Leveson inquiry: LIVE twitter and news from journalists that reported on McCanns story

Smokeandmirrors wrote: So the PJ files were all completely fictitious then? The inconsistencies all a figment of over active imaginations, the dogs were barking mad, Lee Rainbow, Amaral, Pat Brown just a bunch of old meanies and so on.

Oh, wahtever

candyfloss wrote:Read paragraphs 25 - 26 and 27 of David Pilditch witness statement

Paragraph 24 is even more interesting.

[url=http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Witness-Statement-of-David-Pilditch.pdf

Cheshire Cat wrote:IN THE MATTER OF THE LEVESON INQUIRY
WITNESS STATEMENT OF DAVID HAMILTON PILDITCH
I, DAVID HAMILTON PILDITCH, Journalist, of The Northern & Shell Building, 10 Lower
Thames Street, London, EC3R 6EN, WILL SAY AS FOLLOWS:
I am a General News Reporter at The Daily Express. make this statement in response to a
request of the Leveson Inquiry (the "Inquiry") to the solicitors for Express Newspapers dated
25 November 2011 with regard to the circumstances surrounding the publication of articles
in The Daily Express between September 2007 and January 2008 about Drs McCann.
B, I confirm that alt matters in this statement are true and, unless I specify to the contrary are
based upon my own knowledge and a review of the relevant documents Where matters are
not within my own knowledge, I state the source and believe the same to be true.
C. For convenience, I have reproduced as subheadings the questions asked of me in the 25
November 201 1 letter.
Introduction
1, By way of introduction, I have been a journalist for 26 years, I started at a local newspaper,
the Esher News and Maili where I spent three years and was formally trained by the
National Council for the Training of Journalists.
2. I worked for several years at Cassidy and Leigh, a national news agency. In 1995 I joined
The Daily Mirror as a news reporter, before moving in 2003 to The Daily Express,
For Distribution To CP’s
I was the first Daily Express reporter to arrive in Portugal following the disappearance of
Madeleine McOann in May 2007, I spent six weeks in the country on my first visit, and over
the course of the next nine months until February 2008, 1 was there a total of six times.
Question 1: What was the evidential basis for each of the stories you wrote in relation to
the McCanns, identifying (in each case) precisely the information on which you based
each of them?
It became apparent in the days after arriving in Praia da Luz that covering the,
disappearance of Madeleine McCann was going to be uniquely challenging, Under
Portugal’s secrecy of justice laws it is illegal for anyone to publicly discuss the details of an
on-going police investigation. This means even the most senior detectives in charge of an
inquiry are not allowed: to speak to the press and the media. Quite frankly this was a
ludicrous state of affairs which made covering the story near impossible.
Even Kate and Gerry McCann, who were anxious to put out appeals for information, were
made aware that speaking: about the case could lead to a term of imprisonment of up to two
years:
6. This lack of official co-operation between the police and the media, in my view, fatally flawed
the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance from day one.
.
In this country the relationship between the police and the media is probably at its closest
during a missing person inquiry. In the absence of any substantial leads the police rely on
the public to provide information of possible sightings or people acting suspiciously, This
helps ensure the police have as much information as possible available to them.
8. In Portugal, there were none of the basic strategies or systems that we would expect to be
put into place in an investigation of this kind.
9. As Gerry McCann pointed out in his statement the lack of formal dialogue between the
Policia Judiciaria (P J) and the public was incredibly frustrating for everybody involved.
10. In the critical early hours and days after Madeleine McCann disappeared there were no
public appeals. It took a number of days before police released details of the clothes
Madefeine was wearing when she disappeared - and that was only done under enormous
pressure from the international media.
11. Again under pressure from the media, the police held a series of press conferences in the
early days after Madeleine’s disappearance which turned out to be farcical because no
useful information was forthcoming.
12. A detective from Lisbon who specialized in investigating art thefts was brought in as a media
liaison officer. Unfortunately he refused to confirm or deny any information that was put to
him and was unable to give any guidance either on or off the record. In short, his
appointment was a complete waste of time
1082948v6A 2
MOD100053119
For Distribution To CP’s
13. As in every case, my stories were compiled using numerous sources of information. In my
time in Portugal I interviewed witnesses, many locals connected with businesses, resort
workers, holidaymakers and ex-pats - a number of whom became contacts and regular
sources of information,
14. 1 incorporated copy filed by the Press Association and independent news agencies based in
Britain and abroad, along with copy filed by colleagues back home - members of the
McCanns’ families were releasing information and photographs to help the search.
15. The McCanns themselves I~ad various people representing them, In the early stages a
spokesman was appointed by the holiday company the family had travelled with.
Subsequently there were two Foreign Office officials who helped them one of whom was
Clarence Mitchell.
16, In September 2007, after the McCanns returned to Britain, Mr Mitchell was taken on by the
couple as their official spokesman.
17. I have written a great many stories about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann since
May 4 2007, I have also written hundreds of other stories relating to a huge range of
subjects and issues, It would be impossible to forensically examine a series of stories
written four years ago and explain precisely where each fact was sourced from. However,
when reports were followed up from Portuguese newspapers and TV networks that is clearly
spelled out in my stories.
18. The McCanns were always approached to comment on stories through their spokesman and
those comments were clearly attributed. An addition to quoting from Portuguese newspapers
and the Drs McCanns’ official spokesman I approached my own sources.
19. In their evidence the McCanns. referring to the press in general terms, said that many
stories had been "made up" and that they did not believe "police sources" were genuine. In
the case of every story I wrote, the police sources I quoted were genuine. I had three
sources in Portugal who provided me with information. Two were Portuguese journalists who
