, if not hundreds, of front-page stories were written by the PR men. They would think up a headline and story and The Sun and News of the World would run it, word for word. Some of them were complete fiction.
Meanwhile, proper stories by proper journalists were buried deep inside the paper. Stories that upset one of Rebekah’s VIP cronies didn’t appear at all. It broke the reporters’ hearts.
Cameron: He may pay a heavy price for being charmed by Brooks
Relationships with PR firms such as Matthew Freud’s Freud Communications were so close that if they called the newsdesk with a story, you had to run it. If you told them it wasn’t a story but just a piece of PR fluff, they would phone Rebekah’s office, the reporter would be told off and the story would go in as Freud wanted it.
She sold the soul of The Sun and the News of the World to PR snake-oil merchants. It was not real journalism, but client journalism. Rebekah’s real skill is a manipulator of people. She is very skilful at persuading people to dance at the click of a finger.
She is feminine and feline, and uses it to the full. One theatrical swish of her Pre-Raphaelite hair and hardened Cabinet Ministers would swoon.
Her main aim was to show that she could beat men at their own game in Fleet Street. In a way, she did. The moment she was editor, she wanted to go higher and run News International itself.

I have never seen a woman so driven by ambition and yet so lacking talent. What she does have – in abundance – is an ability to get what she wants. Mainly from men. And they would do whatever it took to please her – including phone hacking.
Tony Blair and David Cameron were both charmed. True, they got what they wanted in the main: supportive coverage. But Rebekah also got what she wanted: regular invitations to No 10, parties with Blair and riding with Cameron. Blair is gone and need not worry; Cameron may pay a heavy price.
Occasionally she would come back from No 10 with an ‘exclusive’ story. But usually, they weren’t real exclusives: the story had been agreed in advance and generally showed the PM or the governing party in a favourable light. A Sun or News of the World exclusive in the old days would have terrified No 10.
And no one was better at handling Rupert Murdoch than Rebekah. When she was with him, she would do everything for him. She would make sure his glass was topped up, grab the right people at receptions for him, keep those who he didn’t want to see out of reach, open doors for him. Everything.
That is why he has gone to such inordinate lengths to protect her. Some would say him prioritising saving her as opposed to the News of the World is insanity.
She is like a daughter to him. And as he has grown older and more frail, he has become closer to and more dependent on her.
People constantly ask: ‘Why hasn’t Murdoch been tougher on Rebekah?’ The answer is not as complex as it may appear. As the saying goes, there’s no fool like an old fool.





Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013046/Rebekah-Brooks-Sun-News-World-run-fictional-stories-insider-claims.html#ixzz1RgyKZo62

Blair 'tried' to hush up hacking scandal as whistleblower MP told: 'Rebekah Brooks will pursue you for the rest of your life'

By Simon Walters

Last updated at 11:58 PM on 9th July 2011

Tom Watson claims Rebekah Brooks was not only responsible for wrongdoing, but knew about it
MP said in Commons that James Murdoch personally authorised money to be paid to silence hacking victims – an attempt to pervert the course of justice
Fellow MP Chris Bryant, a phone-hack victim, brands newspaper company ‘gangsters’
Tony Blair urged Gordon Brown to persuade the Labour MP who led the campaign to expose News of the World phone-hacking to back off, friends of Mr Brown said last night.
Well-placed sources said Mr Blair, who has close links with the paper’s owner Rupert Murdoch, wanted Mr Brown to get his ally Tom Watson to lay off the News International (NI) title, but Mr Brown refused.

Mr Watson’s two-year crusade played a major part in Mr Murdoch’s shock decision to close the paper after today’s edition.

Urge: Gordon Brown, right, was urged to get his ally Tom Watson, left, to lay off the News International title

The MP used Commons legal protection to make damning allegations against NI chief executive Rebekah Brooks and chairman James Murdoch.

The assertion that Mr Blair tried to help Mr Murdoch came amid claims that:

Mr Watson was told Mrs Brooks ‘will pursue you for the rest of your life’ over his stance.
Mrs Brooks begged Blairite ex-Cabinet Minister Tessa Jowell to help ‘stop this madman Tom Watson’ – and also sought help from her friend, Mr Blair.
Labour MP Chris Bryant, a phone-hack victim, branded NI ‘gangsters’.
A NI executive threatened to take revenge on Ed Miliband for saying Mrs Brooks should quit.

