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

[Santino]

From agricola's quote in #7497:

That's the part for me. It brings in the CPS (something that's been troubling me for a few days).

The decision dovetails too conventiently with NI's long-standing 'one rotten apple' line of defence and, in the new reality, it's absurd either body would not investigate "a vast array of offending behaviour". What the fuck is their job otherwise....

But they had received assurances. ASSURANCES!

 

[gavman]

michael fallon keeps appearing on newsnight. doing an appalling job of blame shifting and then sitting looking smug, like he's actually convincing anyone.
such tired lines..'why didn't labour sort it?' 'disco dave is leading the charge'...do us a fucking colin. you're being pushed by events to do as little as you can get away with, while blaming everyone else. i haven't felt this angry since tb's public appearances

 

[Shreddy]

If this is not a fucking pretty much dead old cunt, I don't know what is...

I love the 'feigning' of care on Wendi's face. My new Lucy Liu

 

[London_Calling]

But they had received assurances. ASSURANCES!

tbf, I've only seen that line used in relation to appointments, not mass criminality. So far

 

[invisibleplanet]

Meanwhile, why wasnt this comment from the debate picked up on by more outlets (its only Guido who I can see covering it at the moment)?



Straw denied that it had ever been raised at Cabinet level afterwards, but would anyone be surprised if the investigation was spiked by Blair (as he did with BAe) in its early stages? Furthermore, does this relevation - if its true (which it appears to be, it is after all apparently backed up by documentation) - put the lie to everything that has been said about this story by official sources up to this point?

I'm sure it was mentioned in one of today's Gruniard articles.
Milne? I'll need to re-check.

 

[Streathamite]

Have we been through how Cameron seems to have deliberately avoided putting Coulson through a full vetting? Seems like when he was appointed by the Party, all they did was pay sme company £150 to do a basic websearch about him!

This to me is also a scandal; I spoke about this to a senior civil servant I know, and he is utterly astonished that coulson wasn't vetted to the very highest level of SC, simply because it meant that every meeting which Coulson was present at thereby presented a security risk. Given that even software developers are stringently vetted before working on any MOD, police or in fact ANY govt data project, it makes this all the more astonishing.

 

[Streathamite]

Oh yes he did! http://www.google.co.uk/search?&q=murdoch+sympathy+pie

True Justice for in front of a particularly hostile crowd armed with hard missiles. Oh, and I'd like to be close to the stage please. Perhaps we could revive it temporarily ?? I feel strongly that NO-ONE should be allowed to call themselves a comedian unless they've been through The Tunnel or an equivalent baptism of ire.
Check the fool's reasoning here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/discussion/user-comments/JonnieMarbles


Returning to the use of private dicks and phone hacks by the press ...

Given that you're oop north, how da FUCK did you know about the club I went to every week when I was at Thames Poly?
That video certainly brought it all back - I was actually one of the worst hecklers

 

[invisibleplanet]

Tebbit says something about that in a lack of forsight saga

 

[agricola]

Who in either/both organisations concluded not to investigate and why didn't one call the other on it...

IMHO the person who made such a decision was probably above both the Police and CPS, and probably outranked Goldsmith himself.

 

[ddraig]

Given that you're oop north, how da FUCK did you know about the club I went to every week when I was at Thames Poly?
That video certainly brought it all back - I was actually one of the worst hecklers

what years where you there?

 

[Streathamite]

Times political writer is now saying that Control Risks were the company that Cameron refused to identify as being hired to look into Coulsen. IIRC Someone went through the torry accounts a few days ago and found them being employed to do checks on others at £140 or so a pop - i.e bottom of the barrel quick check stuff. SO it may not be that he was covering up who carried out the checks, but the shitness of the checks. That looks even more likley when tallied with the low-mid level clearance he was given - either because he wouldn't pass more stringent tests or to to protect him from further inquiry.

I think this is absolutely correct. £140 is piss all, and gets you piss all; a few phone calls,maybe ONE meet swith someone who knew Coulson, nothing more.

I.e someone knew he was rotten then. Did Cameron?

Well his Chief of staff (i.e. his gatekeeper) certainly bloody did, cos rusbridger told Hilton, and Hilton promptly told LLewellyn! it is possible Llewellyn discounted this on the grounds of Hilton's hatred of Coulson, but more likely to ensure Da Boss wasn't tainted by dangerous knowledge

 

[Streathamite]

what years where you there?

84-87

 

[Streathamite]

IMHO the person who made such a decision was probably above both the Police and CPS, and probably outranked Goldsmith himself.

But surely, the only people who outrank Goldsmith, on such a matter as that, are the justice secretary, and the PM (Ok, possibly the Home Sec as well).

 

[Santino]

I seriously doubt £140 gets you anything other than a desk-based check. £140 barely covers the staff time to leave the office and meet up with someone.

