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| Lord Justice Leveson |
Useful Links:
Leveson Inquiry Witness Statements HERE Leveson Inquiry Witness Lists HERE Video Recordings of each day's proceedings HERE Live Feed From Leveson Inquiry Site HERE BBC Democracy Live Feed HERE
Guardian Live Blog HERE =======================================================================
Links to articles, comment and information relevant to the Leveson Inquiry
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Monday, April 23rd 2012 Today's witnesses:
John Ryley ( Sky News ) - 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Aidan Barclay ( Chairman, Telegraph Media Group ) - 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Evgeny Lebedev ( Owner, Independent and Evening Standard )
John Ryley
@nataliepeck:
Barr: You have ultimate editorial responsibility for all of Sky News’s content-gathering activities and output on all platforms.
Barr taking Ryley through broadcasting code on privacy, public interest and subterfuge.
First mention of "intercepting emails" in Ryley's evidence.
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| John Ryley, Sky News - uncomfortable questioning! |
John Ryley says Sky News 2011 review found has found no evidence of payments to public officials
John Ryley says Sky News correspondent Gerard Tubb was tasked with putting together background report on Darwins
@monstris: (Leah Borromeo)
Ryley's obv rattled. He only ever does that "hmmn yeah" thing when he's narked. Good to hear him backing up tho.
@nataliepeck:
Barr tries to establish whether police knew in advance Tubb was going to access email accounts.
Ryley: Prima facie belief came from fact John Darwin had been using emails a lot to go about his business during disappearance.
@IndexLeveson:
Ryley: sources close to pros made clear they would not be following up emails. But there was no encouragement of Tubb from police
Barr: was your reporter investigating the crime rather than reporting it?
Ryley: job of my journalists is to report the news (not to investigate crimes)
@nataliepeck:
Barr asks whether Tubb essentially investigating rather the case. Ryley says "not one in the same" and journalists report news.
@adavies4:
Ryley says police were not looking at Darwin email accounts and that was a factor in reporter's decision to access accounts
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| Mr Barr questions John Ryley, Sky News |
Aidan Barclay Witness Statement in Full 
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| Mr Barr begins his questioning of Aidan Barclay |
@nataliepeck:
Aidan Barclay manages UK businesses - inc TMG - owned by father Sir David Barclay and uncle Sir Fred Barclay.
Barclay says concept of "stewardship" is the underpinning for all the family-owned businesses.
Barr refers to 2010 thank you note from Murdoch MacLennan to David Cameron. States Telegraph "not fairweather friends".
Barclay discussing claim by Dominic Lawson that he intervened in story on David Blunkett. Story ran anyway.
Barclay: Aware of TMG opposition to BSkyB takeover, concerned with matters of commerical competition.
@rosschawkins:
Aidan Barclay chair of Daily Telegraph publisher now giving evidence - and you don't see a Barclay on camera every day
Aidan Barclay: final decisions rest with editors, appointment of eds is down to ceo
@IndexLeveson:
Barclay: Expects highest standards of governance & ethical behaviour [of his many companies] but tries to avoid micro-management
Barclay: Not in the editor’s interests to tell me what’s going on. His responsibility to do things in interests of paper & reader
@benfenton:
Aidan Barclay says four of his editors will testify that he doesn't interfere.
@rosschawkins:
Aidan Barclay now being asked about Cable story, and 's story about what Telegraph had gathered
Aidan Barclay says no PM or opposition leader ever asked for favour, and he's never asked for one
Aidan Barclay says he might give a politician a plant at Christmas, something of that nature, no more than that
Gordon Brown and Aidan Barclay sent each other books about economics
@nataliepeck:
Barclay: It's not my habit to know about these things before they hit the press, I would have read it when published.
Barclay says he was not forewarned about the MPs expenses story.
[
Wonder if Tony Gallagher will be recalled to answer questions on Cable story…]
Barclay says he has provided meals for poiticians and small gifts, such as a plant as a Christmas gift.
Barclay: Relaxed and social meetings with Tony Blair and often spoke to Gordon Brown about economic theory.
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| Aidan Barclay speaking of Telegraph's political fairness |
Cameron asked Barclay for his view on News Corp's proposed takeover of BSkyB at one of these dinners in November 2010, Barclay says. He says that Cameron did not comment on the takeover, because the conversation was over dinner with spouses and moved on quickly.
@nataliepeck:
Barclay: No problem with greater transparency in press/politician relationships.