Meanwhile, David Cameron came under fire from his own party for attacking Press regulators. In today’s Mail on Sunday, MP David Davis writes: ‘The primary failure has not been of newspaper regulation, but of the criminal law.’
Close: Tony Blair, seen here with Rebekah Brooks when she was editor of the Sun, has close links with Rupert Murdoch, who owns both the Sun and its sister paper, the News of the World
Mr Blair’s attempt to persuade Mr Brown to put pressure on Mr Watson is likely to bring his links with Mr Murdoch under fresh scrutiny.

On becoming Labour leader in 1994, Mr Blair flew to a conference hosted by Mr Murdoch to end Labour’s feud with him. The alliance continued throughout Mr Blair’s ten years in office as Mr Murdoch’s papers – The Times, The Sun and the News of the World – supported him.

More...Sadness at News of the World as staff prepare last-ever paper while Church threatens to withdraw £4m investment
'I had no knowledge of phone hacking while I was editor of NotW', Rebekah Brooks tells MPs as Rupert Murdoch flies to UK to sort out mess
James Murdoch 'could face prosecution' under corruption law in America over newspaper payments to police officers
Now Ed Miliband's judgment is called into question after claims his spin chief 'stole Tory bank details'

In contrast, Mr Brown was accused of orchestrating the campaign against NI after The Sun pulled its support for him at the last Election.

Mr Brown’s office declined to comment on whether Mr Blair had intervened, saying: ‘We never comment on private conversations.’

But a friend of Mr Brown said: ‘There is no doubt about it, Tony wanted Gordon to intervene.’
Alliance: Tony Blair's alliance with Rupert Murdoch, left, continued throughout Mr Blair's ten years in office as Mr Murdoch's papers, The Times, The Sun and the News of the World supported him
A spokesman for Mr Blair said: ‘The allegation is categorically untrue.’ He declined to elaborate on which aspect was untrue.
Mr Watson was reportedly threatened by NI in the early stages of the phone-hacking dispute. He was said to have been told by someone from the company: ‘Rebekah Brooks will pursue you for the rest of your life. She will never forgive you for this.’
As the MP homed in on his prey, the pressure from NI – who believed he was being egged on by Mr Brown – became increasingly menacing.

One source said the MP was given an extraordinary message as he called for ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson to resign as Mr Cameron’s communications director: ‘The word from Wapping [NI’s HQ] was that Watson can have Coulson but not Rebekah.’

The allegations Mr Watson made under Commons protection from libel action include that:

‘Rebekah Brooks was not only responsible for wrongdoing, but knew about it.’
‘NI paid people to interfere with police officers on behalf of known criminals.’
‘James Murdoch personally authorised money to be paid to silence hacking victims – an attempt to pervert the course of justice.’

The final edition: The last ever news of the World - whose closure was announced this week - proclaims 'Thank you and goodbye'
Labour MP Chris Bryant also says he was ‘warned off’ about highlighting phone hacking.
He said: ‘A friend said someone very close to the highest level of NI had told him that my actions would never be forgotten by the company.

'NI behave like gangsters. They operate by a combination of fear and favour.’

Sources close to Labour leader Ed Miliband said he was also threatened after attacking NI.

A Labour official said: ‘An NI executive told one of Ed’s aides, “If you are making it personal, so will we.” ’

An ally said: ‘That these people make threats shows they still don’t get it.’

Mr Miliband is to force a Commons vote on Wednesday calling for Mr Murdoch’s bid for total control of BSkyB to be postponed until police inquiries into hacking are complete. Labour thinks Lib Dems, and some rebel Tories, will back them, forcing Mr Cameron to order MPs to support Mr Murdoch.

Meanwhile, the 63-year-old man arrested on Friday over alleged corrupt payments to police officers has been released on police bail.