 

[butchersapron]

Piers Morgan 'interviewed' by Naomi Campell, 2007 (note the claim that he was 'hacked')

What do you think of the News Of The World reporter who was recently found guilty of tapping the Royals' phones? Did you ever allow that when you were there?

Well, I was there in 1994-5, before mobiles were used very much, and that particular trick wasn't known about. I can't get too excited about it, I must say. It was pretty well-known that if you didn't change your pin code when you were a celebrity who bought a new phone, then reporters could ring your mobile, tap in a standard factory setting number and hear your messages. That is not, to me, as serious as planting a bug in someone's house, which is what some people seem to think was going on.


It's an invasion of privacy, though.

It is, yes. But loads of newspaper journalists were doing it. Clive Goodman, the NOTW reporter, has been made the scapegoat for a very widespread practice.

So you're defending him?
Not defending him, just expressing sympathy for someone who has been made a scapegoat.

Would you like it if someone listened to your messages?
Oh, they used to do it to me. And no, I didn't like it. But with new technology comes new temptation and new issues. And this has brought the practice out into the open and it won't happen any more - celebrities get a lot more privacy now than they used to.

 

[ddraig]

84-87

ta, little bit before me then

 

[Santino]

Lulzsec on Twitter: "We're currently working with certain media outlets who have been granted exclusive access to some of the News of the World emails we have."

 

[DrRingDing]

Lulzsec on Twitter: "We're currently working with certain media outlets who have been granted exclusive access to some of the News of the World emails we have."

 

[Streathamite]

Pardon my ignorance, but could somebody please direct me to that UK tabloid where ladies get their tits out?

you meanThe soopah soaraway Sun
"Page 3" is the bit you refer to. It says everything about Murdoch that putting porn (basically) on P3 of a national daily newspaper was his first famous press innovation in the UK.

 

[Streathamite]

I seriously doubt £140 gets you anything other than a desk-based check. £140 barely covers the staff time to leave the office and meet up with someone.

Just spoke to a mate of mine who still sells ads to PIs on the same directory I used to; he reckons some - not the big firms - will do one 1/2 hour meet as well as a few calls, and it wopuld usually be done by the office rookie

 

[stethoscope]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/21/us-newscorp-coulson-idUSTRE76K2RO20110721

LONDON (Reuters)- Scotland Yard investigators have cryptic financial records corroborating suspicions that former News of the World editor Andy Coulson knew about illegal payments to police officers, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The cash records tally with payments suggested in an email discussion between Coulson and the newspaper's disgraced royal correspondent, Clive Goodman.

Cash and email records were part of a dossier compiled by a London law firm which News International, parent company of Rupert Murdoch's London newspaper holdings, hired four years ago to look into allegations of phone hacking by News of the World journalists. The inquiry was launched after Goodman and a private detective, Glenn Mulcaire, were arrested and convicted for hacking into the voicemails of aides to members of Britain's royal Family. The two were jailed for several months for conspiracy to access phone messages.

After conducting its review, the law firm, Harbottle & Lewis, told the company it had found no evidence of hacking by other News of the World journalists. But James Murdoch, who until earlier this year ran News International, told parliament earlier this week that top company officials did not examine all the documentation until after civil lawsuits from alleged hacking victims began to gather steam late last year. News International said late on Wednesday it had released Harbottle & Lewis from its obligations of client confidentiality so the law firm could answer questions from the police and parliament about what it had been asked to do. Harbottle & Lewis did not respond to requests for comment.

The existence of the "smoking gun" emails has already been reported in the UK media. According to Reuters' source, who has been briefed on internal News International discussions, the message traffic shows Coulson and Goodman corresponded about paying a police contact for restricted information, including phone numbers, of members of the British royal family.

Coulson, who was subsequently employed as a spokesman by Prime Minister David Cameron, has consistently denied knowledge of illegal practices at the newspaper. He could not be reached for comment on the story. A lawyer for Goodman could also not be immediately reached for comment.

Cameron told parliament on Wednesday that if it emerged Coulson had lied to him about not knowing of illegal practices at the paper, he would offer a "profound apology."

The email traffic indicates Coulson and Goodman agreed that an unnamed police contact should receive a "four figure sum" for leaking a confidential file known as the "green book," the source told Reuters. The book allegedly contains information about the movements, locations and phone numbers of members of the royal family.

Earlier this month, the BBC reported that News International had uncovered emails which included a message from Goodman to Coulson requesting cash "to buy a confidential directory for the royal family's landline telephone numbers, and all the phone numbers, including mobiles, of the household staff."

The BBC said the emails implied the "green book" containing this information had been stolen by a police officer assigned to protect the British royal family, and that he wanted 1,000 pounds ($1,600) for it.

Additional evidence collected by Harbottle & Lewis following Goodman and Mulcaire's arrests corroborates the content of the e-mail, the source briefed on the matter told Reuters. This evidence consists of financial records showing the precise four-figure amount mentioned in the email traffic was paid out in cash on or about the same day of the alleged email exchange.

