31 October 2013

Phone-hacking Trial - Day 4

Mr Andrew Edis QC, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson (Image from Daily Mail)


 From Independent report:
Addressing the nine men and three women on the jury, Mr Edis told them that among their tasks was to decide: “If there was phone hacking – who knew?” Mr Edis said they needed to consider whether Mrs Brooks and Mr Coulson, the editors of the NOTW from 2000 to 2006 when phone-hacking took place, must have known how stories on their papers were being obtained.
Overnight links to media reports as to what was said in court yesterday:
From Nick Davies' Report:


Some cautionary words to those following the live-tweets of the phone-hacking trial from an experienced lawyer:


Latest links to reporting of this morning's continued prosecution case statement:
From the Guardian report above:
 Edis continued: "It is the prosecution case [that] a contract like that involves senior management, in this case the editor, the deputy editor and the managing editor," in reference to three of the defendants on trial for an alleged conspiracy to hack phones – Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson (who was initially her deputy) and Stuart Kuttner respectively.
Glenn Mulcaire, subject of much of this morning's prosecution statement from Mr Edis QC (Guardian image)


 2:15 p.m.:
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30 October 2013

Phone-Hacking Trial - Day 3

Links overnight:
Outside Old Bailey this morning - Image from Andy Davies, Channel 4 News
Today's latest links:

     ===========================================================
Important news about the Press Regulation challenge by Pressbof:


Latest post from Hacked Off blog:
Response to failure of PressBoF bid to block cross-party charter
Posted by & filed under News.
In response to the failure of the latest attempt by PressBoF to block reform of press self-regulation, Hacked Off’s executive director Brian Cathcart said:
“The big newspaper companies like the Mail and the Murdoch press have been in denial ever since the Leveson inquiry report condemned the way they treated ordinary people and said they needed to change.
“The inquiry judge has told them this. Their own readers – the public – have told them. Their past victims have told them. Every single party in Parliament has told them. Now the courts have thrown out their latest manoeuvre.
“We have to ask: is there anyone at all that Rupert Murdoch and the other arrogant proprietors will listen to?
“The Royal Charter is good for journalism, good for freedom of speech, and – vitally – good for the public. What Mr Murdoch and his friends are clinging to is the right to lie, twist, bully and intrude, inflicting misery on innocent people. That has to stop.”
Reaction from Niall Paterson of Sky News:
And from The Sun:
More from Sky's Niall Paterson:
More from Carl Gardner:


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Back to the Old Bailey, where the Crown Prosecution is due to begin setting out its case in the phone-hacking trial at 2:00 p.m. :

For excellent factual reporting on the Prosecution's opening statement, please follow the Twitter accounts of those listed above.

Links to reports:
Image from Sky News
Left to right:
Greg Miskiw, Neville Thurlbeck, James Weatherup.

All 3 NotW editors revealed to have pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to phone-hacking charges.




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29 October 2013

Phone-hacking Trial - Day 2

From left to right are the defendants in the dock at the Old Bailey: Ian Edmondson, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, Paul Kuttner, Clive Goodman, Cheryl Carter, Charlie Brooks and Mark Hanna - Image printed in Daily Mail

  • From the Guardian: 
A panel of approximately 80 potential jurors was called to court 12 and told the case could last up to six months. The judge, Mr Justice Saunders, acknowledged that such a length of time could cause significant disruption in people's lives but said jurors would need powerful reasons to be excused.
The judge said: "The trial concerns allegations of criminal conduct at the News of the World and Sun newspapers which preceded the closure of the paper."
More updates will be added to this page as links to information and factual reports of the trial proceedings are found.
  • Important news from @peterjukes, who is at the Old Bailey today, that live-tweeting is to be permitted when the prosecution begins to lay out its case this afternoon:
  • Later (and very important!) from @peterjukes:
 From James Cusick's report (above) a lovely comment from Mr Justice Saunders:
One potential juror told the judge she “felt a bit intimidated at the number of people in the courtroom”. Mr Justice Saunders reassured her, admitting: “So do I.”

  • As the jurors were being sworn in:

  • Mr Justice Saunders addressed the newly sworn-in jury:

  • On the issue of contempt of court and in the interest of a fair trial, Mr Justice Saunders told the jury:
  • And finally...:

  • Attorney General rules on the Private Eye cover:




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28 October 2013

Phone-hacking Trial - Day 1

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The eight people in court today:

  Full details of the involvement of the defendants can be found HERE.
From Inforrm's Blog:
The first phone-hacking trial begins next week before Mr Justice Saunders and a jury in Court 12 at the Central Criminal Court (the “Old Bailey”) in London on Monday 28 October 2013.  The first day or two are expected to be taken up with legal argument and the selection of the jury so the prosecution opening is not likely to begin until Tuesday or Wednesday. The trial is expected to last at least 4 months.
Links to information and factual reporting of events will be added frequently each day to the #pressreform blog.

Video of arrival at court of Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson - from Channel 4 News:-

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27 October 2013

The First Trial in the Phone-hacking Saga Begins Tomorrow.


Compilation of useful links to information and detail on the background and those charged:
  •  Phone-hacking Trials - David Banks will update his blog daily throughout the trial (useful because of his legal expertise!)

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1 October 2013

Paul Dacre and Geoffrey Levy Owe the Miliband Family an Apology!

Last Friday, Geoffrey Levy wrote an 'essay' in the Daily Mail, headed :-
 

I won't link to the online piece, suffice it to say that it was an overtly vitriolic attempt to smear the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, through his father.

Many people expressed their dislike of Levy's article on social media. Ed Miliband himself was sufficiently upset by this slur on his father to tweet on Saturday:-
Tonight, Ed Miliband's Right of Reply letter was reproduced by Labour Press:

Ed Miliband: My Dad Was A Man Who Loved Britain

Comments from many who are impressed by the dignity of Miliband's letter appeared on Twitter.
 
Then it became abundantly clear that Paul Dacre, in an editorial for Tuesday's Mail, feels neither contrition nor sorrow over Geoffrey Levy's original article:-
 
 

The reaction of journalists and the public, to both right and left politically, has been enormous following the publication of Dacre's editorial and all but a very few have expressed disgust and anger.

Many people are aware that the Daily Mail has form in its support of far right-wing regimes and have tweeted evidence of this:-
There are several other examples of shocking articles like the above.

That Dacre could cheerfully denigrate the father of a political leader, whose beliefs do not match his or the leanings of his paper, also goes a very long way to illustrate the desperation of this editor to bring down Miliband for supporting the press regulation system backed by Lord Justice Leveson. 

Unfortunately for Dacre, his efforts serve only to show precisely why a different, much more ethical form of press regulation is needed....

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