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

[equationgirl]

On Newsnight...apparently a bit has been added in to include any web-site that has more than one person with an opinion and there is any editorial control.

That is...any website in the UK.

So urban would be covered by that then?

 

[agricola]

So urban would be covered by that then?

So it would seem. Having read it, the papers are entirely right to oppose it - its absolutely appalling in the way that only something agreed upon by the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems could be.

My favourite bit is probably this - from section 8 of schedule 3 of the Charter - which is quite wonderfully phrased (emphasis added).

The code must take into account the importance of freedom of speech, the interests of the public (including but not limited to the public interest in detecting or exposing crime or serious impropriety, protecting public health and safety and preventing the public from being seriously misled)

​

So its ok to mislead them a little. Or do things that arent seriously improper.​

 

[ymu]

It depends what editorial control means. It could be stretched to mean moderating comments (as on urban and most blogs), but that is stretching it. And if it is stretched that far, it just invites every blog and forum to become a free for all, which would harm the internet (free for all sites are good, but moderated ones have their uses too).

Whether .com would be affected depends on whether editor hosts guest articles, I guess. That might mean that the forum gets dragged in with it, but it would be very silly. Being on .net might save it I suppose.

 

[ymu]

So it would seem. Having read it, the papers are entirely right to oppose it - its absolutely appalling in the way that only something agreed upon by the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems could be.

My favourite bit is probably this - from section 8 of schedule 3 of the Charter - which is quite wonderfully phrased (emphasis added).

​

​

So its ok to mislead them a little. Or do things that arent seriously improper.​

Seriously improper/misleading as in criminal as in genuine public interest as in not just some celebrity has an affair shock!

I've not read the details, and no doubt it is flawed, but I won't be taking the press's analysis of why. Anyone know what Hacked Off have said about it?

 

[Santino]

It's ok to mislead people to make a joke or entertain. It's not ok to seriously mislead them e.g. on matters of criminal justice or medical science.

 

[two sheds]

Why it’s significant the Sun admits hacking a Labour MP’s stolen phone
by Sunny Hundal

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2013/03/18/why-the-sun-hacking-of-labour-mp-is-so-significant/

Today, the Sun newspaper apologised in the High Court for accessing personal information on a stolen mobile phone belonging to a Labour MP, according to the BBC.

Here’s what happened.

Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh’s phone was stolen in October 2010 and she immediately reported it to the police.

In June 2012, she is informed by the police that the Sun newspaper accessed texts from her stolen phone not long after it was stolen.

Today, the Sun newspaper did not admit to the theft of the phone itself, but will pay the MP “very substantial damages” because they admitted to accessing those texts.

This story is important because the Sun editor in 2010, when they accessed text messages from a stolen phone, was Dominic Mohan.

He is still the Sun editor.

Hi @rupertmurdoch Do you remember saying this on 26/4/12? “editors are all responsible for their papers. I certainly hold them..for that.”​

— tom_watson (@tom_watson) March 18, 2013​

I think Tom Watson is also thinking the same thing.
Update 1: a Labour MP now calls for him to go.

Surely dominic mohan should be sacked.​

— Chris Bryant (@ChrisBryantMP) March 18, 2013​

Update 2: Guess who said this?

Under my editorship, I think ethics have played a strong role and hugely influence my decision-making.​

That was Dominc Mohan’s evidence to the Leveson inquiry, almost a year after they accessed an MP’s stolen phone.

 

[Dogsauce]

Surely someone can get banged up for that? Handling stolen goods and all that.

I always wondered if the tabloids could get whacked with 'proceeds of crime' legislation, since all those illegally obtained Dowler stories and others must have sold a lot of papers and generated a lot of income. Got to be a few quid in it, maybe confiscate Rebekah's horse...

 

[agricola]

Seriously improper/misleading as in criminal as in genuine public interest as in not just some celebrity has an affair shock!

I've not read the details, and no doubt it is flawed, but I won't be taking the press's analysis of why. Anyone know what Hacked Off have said about it?

That will be the way that it is advertised as working, but given who has drawn this bit of legislation up and agreed it, I have grave doubts that that is how it will be implemented.

 

[laptop]

On Newsnight...apparently a bit has been added in to include any web-site that has more than one person with an opinion and there is any editorial control.

That is...any website in the UK.

Who's complaining about this? HuffingtonPost and GuidoFawkes. Both essentially are newspapers, without much paper.

So far, I think they're over-egging the pudding in the hope of generating an ill-informed interweb rantstorm - bit like ACTA.