The payout record shows the cash went to a recipient who used a pseudonym, the source said. Additional records collected during News International's internal inquiry showed a total of around 120,000 pounds in similar payments were made to recipients identified by pseudonyms, according to the source.

A spokesperson for News International said by email: "We are unable to answer your specific questions and the points you raise because it is part of a police investigation, and therefore we cannot comment."

In other emails to Reuters, spokespeople for News International claimed that the account provided to Reuters contained "factual errors," but said they could not specify these.

Murdoch newspaper the Sunday Times reported last Sunday on "new revelations" about alleged illegal activity at the News of the World, which included claims that a "senior executive" for the tabloid had "approved payment of money to at least two royal protection officers for the phone numbers of members of the royal family and their friends."

 

[ViolentPanda]

Louise, teach abstinance to school girls, Mensch...

It was the execrable Nadine "Mad Nad" Dorries, adulteress and hypocrite extraordinaire, who started that bundle of fail off.

 

[weltweit]

Ms Grey (Murdoch's daughter) intervened, Ms Pink (his wife) lashed out after. Fat fella got some of the pie himself.

Cleared up, thanks London_Calling.

 

[belboid]

Ms Grey (Murdoch's daughter)

she isn't his daughter. Dont know who it is, but its deffo not Elizabeth or Prudence, and his kids with Wendi are still a bit younger than she looked

 

[invisibleplanet]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/21/us-newscorp-coulson-idUSTRE76K2RO20110721

Cameron told parliament on Wednesday that if it emerged Coulson had lied to him about not knowing of illegal practices at the paper, he would offer a "profound apology."

<snip>

The email traffic indicates Coulson and Goodman agreed that an unnamed police contact should receive a "four figure sum" for leaking a confidential file known as the "green book," the source told Reuters. The book allegedly contains information about the movements, locations and phone numbers of members of the royal family.

Earlier this month, the BBC reported that News International had uncovered emails which included a message from Goodman to Coulson requesting cash "to buy a confidential directory for the royal family's landline telephone numbers, and all the phone numbers, including mobiles, of the household staff."

The BBC said the emails implied the "green book" containing this information had been stolen by a police officer assigned to protect the British royal family, and that he wanted 1,000 pounds ($1,600) for it.

Damn. If only he'd offered to strip naked and wrap himself in rubber bands until he fell over. That would be so much better than an apology. On second thoughts. This should be Cameron wrapping Coulson in rubber bands until Coulson falls over. Coulson will then resemble the worm* that we all know he truly is.

It was the execrable Nadine "Mad Nad" Dorries, adulteress and hypocrite extraordinaire, who started that bundle of fail off.

Indeed it was. http://barthsnotes.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/nadine-dorries-mp-how-journalism-works-in-bedfordshire/

 

[ViolentPanda]

They SHOULD be judged on their ability to get information from people because that is an essential part of being an MP. They are supposed to be our representatives in the corridors of power. If they can't show that they can find out the information needed to make proper decisions on our behalf then they simply aren't capable of doing their job.

The Commons also houses a disproportionate number of QCs. One doesn't generally take silk unless one is capable of formulating probing and/or tricksy questions.

 

[Streathamite]

she isn't his daughter. Dont know who it is, but its deffo not Elizabeth or Prudence, and his kids with Wendi are still a bit younger than she looked

aren't the two elder daughters both blondes, anyway?

 

[agricola]

But surely, the only people who outrank Goldsmith, on such a matter as that, are the justice secretary, and the PM (Ok, possibly the Home Sec as well).

Which one of those has form for killing off politically inconvienient investigations? Which one was closely allied to News Corp and the senior figures involved in this scandal? Which one still has the influence to ensure that potentially damning evidence that leads to his door doesnt recieve wider attention?

 

[Dan U]

I seriously doubt £140 gets you anything other than a desk-based check. £140 barely covers the staff time to leave the office and meet up with someone.

i've paid more to a letting agent for a check, just to put it in context

 

[ViolentPanda]

Times political writer is now saying that Control Risks were the company that Cameron refused to identify as being hired to look into Coulsen. IIRC Someone went through the torry accounts a few days ago and found them being employed to do checks on others at £140 or so a pop - i.e bottom of the barrel quick check stuff. SO it may not be that he was covering up who carried out the checks, but the shitness of the checks. That looks even more likley when tallied with the low-mid level clearance he was given - either because he wouldn't pass more stringent tests or to to protect him from further inquiry. I.e someone knew he was rotten then. Did Cameron?

FFS.
Positive vetting for "mid-level clearance" used to mean them doing a thorough job on you, up to and including such delights as trawling your political history, your bank account(s), your criminal record, and even contacting your school and college peers and your teachers and tutors.

Not some penny-ante credit and google check.