Barclay: I’m concerned that we don’t go too far in the proposals, rules and regulations can layer on top of one another.
@rosschawkins:
Aidan Barclay: find it difficult to volunteer for more regulation, we're over regulated in biz sense anyway
@benfenton:
Barclay's view is that "regulation creep", an aggregation of rules with unintended consequences, could ruin newspapers.
#leveson unconvinced
#Leveson is back investigating the possibility of setting framework in statute and "let everybody get on with it".
Questioning ended.
Evgeny Lebedev - Witness Statement in Full
@IndexLeveson:
Lebedev: Independent & ES aim to support & champion world class journalism that is ethically sound, in the public interest
Lebedev acknowledges that Independent and Evening Standard have different political leanings
@afnel:
Young Lebedev says his editors don't have to accept stories he submits. Just seen squadron of pigs overhead
@BBCPeterHunt:
Leveson:
@mrevgenylebedev says he often reads something he doesn't agree with in his papers -- esp the Independent.
@nataliepeck:
Lebedev: I think there are probably various degrees of friendships but yes, I would consider Boris Johnson a friend.
2011 New Statesman inteview with Lebedev, now under discussion at
#Leveson:
Lebedev: Met Gordon Brown when PM and stayed in touch. Met David Cameron four times, once since PM.
Lebedev: I don't see any problem with politicians and editors having contact, we occupy the same sphere.
Lebedev: Met Ed Miliband twice since he became Labour leader.
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| Ms C. Patry Hoskins questions Evgeny Lebedev |
@IndexLeveson:
Lebedev asked if considers Boris Johnson a friend, says "there are varying degrees of friendship, but yes, I consider him a friend"
Lebedev: Having knowledge from the horse’s mouth [Boris Johnson] about London issues is very valuable
Lebedev says he has never been asked by PM to support a particular political party or policy
Lebedev: Those who have committed crimes need to be punished, but the robustness of the press in this country needs to be protected
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| Evgeny Lebedev answering questions at Leveson Inquiry |
@rosshawkins:
Lebedev met Nigel Farage, just about to meet George Galloway; have diverse interests in politics
Lebedev: unfeasible to erect Chinese walls between editors & pols, problems begin when proprietors try to influence policy
Lebedev: politicians general overestimate influence papers have on political process
Lebedev : Robustness of the press should be protected
Inquiry barrister to Lebedev : News Int staff meeting with govt far more frequently than you were
@KathViner:
Strange that Leveson says he's met Nigel Farage, and is about to meet George Galloway, but not Livingstone
'The job that was meant to be done by the police was done by the Guardian,' says Lebedev
@lisaocarroll:
Lebedev: boris Johnson a personal friend. I meet him every three or four months. He has met Brian paddick but not ken livingstone
Lebedev: if press is over regulated it completely changes the whole process of how Westminster works
@nataliepeck:
Lebedev: Robustness of the press in this country should be protected. Can see the effects not having a free press has on Russia.
Lebedev: If there is system where everything is that regulated…it creates a tyranny of consensus.
Lebedev: Enforced new codes of conduct at ES and Independent and sought assurances over phnoe hacking and Op Motorman.
Lebedev: Not adverse to statutory backstop because there needs to be a way to make sure everyone is involved.
Lebedev on future reg: There cannot be any lingering sense of an old boys club, or appointments being made in inexplicable manner.
Lebedev: Editors loathe making apologies, especially in the same space that the victims was wronged.
Lebedev: [The press is] a really expensive element of British democracy that needs to be protected at any cost.
Lebedev: A free press something that needs to be treasured and valued because I’ve seen the other side.
@IndexLeveson:
Lebedev: We’ve seen in recent revelations there’s been extraordinary abuse of power by the press - that shouldn’t happen again
Lebedev: I think we’re in danger of building a society where every element of democracy becomes too feeble
Lebedev: If the press becomes too feeble, we end up with tyranny of consensus
Lebedev: Since I’ve acquired Evening Standard and the Independent, none of the journalists have been getting up to illegal activity
Lebedev: There needs to be a way of making sure everyone in industry is part of a regulatory body, including online
Lebedev: Don’t see why there should be a [regulatory] differentiation between news printed on dead trees and what appears on screen
Lebedev: The important news, which holds those in power to account, that’s what needs to be protected, preserved, cherished
Lebedev continues to stress that the British media is "an element of British democracy that needs to be preserved at any cost"
@benfenton:
Evgeny Lebedev indicates he may support statutory framework for self-regulation [you're riding the wave, bro]