Last night, NI said: ‘We are co-operating fully with the police. When provided with concrete evidence, people will be held to account.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013027/News-World-Blair-tried-hush-hacking-scandal-whistleblower-MP-told-Rebekah-Brooks-pursue-rest-life.html#ixzz1Rh1BkcbD

This is a great list with pictures and details of key people and phone hacking probe from BBC. I hadn't realised that Max Clifford had reportedly received around £1 million, and it has all the names of people suing the NotW. Very interesting............


phone hacking probe - key people

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12296392

[youtube][/youtube]

https://youtu.be/IfsRbSHUYYI

I am more than a little split on this phone hacking business. I think we've reached a common ground that where, as in the Milly Dowler example, it's the phone of someone who is clearly a victim, it's a reprehensible act.

But let's say they did hack Gerry. And they got 'those' messages before they were deleted. And they had 'information' in them...

Then what?

Thanks ufercoffy

He seems a bit subdued in that interview, not his usual blustery self! Bit hot and sweaty as the interview goes on

[youtube][/youtube]

Breaking News

12:16pm UK, Sunday July 10, 2011

Murdoch Arrives In UK Amid Hacking Fallout

Rupert Murdoch has arrived at the News International offices in London, after giving his "total" support to the company's chief executive Rebekah Brooks.

Mr Murdoch is in the UK on a scheduled visit after his media empire closed down the News Of The World over the phone hacking scandal.

News Corp is the parent company of NI, which published the newspaper until its last ever edition today.

Mr Murdoch has remained largely silent amid the fallout, issuing one official statement describing the allegations as "deplorable and unacceptable".

However, he spoke briefly to reporters in Sun Valley, Idaho, on Saturday, where he was attending a media conference.

When asked if Mrs Brooks continues to have his support, Mr Murdoch replied emphatically: "Total."



Mrs Brooks after she told NOTW staff the paper was closing down


"We already apologised," he said.

"We've been let down by people that we trusted but the result was that the paper let down its readers."

Mrs Brooks has faced calls for her resignation from critics who claim she would have known about phone hacking while she was editor at the NOTW.

But in a letter to MPs, she repeated her assertion that she had "no knowledge whatsoever" of the practice.

Mr Murdoch's son James, the chairman of News International, also backed Mrs Brooks when he announced the closure of the NOTW earlier this week.

"I am satisfied that Rebekah's leadership of this business, her standard of ethics and her standard of conduct throughout her career are very good," he said.

Rebekah Brooks will be interviewed by detectives over News Of The World phone hacking scandal which could see nine journalists and three police officers jailed

Ed Miliband: It beggars belief that Rebekah Brooks is still in her post

Labour to force Commons vote on halting News Corps BskyB takeover

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 12:37 PM on 10th July 2011

Rebekah Brooks face questioning under police caution over the phone hacking scandal which has engulfed News International.
The company's chief executive is one of a number of senior staff who are expected to be interviewed by police in the coming weeks.
Today it was claimed at least nine journalists and three police officers could face jail, according to reports from inside the organisation.

Internal papers dating from 2007 are understood to have contained evidence that hacking was more widespread than previously admitted. Scotland Yard was apparently not told about the document at the time but now has a copy
.
A News International source was last night quoted as saying: 'We were sitting on a ticking timebomb'.

Team: NotW editor Colin Myler brandished the final ever edition of the paper in front of his staff before announcing: 'And now in the best traditions of Fleet Street, we are going to the pub'

New documents are said to reveal that six journalists acted as 'gatekeepers' to private detective Glenn Mulcaire. They and three other journalists who knew about Mulcaire's activities may be charged, according to a Sunday Times report.

More...Blair 'tried' to hush up hacking scandal as whistleblower MP told: 'Rebekah Brooks will pursue you for the rest of your life'
'I had no knowledge of phone hacking while I was editor of NotW', Rebekah Brooks tells MPs as Rupert Murdoch flies to UK to sort out mess
Insider reveals: PR men would think up a story and Rebekah's Sun and News of the World would run it

Separately, a cache of emails and cash records is thought to shed light on potential four-figure payments to police officers.
Meanwhile, News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks faces questioning by police in the coming days. The former News of the World editor is expected to be asked to present herself at a police station to explain, under caution, what she knew about phone-hacking and payments to police officers.
A News International source insisted she would be treated as a witness, not a suspect.
However, both the company and Scotland Yard refused to comment on whether Brooks would be quizzed.

