Missing Milly Dowler's voicemail "hacked by News of the World"

[littlebabyjesus]

I admit to being genuinely confused by Rusbridger. I don't understand it.

 

[xenon]

"Never argue with a man who buys his ink by the barrel …" Ben Franklin

Heh, Not heard that before.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

A bystander, who turned out to be a Labour member of the Select Committee, leapt in to say that he reckoned Rusbridger had done it, certain that Cameron would reject advice from the Guardian, in order to nail him down now.

.

how credible do you think that is? It doesn't sound very credible to me at all.

 

[agricola]

Is that really what they're saying? Fuck me, that's weak.

TBH I think this is probably the one story where they actually are telling the truth. The article itself (assuming that it hasnt been edited since) reads more like a government puff-piece than anything else, certainly its not the kind of story that would drive a man to tears (and then invite the person to charge to a sleepover, and after that go to her wedding and numerous other social functions besides).

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Well yes, the wedding attendance, etc, at the very least show Brown up to be a very weak man - that he would allow himself to be shafted and shafted again.

 

[two sheds]

So I ran into John Whittingdale (chair of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport) and asked him why he thought Rusbridger had warned Cameron.

"I mean, what's the use of our sitting up half the night arguing that there may or may not be a God if this machine only goes and gives you his bleeding phone number the next morning?"

 

[agricola]

Well yes, the wedding attendance, etc, at the very least show Brown up to be a very weak man - that he would allow himself to be shafted and shafted again.

Perhaps, though the same evidence might be used to show how determined he was to use anything and everything to gain (and then remain in) power.

 

[London_Calling]

Melo/dramatic Guardian front page:

 

[weltweit]

One thing we know (I think) will be confirmed next Tuesday at the Culture Media & Sport Select Commitee is that under Rebekah Brook NI paid members of the police for stories. We know this because last time she was before a commitee, she admitted it. Surely the confirmation of this would be enough to get her at least an interview with the new police enquiry.

 

[laptop]

how credible do you think that is? It doesn't sound very credible to me at all.

I mention it only to report that someone in a position to do a few things about stuff agrees with me (unprompted) on what the effect of Rusbridger's communication with Cameron's people was, and in their opinion it was the motive.

 

[xenon]

I admit to being genuinely confused by Rusbridger. I don't understand it.

I admit to having been genuinnely confused by his name. Was calling him Russbringer before

Jus watched the News Night clip again, where he mentions the warning he gave. HE just said it seemed reasonable to warn Cameron. There was a Q & A with Rusbridger over all this in Comment is Free. Neither Kirsty Wark or a commenter asked directly why he gave this warning. From his tone, it does rather come across as him just wanting to see them avoid making a blunder prior to the election, for the sake of reasonableness. He warned Clegg too and the Guardian of course were backing the Libdems but it would have seemed crudely partizan and perhaps just not cricket to withold the information from Cameron too. Mentioned other editors tried getting warnings through also. And they're all more similar than different at that level. The establishment that is.

 

[DaveCinzano]

Rusbridger on the Hayman letter (2001 Press Gazette article):

Two award-winning journalists who believe they have been "betrayed" by The Guardian over an investigation into police corruption are calling for an inquiry into a letter sent to the newspaper's editor, Alan Rusbridger, by a senior Metropolitan Police officer.

Michael Gillard and Laurie Flynn want the Police Complaints Authority to find out why a letter, containing what they believe are serious allegations against them and demanding details of their investigation sources, was sent by Commander Andy Hayman to Rusbridger last August [2000].

...In the letter, Hayman told Rusbridger he believed that Flynn and Gillard "may be at risk, perhaps unwittingly" of assisting a private investigator, Jonathan Rees, in "unethically or unlawfully seeking his acquittal to the serious charges he will be required to answer" in a forthcoming trial for Conspiracy to Pervert the Course of Public Justice.

He asked the editor for details of all contact between Rees and the two journalists or other members of Guardian staff. He also offered Rusbridger a confidential briefing.

...Gillard says The Guardian's treatment of their investigation and the manner in which it dealt with the letter is "disturbing for a newspaper that markets itself as a sleazebuster and champion of ethical journalism". He also believes that the problem in investigating police corruption may be more widespread. The Guardian, he suggests, is "not alone in this betrayal of core journalistic principles".

However, Rusbridger insists there is no connection between the letter and the dropping of the investigations - a decision which he says had been taken before the letter arrived and was based on internal and external legal advice.

"…By that stage Michael and Laurie had been told that we felt that we had got as far as we could with their theories on police corruption", Rusbridger told Press Gazette.

..."It contained no serious allegations about Michael and Laurie and was in no sense an attempt to place The Guardian under any pressure," Rusbridger said. "No briefings between any Scotland Yard officer and any executive of The Guardian on or off the record occurred after the letter was received. There was not any contact so there was no pressure.

"The Guardian invested a large amount of time, money and the best legal resources we could find to back Laurie and Michael in their investigation into alleged police corruption. Our unequivocal and unanimous legal advice at the end of the day was that we could not defend the allegations that they were seeking to make."

Perhaps Met links to criminals, private detectives and journalists were less interesting to Rubbisher in 2000 than they are now?

