28 November 2011

Leveson Inquiry: Hearings - Day 8

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

The Panel : top row (left to right)
  • Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty
  • George Jones, former Daily Telegraph political editor
  • Sir David Bell, former chairman of the Financial Times
Bottom row (Left to right)
  • Elinor Goodman, former Channel 4 political editor
  • Lord David Currie, former chairman of Ofcom
  • Sir Paul Scott-Lee, former West Midlands chief constable
  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.) 

Leveson Inquiry Witness List - Week beginning 28.11.11 

Leveson Inquiry Witness Statements  

Monday, November 28th  2011 (Hearing 7  record of  Leveson Inquiry on this blog can be found here.)


Guido Summoned by Leveson Over Campbell Leak - Press Gazette 

Leveson Inquiry Debates Guido Fawkes' Leak - Journalism.co.uk

Cocking a Snook at Regulators - Paul Bernal, the Justice Gap 

Intercepted Intelligence Could Not Have Been Published, Said Witness - Independent




Profiles of today's witnesses here.



Charlotte Church


















"Church, a former child star who entertained Queen Elizabeth, pope John Paul II and US president Bill Clinton, is due to give evidence about the alleged phone hacking of her family."
 Live blog of Charlotte Church' Evidence to Leveson Inquiry from Guardian 

BBC News - Charlotte Church Sang At Murdoch Wedding to Get Good Press

Audioboo/ Charlotte Church on Being Told Her Phone Was Hacked - @joshhalliday 

Charlotte Church 'Waived Fee For Good Press' - Channel 4 News 

BBC News - Charlotte Church on 'Horrific' Story On Father's Affair - Video 

They'd Built Charlotte Up, and Felt They Could Knock Her Down - Guardian

From Guardian Live Blog 30th November 2011:

"The Financial Times is reporting that the bombshell deal for Charlotte Church to sing at the wedding of Rupert Murdoch in exchange for £100,000 or favourable converage was brokered by Matthew Freud, Murdoch's son-in-law.The FT reports:
Jonathan Shalit, Ms Church's manager until 2000, told the Financial Times that the proposal had come in a "very relaxed" call from Mr Freud, but that no payment had been offered. The promise of favourable coverage was explicit, he said, "but done in a warm, friendly, positive way. There was nothing sinister about it.
"In return, it was understood the Murdoch publications would support Charlotte in the US," Mr Shalit said. "In the same way a plumber might do a favour for an accountant and the accountant might do a favour in return, I think it's totally acceptable business practice. That's life," he added."


Hacked off
PA told Church they wouldn't publish because their consumers didn't like to hear anything negative about them or their conduct

Hacked off
Press Association contacted Church back after she released statement refuting karaoke story.

james robinson
Church very critical of Sunday Times piece which claimed she had said 9 11 firemen 'just doing their jobs'

Catherine Wylie
Church and her mother both wanted to take the £100k but were advised to take the favour instead.

T Portilho-Shrimpton
Church, when was 13, was offered either £100k or to be "looked upon favourably" by Murdoch's newspapers to sing at his wedding

Peter Hunt
Charlotte Church: never been on a holiday since age of 16 when not found and photographed

T Portilho-Shrimpton
Church says she decided to give evidence to inquiry because of her experiences with press from the age of 12


Anne Diamond













From her Blog on the BBC Website:

Anne Diamond | 13:52 UK time, Wednesday, 6 July 2011

...I'd like to know how the papers got hold of certain information.
There have, over the years, as you can imagine, been several incidents where I've had a call from a newspaper reporter who's said things that have gobsmacked me. After you've got over the shock that someone seems to know more about you than, well...you, you sit down in surprise and try to work out "how on earth could they know that?" even if it wasn't entirely true.
One in particular was about a mortgage deal, and I hadn't even discussed it with my family or advisers or anyone. Absolutely no-one knew but the mortgage company and me. And when the deal came through, they left a message for me on my mobile.
Now I'm wondering - unless someone in the mortgage company decided to squeal to the press - phone hacking could well be an explanation. The reporter knew all of the facts - exact sums of money, everything.



Andy Davies
Anne Diamond claims she was targeted by Murdoch empire after she confronted RM in an interview.





Ian Hurst













Witness Statement in Full

From The Daily Beast here:
"His codename was “Stakeknife,” (ed.: about an informant) and for more than 20 years he’s said to have served the British security services as a highly prized mole in the upper ranks of the IRA, providing intelligence to the British army in its struggle against terrorism in Northern Ireland. A swirl of allegations surrounds his activities, including charges that others were killed to prevent his exposure as a double agent.
Now Stakeknife and the murky world of counter-terrorism—as well as the British police—are under the glare of media scrutiny. In a new twist to the story of wrongdoing at News International, Scotland Yard has broadened its inquiries to look specifically at whether journalists authorized private investigators to hack into computers as well as phones. The most prominent alleged victim so far: the British undercover officer who ran Stakeknife. 
According to the BBC, the monitoring of Hurst’s computer was sanctioned in 2006 by Alex Marunchak, then the editor of the Irish edition of The News of the World, who was looking for more information on Scappaticci—even though the publication of his whereabouts or appearance was forbidden under the terms of a High Court injunction. Marunchak has denied the allegation."

Mark White
Hurst says Met Police were aware his computer had been hacked in early 2007, but chose not to inform him til this year

T Portilho-Shrimpton
Hurst did interview for Panorama programme on NoW alleged phone and computer hacking, shown in March 2011

Ben Fenton
tells his role was to recruit Republican double agents. Has retained informal links with intel community.


Christopher Jefferies













Witness Statement in full

From the BBC News website here:
"The landlord of Jo Yeates has said he is reaching the point where he can get on with his life again.
Christopher Jefferies, who lived in the flat above the Bristol landscape architect, sued several newspapers for their "lurid" coverage of his arrest on suspicion of her murder.
He also criticised plans to change the law on no-win, no-fee cases, which he said would have stopped him from suing.

Mr Jefferies, who lived above Miss Yeates and her boyfriend Greg Reardon in Canynge Road, Clifton, was arrested on suspicion of murder on 30 December.
He spent three days in police custody and was eventually released from police bail in March.

Mr Jefferies accepted an apology and "substantial" libel damages from the Sun, Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Record, Daily Express, Daily Star and the Scotsman for their coverage after his arrest.
The former English teacher also told the programme of his dismay at government plans to reform "no-win, no-fee" conditional fee agreements."

Christopher Jefferies Giving Evidence Today


Transcript of Christopher Jefferies' Interview With BBC Radio 4 - From Hacked Off website

Joanna Yeates' Landlord Describes 'Vilification' By Press - Journalism.co.uk


Jefferies Will Never Recover From 'Reckless' Coverage - Press Gazette

BBC News - Leveson Inquiry: Media Vilified Me - Christopher Jefferies Says


Catherine Wylie
Jefferies' appearance in court 73 is confident and comfortable. He is controlled but his anger at press behaviour is clear.


Dan Sabbagh
Jefferies - "I can see now that following my arrest the national media shamelessly vilified me". It was a "witch hunt"


T Portilho-Shrimpton
Jay mentions Jo Yeates' bf's statement in which he mentions character assassination of innocent man. That part was never reported


Jane Winter














Witness Statement in Full

Northern Ireland Human Rights Campaigner whose evidence is linked to that given today by Ian Hurst.

Guardian Live Blog of Jane Winter's Evidence Today 


IndexLeveson
Winter says emails & the attachments she sent Hurst that were hacked were "very confidential & sensitive".


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