Sky's the limit: Ed Miliband wants a vote on whether News Corps' BskyB vote should be halted
Meanwhile, Labour leader Ed Miliband used a television interview this morning to ratchet up the political pressure on the Government over the scandal.
He told the BBC's Andrew Marr show: '
'I think it beggars belief that Rebekah Brooks is still in her post - Rebekah Brooks was the editor at the time that Milly Dowler's phone was hacked.
'The idea she's still in her post, I don't think the public can understand how that can possibly be the case.'

The Opposition yesterday called for the immediate appointment of a judge to head the public inquiry into the News of the World announced by the Prime Minister on Friday.
And Mr Miliband is reported to be preparing to force a Commons vote this week on whether consideration of News Corp's proposed takeover of satellite broadcaster BSkyB should be halted.
Still further financial pressure looked set to be heaped on the media group as it was reported that Labour will table a motion next week opposing News Corporation's proposed takeover of satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
The tabloid's farewell issue hit shelves as News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch was expected to fly in to the UK to deal with the phone hacking crisis that forced the paper's closure.
It comes as a senior Scotland Yard detective expressed his ‘extreme regret’ that he did not act to reopen police inquiries into the hacking allegations two years ago.
Speaking after this week's revelation that the mobile phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler was targeted, Assistant Commissioner John Yates, who ruled in July 2009 that there was no new evidence, told the Sunday Telegraph: ‘We are all extremely shocked by it and it is a matter of massive regret we didn't deal with it earlier.’
At Downing Street, Prime Minister David Cameron is to meet Milly Dowler's family to discuss the Government's response to the phone hacking crisis.
Milly's parents Bob and Sally Dowler are suing the News of the World over claims their daughter's phone was targeted when she went missing in 2002.
Mistake: Assistant Commissioner John Yates expressed his 'extreme regret' that he did not act to reopen police inquiries into phone hacking two years ago
As the paper was finally put to bed, the criminal investigation into alleged illegal practices continued to gather momentum with officers poised to make more arrests.
In the past three days, three people have been quizzed by police.
A 63-year-old man arrested in Surrey on Friday in connection with alleged corrupt payments made to police officers, has been bailed to return to a London police station in October. Officers would not confirm reports that he is a private investigator.
Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson was questioned for nine hours on Friday over suspected corruption and the scandal which forced the paper's closure.
Ex-royal editor Clive Goodman, 53, has also spoken to police over claims officers were bribed following a dawn swoop on his Surrey home.
Mr Cameron is also likely to face further scrutiny over his decision to retain Mr Coulson as his spin chief on coming to power.

They've got the look: Prime Minister David Cameron (left) and his former spin doctor Andy Coulson have a strangely similar dress sense

Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown said he had warned Downing Street it would be a ‘disaster’ shortly after the general election.
He told The Observer that he spoke out after being briefed on information that could not be published for legal reasons at the time concerning the ex-newspaper editor who resigned after his royal reporter was jailed but denied any knowledge of hacking under his watch.
‘I warned No 10 within days of the election that they would suffer terrible damage if they did not get rid of Coulson, when these things came out, as it was inevitable they would,’ he said.
With two independent public inquiries on the horizon, News Corporation was also faced with the threat of losing £4million in investments from the Church of England if the organisation fails to hold ‘senior managers’ to account.
It has already strongly denied allegations published in The Guardian which claim millions of emails from an internal archive at News International may have been destroyed in what could be seen as a bid to obstruct Scotland Yard's inquiry.
The News of the World bade farewell to its readers after 168 years with the simple words ‘Thank you & goodbye’.
The 8,674th edition of the tabloid features the headline emblazoned over images of its most famous front pages.
A sub-headline reads: ‘After 168 years, we finally say a sad but very proud farewell to our 7.5m loyal readers.’
And in the top right corner are the words: ‘The world's greatest newspaper 1843-2011.’
The closing issue features much celebration of the best scoops and greatest campaigns that have helped the newspaper make its mark over the years.
But there is also an apology for the phone hacking scandal that eventually brought the tabloid to its knees.
The statement, printed on page three, reads: ‘We praised high standards, we demanded high standards but, as we are now only too painfully aware, for a period of a few years up to 2006 some who worked for us, or in our name, fell shamefully short of those standards.
‘Quite simply, we lost our way. Phones were hacked, and for that this newspaper is truly sorry.’
Although it claims there is no justification for the ‘appalling wrongdoing’, it goes on to say: ‘Yet when this outrage has been atoned, we hope history will eventually judge us on all our years.’
Inside the paper is a 48-page souvenir pull-out featuring some of the tabloid's most memorable splashes, such as last year's expose of alleged match fixing involving Pakistan international cricketers.
Farewell message: The News Of The World signed off with a simple front page message of, 'THANK YOU & GOODBYE'
Front-page revelations of celebrities' affairs are featured alongside historic events, such as the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, recorded in a ‘shock 8am issue’.
Elsewhere in the paper, investigations editor Mazher Mahmood, famed for his undercover stings as the ‘fake sheikh’, pays tribute to the News of the World's achievements in helping bring criminals to justice.
And campaigner Sara Payne praises the paper for being a ‘force for good’ and a driving force behind the call for Sarah's Law.
Another page celebrates the ‘always tasteful Nudes of the World’, with images of the likes of Kelly Brook, Lily Allen and fuller-figured pop star Beth Ditto adorning the page.
The newspaper, which has doubled its print run to five million today, is expected to record its biggest sale for years as its historic final edition becomes a collector's item.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013106/News-World-phone-hacking-At-9-journalists-3-police-officers-face-jail.html#ixzz1RhcgxjGS

We need to keep a hard copy of Uffercoffy's Youtube clip; so I have done my best at a transcript. Can someone please check it carefully for me and let me know if any changes are needed.

Also, look at the sweat on his top lip !!! and I'm sure he does a Karen Matthews moment when he talks about his phone, nodding at the time, then Kate and Gerry's phone, but shaking his head side to side. Is that confirmation that bit is made up?


“Well, late last year we were informed that there may be some hacking or attempts at hacking around our numbers, mine Kate and Gerry’s numbers, people associated with them, who have been helping them, we had no proof, so we approached our phone companies, it took a few weeks for the results to come through. But in my case Vodaphone supplied me with my records and it proved incontrovertibly that there were, that there were at least two occasions back in 2008, February and July 2008, where somebody purporting to be me, had tried to gain access to my account and information about my account, with a string of ridiculous excuses, one claiming he was a witness on a CID trial for the McCann’s, there’s no such thing, that’s nonsense. Another one claiming he’d received a text message which Vodaphone confirmed they’d never sent, saying that my voice mail had been accessed by a third party. As soon as I had incontrovertible proof from Vodaphone that something odd had happened on my account, I don’t know if it was actual hacking or attempts, I went to the Police and very swiftly operation Weeting sent two officers round to talk to me, urm a few weeks ago now, I gave them a full statement, all of the paper records I had from Vodaphone, they were very grateful ,but made it clear, their enquiry will go on for some time yet.

CUT

Their phone records were similarly investigated and the results came back to say that in both their cases there were no obvious signs of suspicious activity around their number.

CUT

So at the moment it looks like Kate and Gerry’s phones haven’t been hacked, but, much will depend on the Police investigation to see what was happening.

CUT

It could have been an individual , but I would be naive in thinking it wasn’t journalistic in it’s intent, given that it happened at the height of the tabloid storm. We were still front page splash stories in the tabloid press virtually every day right almost through 2008, Urm, so I have to assume it was journalistic. If it was, then it was a pretty poor attempt, cause they were leaving a trail, Urm, but one can only assume they were looking for that extra piece of information, that extra conversation perhaps with Kate or Gerry, that I was having, or with the Police, or whatever, to give them that exclusive angle the pressure on reporters particularly on the red top papers is so great these days, that for some of them it seems they are prepared to push beyond the boundaries of legality”.

Vera wrote:I am more than a little split on this phone hacking business. I think we've reached a common ground that where, as in the Milly Dowler example, it's the phone of someone who is clearly a victim, it's a reprehensible act.