were in daily contact with the most senior officers investigating Madeieine McCann’s
disappearance. The third was a translator who worked for the Portuguese Police and
translating and interpreting in the Portuguese legal system.
20, The stories that have been selected in this file must be looked at in the context of how
events were unfolding on the ground during this time whe~7 the Portuguese police
investigation had reached a particular stage.
21. Despite the barriers thrown up by the Portuguese criminal justice system, I was able to
obtain an accurate and truthful insight into on-going developments within the police
investigation at that time. Indeed, by this point fn time, one of my contacts was informing me
of day-to-day developments as they were taking place and before they were being written
about in Portuguese newspapers. This enabled me to verify the accuracy of the information
I was being gwen. For example, I was told of a series of operations and searches that would
For Distribution To CP’s
[/size][/size]be taking place at particular times and on particular days- and was able to personally
wkness these events taking place,
22. Although I was confident of the veracity of: the reports I was writing, due to the secrecy of
justice laws they were impossible to prove, to any satisfactory legal standard, at that time.
The fact is that every newspaper, TV network or media organisation that reported on: details
of the investigation into Madeieine McCann,s disappearance were in the same boat.
23. Due to the restrictions of the Portuguese law; anyone who was unhappy about something
that had been written or said about them and wished to take legal action would almost
certainly have been successful. As a journalist this is a wholly unsatisfactory position which,
in my view, leaves news organisations at the mercy of potential litigants, They simply are
unable to defend themselves.
24. It was only months later, in July 2008 that Portugal’s Attorney General formally closed the
investigation into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance. Under the Portuguese system, the
authorities released the official police file - more than 10,000 documents including
photographs, official reports and witness statements including those of the McCanns.
Through the release of those documents and subsequent Jegal actions in Portuga! it is now a
matter of public record that the reports I was writing between September 2007 and January
2008 were truthful and accurate,
Question 2; what checks if any did you undertake or cause to undertake to verify the
accuracy of each of these stories?
25. All my stories were checked wi[h more than one source prior to publication, Once Clarence
Mitchell was appointed as Drs McCanns’ spokesman, it was agreed that all stories would be
bounced off him rather than the Drs McCann directly; This was strictly adhered to. On every
occasion, Portuguese :)olice refused to comment on grounds that the inquiry was subject to
judicial secrecy.
26. Leicestershire Police, the UK force handling the investigation, took the decision neither to
comment nor -unusually for a force involved in a high profile on-going inquiry - give off the
record guidance to journalists with story queries. Instead they referred all journalists to their
Portuguese counterparts - who refused to comment,
Question 3: Why did you not seek comment from the McCanns before these stories were
published?
27. On each occasion, I sought comment from Drs McCanns’ representatives,
Question 4: What legal advice, if any was taken in relation to these issues?
28. Upon filing each story it would have been viewed by the News Editor of the day and a
lawyer: it would then have been passed to a sub editor who would cut it to fit the required
space on the page and add a headline. As a news reporter I have no involvement in the
wording of headlines that accompany my stories, Though my involvement usualfy ends with
1082948V6A 4
MOD100053121
For Distribution To CP’s
the filing of my story the news desk, lawyer and sub editor are obviously free to contact me if
they have any additional queries or require me to make further checks.
Question 5: Please explain the nature of sub-editorial and editorial involvement in each
of the stories you wrote explaining in particular the steps they took to satisfy themselves
that the said stories were accurate and that there was a public interest in their
publication. In each case, you are required to name the sub,editors and editors involved.
29. When I file a story f have no say over where it will appear in the paper, what prominence it
will be given or even if it will appear in the paper at all. I play no part in that decision.making
process. However, there is always frequent dialogue throughout the day between the
reporters on the ground, and the editors in the newsroom, particularly with regard to the
checking of stories and sources,
Conclusion
30. The disappearance of Madeleine McCann was an extraordinary and unique event. As a
news reporter with 26 years, experience I approached my coverage of Madeleine’s
disappearance exactly the same way as I did all the other major running news stories I have
covered during that time. My aim was - and always is - to interview witnesses, check out
information from sources, and speak to individuals, investigators and officials involved in an
attempt to discover the truth. The aspect that made the case truly unusual was the wall of
silence and lack of guidance to journalists from police both in Portugal and the UK,
31, In the absence of these critical sources or official comment that could be attributed to a
named police source or authority, I took steps to obtain the relevant information by the best
available route. ~ approached news/TV reporters who had solid contacts within the
Portuguese police for information on the investigation and relied on the services of Mr
Mitchell as a third party spokesman for Drs McCann.
STATEMENT OF TRUTH
I believe that th:~ facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.
DAVID Hh, MILTON PILDITCH
Dated: [ ] December 2011
i082948v6A 5
MOD100053122
For Distribution To CP’s
1082948
MOD100053123
For Distribution To CP’s
D H PILD!TCH
December 2011
1st
INTHE MATTER OF THE LEVESON INiQUJRY.
WITNESS STATEMENT OF
DAVID HAMILTON PILDITCH
ose n b I arts ~::: ~: :~ c i i .,,:: ~:i:iii;
9,13 St Andrew Street
London EC4A 3AF
DX: LDE 493
Tel: (020) 7955 0880
Fax: (020) 7955 0888
Ref: AF/EXP9-95
1082948v6A

MOD100053124

candyfloss wrote:14:56 A final word from Lord Justice Leveson, who has asked for any participant who is concerned about the credibility of witnesses to let him know in writing:


Fairness remains the watchword I'm trying to apply to all.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/leveson-inquiry/8934976/Leveson-Inquiry-live.html