21 November 2011

Leveson Inquiry: Hearings - Day 4

LEVESON INQUIRY:CULTURE, PRACTICE AND ETHICS OF THE PRESS

"I want this inquiry to mean something", not end up as "footnote in some professor of journalism's analysis of 21 century history." LJ Leveson in reply to A Rusbridger's submission to Inquiry.

Lord Justice Leveson, Shami Chakrabarti, Sir David Bell, Lord Currie, George Jones, Sir Paul Scott-Lee, Elinor Goodman

Opening submissions began on Monday 14 November 2011.  The proceedings are shown here live on the Leveson Inquiry website. 

BBC Democracy Live Leveson Inquiry live-feed here.

Full list of Core Participants to be found here. (Guardian Website)

Relevant links from mainstream media, blogs and social media:

(Twitter feed for Leveson Inquiry on right of Home page of this (#pressreform) blog.) ->->->



Monday, November 21st 2011  (Hearing 3 record of  Leveson Inquiry on this blog can be found here.)

Video Recordings of Monday 21st November Hearings:

Transcripts and Witness Statements here.


Today's Participants: Mr. and Mrs. Dowler, Joan Smith, Graham Shear, Hugh Grant




1. Mr, and Mrs. Dowler
Sally Dowler
"You had to be on guard outside your front door because someone would come up to you when least expect it. They'd fire a question at you without introducing themselves."
Bob:
"It's quite concerning because however polite people are you really are afraid to open front door, because you're faced with a question and then however you respond to that question might lead to a headline of one line or two."
Mile of Grief - the offending News of the World article (from Guardian Live Blog)






2. Joan Smith, journalist

 Joan Smith has been a journalist for more than 30 years. She worked for the Sunday Times Insight team, doing stories like the Iranian embassy siege, the Yorkshire ripper etc.
She then went freelance writing for the Guardian, Independent and the Evening Standard.
She is also an author. She has written a book about women hating called Misogynies.
She also chairs the English writers Pen committee. Looks after 50 writers and so on in Syria and China and other countries. (from Guardian Live Blog)


Alison Chabloz
JoanSmith: Tabloids have few morals[: a culture] so remorseless that people involved have lost any sense that they are human beings

Ben Fenton
Tabloid people have lost sense of dealing with people rather than just stories. Private life becomes a commodity, Joan Smith tells

lisa o'carroll
Audioboo: Joan Smith describes being targeted by Glenn Mulcaire at Inquiry

Peter Hunt
Joan Smith : Glenn Mulcaire was an obsessive note taker.

Leveson Inquiry Hears From Journalist Joan Smith - Charlotte Henry

3. Graham Shear, lawyer

(From Guardian Live Blog): Shear has worked on extremely high profile cases in the past and acts for several footballers. He has also in the past acted for Jude Law.His first major case he handled that brought him in close contact with media was Robbie Williams and Take That breakup in 1995.
Shear says the market for kiss and tell stories from "young ladies" who, presumably had a relationship with some of his footballer clients could get anything from between £10,00 for the most innocuous story to something like "a quarter of a million"."Rebecca Loos [who had an affair with David Beckham] and others who have been paid very large sums for their stories," said Shear.
From 2006 and 2007 the type of story tabloids were sicking from kiss and tell ladies had changed he said.
Shear says he believes the tabloid" business model" has "become dependent and infatuated with sensataional and titillating stories". Shear says "the Press Complaints Commission is no match for the larger media organisations."He says it is a mediator, not a regulator."


Keir Simmons
Graham Shear's witness statement 'if an individual stands up to the press, the press then embarks on a revenge fuelled attack'.


Ben Fenton
Nice line from Shear to as he describes fine of 60K for Max Mosley as "a very gentle parking fine"


Ben Fenton
Graham Shear, lawyer for Ashley Cole and previously Jude Law, now giving evidence. He was hacked. And followed.

(From Guardian Live Blog): Shear remembers being in the countryside at his house and going outside before his clients arrived.
"I was quite flabbergasted that several minutes before they arrived two cars showed up with four or five people in each car that preceded them, parked at one end of the street, to then have the clients come up.
It was clear to me that paps and media were well aware of where going to and only I [and client] was privy to that information. It was quite an extraordinary event."
Hugh Grant


Stephen Fry
High Grant's witness papers (and Dowlings)for the Leveson report were mysteriously posted late. V damning for the Mail

Hugh Grant Delivers Damning Testimony - Michael White - Guardian

BBC News - Mail Refutes Grant's Accusations 'Categorically'

BBC News - Glenn Mulcaire Denies Deleting Milly Dowler Voicemails


Hugh Grant Accuses mail on Sunday of Phone-hacking - Free Speech Blog - Indexoncensorship


Associated press: Hugh Grant: Non Murdoch Tabloid Hacked Me in 2007

BBC News - Hugh Grant Accuses Mail on Sunday of Hacking 

New Statesman - Hugh Grant Links Mail on Sunday to Phone-hacking  

Hugh Grant Claims Evidence Links Mail to hacking - Journalism.co.uk


Hugh Grant Launches Blistering Attack on Tabloid Press - politics.co.uk


Hugh Grant: 'Mail on Sunday May Have Hacked My Phone' - Press Gazette

Radio 5 Live Podcast With Hugh Grant on V Derbyshire's Show - 5th July 2011


IndexLeveson
Grant to Jay: "You said backstage you'd bowl me straight balls. If these are straight balls, I'd hate to see your googlies."



Peter Hunt


Grant: Daily Mail paid £125k to ex lover of mother of his child to sell private pix of her.
One of the articles in the Daily Mail Hugh Grant has protested about (Full article)


james robinson

says PCC can't control freelance paps. And his own report will hv little sway on overseas markets 

New Statesman
Grant says that a 2007 story about him in the Mail on Sunday must have come from phone-hacking
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