But let's say they did hack Gerry. And they got 'those' messages before they were deleted. And they had 'information' in them...

Then what?

Yes who has info on who?

According to Mark Williams-Thomas on twitter

"Frm Dep Asst Comm Brian Paddick- Surrey Police "knew about hacking", knew about Milly Dowler & did not investigate it"

Cheshire Cat wrote:

candyfloss wrote:Live Updates: Phone Hacking

MORE Sky sources: police search ongoing at Daily Star offices in Central London
by saramojtehed via twitter 2:51 PMRT @iankatz1000:

BREAKING: Police investigating suspected deletion of millions of emails by News International executive bit.ly ...
by martinbrunt via twitter 2:39 PM



Breaking News

2:34pm UK, Friday July 08, 2011
Coulson Held As Ex-Royal Reporter Re-Arrested

-editor Andy Coulson is being held by police and former royal reporter Clive Goodman has been re-arrested following the News Of The World scandal.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/News-Of-The-World-Andy-Coulson-Former-Editor-Arrested-By-Police-Investigating-Phone-Hacking/Article/201107216026496?lpos=UK_News_Top_Stories_Header_0&lid=ARTICLE_16026496_News_Of_The_World%3A_Andy_Coulson%2C_Former_Editor%2C_Arrested_By_Police_Investigating_Phone_Hacking

Coulson on bail. He said there is a lot he would like to say but can't. Perhaps he needs to employ a spokesman?!

Hey, what about his buddy CM who is a master spinner?

I suspect even his mate cannot do anything for him now because his main media tool NOTW is closed - what irony!

And, the SUN wouldn't rise for Andy Coulson, not in this dire time!

Here is a recent quote from Gordon Brown, (who appears to be the only victim in this phone hacking case, that is if he is a victim at all)


The former PM branded Rupert Murdoch's company :-


"a criminal media nexus" which "claimed to be on the side of the law-abiding citizen" but in fact stood "side-by-side with criminals against our citizens".


Need I say anymore?


http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/News-Corps-BSkyB-Bid-Withdrawal-Gordon-Brown-Hits-Out-At-News-Internationals-Sewer-Journalism/Article/201107216029748?lpos=UK_News_First_Buisness_Article_Teaser_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_16029748_News_Corps_BSkyB_Bid_Withdrawal%3A_Gordon_Brown_Hits_Out_At_News_Internationals_Sewer_Journalism

The same company that put Nu Labur into power ?

Phone hacking: MPs 'could summon Rebekah Brooks'

The Commons Culture Committee may not be able to make James and Rupert Murdoch appear before it
Continue reading the main story
Phone-hacking scandal

News Corp withdraws BSkyB bid
Broad powers for hacking inquiry
PM pledges openness on media ties
Robinson: Avalanche still moving
MPs are to meet later to decide whether to summon News International chief Rebekah Brooks to appear before them over the phone-hacking scandal.

The Commons Culture Committee also wants to question News Corporation executives Rupert and James Murdoch but may be unable to compel them to appear.

The company has shut down its News of the World newspaper over the scandal and dropped its bid to control BSkyB.

US politicians are also demanding a probe into phone hacking allegations.

On Tuesday, the Commons Culture Committee invited Ms Brooks and the Murdochs to give evidence about the phone-hacking scandal at the House of Commons. In a statement, the MPs said that serious questions had arisen about the evidence Ms Brooks and the News of the World's former editor Andy Coulson gave at a previous hearing in 2003.

Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who is a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said the Murdochs should take the opportunity to appear before it on Tuesday next week.

'Answer questions'
She said: "We have powers over British citizens, in other words over Mrs Brooks.

"Rupert and James Murdoch are American citizens, we don't have any power over them, but I think it would surprise everybody if they were to have the guts to show up.

"It would show a little bit of leadership, it would be the first step in lancing this giant boil.

Continue reading the main story
Scope of hacking inquiry

Culture, practices and ethics of the press
Their relationship with the police
Failure of current regulation
Contacts made and discussions between national newspapers and politicians
Why previous warnings about press misconduct were not heeded
Issue of cross-media ownership
More detail on terms of reference
"I would urge them to come before a select committee of Parliament, to have the courage to show up and answer the questions."