Even though they are the exact same cops, villains, gumshoes and hacks, the exact same corrupt relationships, the exact same criminal enterprises...

 

[ericjarvis]

Letwin? Letwin is a twat !

Please, show at least some sense of perspective. That's really offensive. The vast majority of twats deserve better than to be compared with Letwin.

 

[redsquirrel]

Rusbridger on the Hayman letter (2001 Press Gazette article):



Perhaps Met links to criminals, private detectives and journalists were less interesting to Rubbisher in 2000 than they are now?

Even though they are the exact same cops, villains, gumshoes and hacks, the exact same corrupt relationships, the exact same criminal enterprises...

Cheers for tracking that down Dave, useful stuff.

 

[Badgers]

Rockefeller vs Murdoch

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller said the authorities should consider whether journalists working for the media giant had broken US law.

He warned of "serious consequences" should that be found to be the case.

 

[Badgers]

Dear Badgers,

Thank you for your email.

We share the wide concerns expressed by our customers regarding the allegations but, as this is the subject of a current police investigation, we do not believe that it is appropriate to withdraw our advertising at this point. We are continuing to monitor the situation.

Kind Regards

Tesco Customer Service

 

[Badgers]

Three parties unite against the Murdoch then?

The Conservatives and Lib Dems are set to back a Labour motion urging Rupert Murdoch to withdraw his bid for BSkyB. They will call on Mr Murdoch's News Corporation to do so in the "public interest" while alleged phone hacking at the News of the World is probed. Prime Minister David Cameron is also set to detail the terms of a public inquiry into the hacking scandal.

This is good news:

News Corp shares have fallen 14% since 4 July, wiping about $5bn off the company's value.

 

[Balbi]

The Sun are desperate with that headline.

What have The Times done?

 

[Gingerman]

The Sun are desperate with that headline.

What have The Times done?

The Sun suddenly develop an interest in the scandal after almost ignoring it since the whole saga broke

 

[MellySingsDoom]

According to R4 this morn, the Sun have accused Brown of "smearing" News Int'l ("allegations are false and a smear)". Is any further comment needed?

Re the Graun/Rusbridger business: many worthwhile questions/thoughts here. Obviously Rusbridger is as establishment as any other paper baron...wonder if Graun/Observer hacks have been privy to info obtained by very dubious means too?

 

[Pickman's model]

pisspoor

fucking tesco's wouldn't advertise with me if i was the subject of a police investigation

 

[London_Calling]

Early lunch today then: Over to you, Prime Minister....

 

[Tankus]

the debates at 4pm according to sky ...not after PMQ's

 

[Sue]

According to R4 this morn, the Sun have accused Brown of "smearing" News Int'l ("allegations are false and a smear)". Is any further comment needed?

Shows how fucked it is that they still don't get that however the information was obtained, it's morally dubious (at best) to print private medical information. Especially when we're talking about a baby. And even more so a baby whose parents have just found out he's got a serious medical condition.

 

[Dan U]

The Sun surely have no credibility on this, even if its actually true what they are saying.

NI spent years denying the scale of hacking at the NOTW only to be proved to be comprehensively lieing through its teeth

 

[butchersapron]

Hayman whining that hos pathetic performance was down to anti-working class prejudices on the part of the committee.

 

[Santino]

BBC reporting that Cameron won't take part in the hacking debate.

 

[Louloubelle]

News of the World: Church of England retains stake in Murdoch empire

The Church of England is to retain its £9 million investment in Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in the hope that the share price will rise again if all his British newspapers are sold or closed.

The Church Commissioners, who manage the Church of England’s £5.3 billion investments portfolio, owns shares in both News Corp and BSkyB.
They have come under pressure from senior Anglicans to pull out of Murdoch-owned companies in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal on the grounds that continuing to invest is unethical and “embarrassing”.
Andreas Whittam Smith, the first church estates commissioner, acknowledged that the issue posed a “ticklish” dilemma for the investment fund.
But he suggested that selling the Church’s £3.8 million of shares in News Corp and £5.3 million invested in BSkyB, which is part-owned by Mr Murdoch, could waste an opportunity to make money.
He told the Church’s national assembly, the General Synod, in York:
“A premature sale of News Corp and BSkyB might just be simply very bad timing.
“I don't argue with anything that anybody is saying about them but I think it must be possible that News Corp will get rid of its entire British holdings of newspapers.
“If it is to do so, first of all the problem would have vanished from the point of view of the parent company, and for us as investors, and the shares will certainly bounce up again. So it is a ticklish area.”

Mr Whittam Smith’s remarks follow protests from clergy over the Church’s continued investment in Mr Murdoch’s media businesses.

more here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...-England-retains-stake-in-Murdoch-empire.html


a "ticklish dilemma"

 

[MellySingsDoom]

^^^"And ye, did Christ run through the Anglican money market, and did the mage called Whittam-Smith emote, "Knock it off, JC, if we hang on to these MurdochSatanInc shares, we'll be coining it in - loadsamoney"

(from the Book of Digger)

 

[DaveCinzano]

Goodness, what a busy retirement old Andreas is having.