News International declined to comment on who might attend the committee.

It comes after Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, whose UK arm News International owns newspapers the Sun, the Times, the Sunday Times and the now closed News of the World, dropped a bid to take complete control of broadcaster BSkyB.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt had referred News Corporation's bid to acquire the 61% of shares it does not already own in satellite broadcaster BSkyB to the Competition Commission.

Despite the company's announcement, MPs from the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and smaller parties backed a Labour motion condemning the plans without the need for a vote.

Continue reading the main story
Analysis


Steve Kingstone
BBC News, Washington
Slowly but surely the phone hacking scandal is crossing the Atlantic - as members of Congress demand action on two fronts.

First, there's a call for the FBI to investigate whether journalists broke wiretap laws by targeting the phones of Americans.

It follows a report that the News of the World approached a New York police officer and attempted to buy the phone records of people who died on 9/11.

One congressman from New York said British reporters appeared to have engaged in "parasitic" behaviour.

The other call is for the Department of Justice and stock- market regulators to investigate reported payments to British police officers.

Potentially, that could expose News International's parent company, News Corporation, to charges under US anti-corruption laws.

With political pressure coming from Democrats and Republicans, a Justice Department spokeswoman said their requests for an investigation were "being reviewed."

The News of the World was shut down last week amid a mounting scandal over the alleged hacking of phones belonging to crime victims, politicians and celebrities.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown spoke out in the Commons against alleged law-breaking on an "industrial scale" at News International. He also said there were no private deals with the company when he was in Downing Street.

Press practices
Meanwhile, Democratic senator Jay Rockefeller said US authorities should consider whether journalists working for News Corp had broken US law.

Mr Rockefeller, who chairs the Senate's Commerce Committee, expressed concern that phone hacking may have extended to American targets, including victims of 9/11, although he presented no evidence.

More congressmen, including the first major Republican, Peter King, called for a federal investigation into News Corp's actions.

Others included senators Frank Lautenberg, Robert Menendez and Barbara Boxer.

Rupert Murdoch's American assets include the Wall Street Journal and Fox News.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced the terms of an independent inquiry into the hacking affair, which he said would examine the practices of the press.

'Media power'
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond told BBC Two's Newsnight that any attempt by Rupert Murdoch to revisit the BSkyB deal would have to take into account the findings of both the inquiry and the police investigation into phone hacking.

He said: "If at some point in the future Mr Murdoch were to return and seek again to take over BSkyB we would then be able to respond with the benefit of the outcome of that inquiry and that police investigation.

"It may be the case that in the course of that process we collectively come to the conclusion we need to change the law that governs media ownership and issues around concentration of power in the media."

Mr Cameron told MPs the judge leading the phone-hacking inquiry, Lord Justice Leveson, would have powers to call media proprietors, editors and politicians to give evidence under oath.

Mr Cameron said the inquiry would begin as "quickly as possible" and be in two parts - an investigation of wrongdoing in the press and police, and a review of regulation in the press.

Earlier, at prime minister's questions, Mr Cameron said a "firestorm" was engulfing parts of the media and police, and those who had committed offences must be prosecuted.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said it was an insult to the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler that Ms Brooks was still News International's chief executive. Miss Dowler's phone was among those allegedly hacked by the News of the World.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14148658

sharonl wrote:Here is a recent quote from Gordon Brown, (who appears to be the only victim in this phone hacking case, that is if he is a victim at all)


The former PM branded Rupert Murdoch's company :-


"a criminal media nexus" which "claimed to be on the side of the law-abiding citizen" but in fact stood "side-by-side with criminals against our citizens".


Need I say anymore?

Wonder who are those people he considers "partners in crimes" with NOTW? Would Blair be one of those in his list?

No.9 arrested this morning re phone hacking is Neil Wallis former Deputy Ed NotW. Martin Brunt has also just confirmed on Sky.

ITV Keir Simmons
ITV News understands man arrested over hacking is former Deputy Editor of the News of the World Neil Wallis.
2 minutes ago