 

[butchersapron]

Useful list/info to have in one place for future use:

The accused: At least 59 UK journalists arrested since April 2011

 

[Streathamite]

Also, the Dep Ed of the Sun has just been nicked under Elveden

 

[butchersapron]

He's not just been nicked mate, he's been charged, the arrest was in feb.

 

[Streathamite]

He's not just been nicked mate, he's been charged, the arrest was in feb.

sorry yes, my bad, skim reading Guardian
charged with two counts of conspiring to commit misconduct in public office, up B4 westminster beak 26th March

 

[DaveCinzano]

sorry yes, my bad, skim reading Guardian

I am pleased to announce that you have just passed the NCTJ Senior Columnist aptitude test. Here's £80,000 - we want 1,500 words once a week, every week. Feel free to use the same 1,500 words in a different order.

 

[laptop]

Useful list/info to have in one place for future use:

The accused: At least 59 UK journalists arrested since April 2011

Oooh! They've named the whistleblower!

(Bet that is the motivation for producing the handy ready-reference list now )

 

[gosub]

Who's complaining about this? HuffingtonPost and GuidoFawkes. Both essentially are newspapers, without much paper.

So far, I think they're over-egging the pudding in the hope of generating an ill-informed interweb rantstorm - bit like ACTA.

Agreed

from Hansard
Maria Miller: In new clause 29 we set out a definition of “relevant publisher” that captures national newspapers and their online editions, local and regional newspapers and their online editions, and online-only edited press-like content providers, as well as gossip and lifestyle magazines. Exemplary damages and costs are designed to catch larger news publishers—those at the centre of the circumstances giving rise to Leveson. As highlighted by my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Sir Bob Russell), who is no longer in his place, many of those are not necessarily the smaller publications.
8.45 pm
The new provisions will act as the key incentive for joining the new press regulator. However, our new clause is also designed to protect people who are not intended
18 Mar 2013 : Column 704
to be covered by the new regulator. Three interlocking tests will apply in that regard. They ask whether the publication is publishing news-related material in the course of a business, whether its material is written by a range of authors and whether that material is subject to editorial control. This provision aims to protect small-scale bloggers and the like. Together with new schedule 5, it will ensure that the publishers of special interest, hobby and trade titles such as the Angling Times and the wine magazine Decanter are not caught in the regime. Student and not-for-profit community newspapers such as the one mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset (Jacob Rees-Mogg) will not be caught, and scientific journals, periodicals and book publishers will also be left outside the definition and therefore not exposed to the exemplary damages and costs regime.
Jacob Rees-Mogg: We in this corner of the Chamber have been discussing definitions and wondering which magazines would count as hobby magazines. How, for example, would my right hon. Friend define Hello! magazine? It is surely not a newspaper, given that it indulges in the publication of gossip and celebrity pictures. Would it be covered, or would it be exempt, and who will decide where the line is to be drawn?
Maria Miller: My hon. Friend tempts me to repeat what I have just said, but perhaps he should read Hansard or the Bill instead.
New clause 29 describes in great detail who will be caught by the definition of “relevant publisher”. The publisher would have to meet the three tests of whether the publication is publishing news-related material in the course of a business, whether their material is written by a range of authors—this would exclude a one-man band or a single blogger—and whether that material is subject to editorial control. This is specifically designed to protect small-scale bloggers. Lone bloggers clearly do not meet those criteria. I hope that that clarifies that point.

agricola, equationgirl, ymu, teqniq, frogwoman

 

[redsquirrel]

sorry yes, my bad, skim reading Guardian
charged with two counts of conspiring to commit misconduct in public office, up B4 westminster beak 26th March

Also worth pointing out that this was for an offences in 2010/2011

"The first offence relates to allegations that Mr Webster, between July 2010 and August 2011, authorised payments totalling £6,500 for information supplied by a public official to one of his journalists," the Crown Prosecution Service said.
"The second offence relates to an allegation that in November 2010, Mr Webster authorised a payment of £1,500 for information provided by an unknown public official."

So the claim by the papers that this was all over long ago is once again shown up

 

[equationgirl]

Thanks gosub, clarity appreciated

 

[gosub]

Thanks gosub, clarity appreciated

Unfortunately we've both still yet to to see what gets through Holyrood...

 

[equationgirl]

Unfortunately we've both still yet to to see what gets through Holyrood...

True...

 

[DexterTCN]

http://news.sky.com/story/1070417/former-pc-jailed-for-selling-info-to-the-sun

A former police officer has been jailed for 10 months for selling details of arrests of celebrities to The Sun newspaper.

 

[butchersapron]

Prison officer gets 16 months for selling Jon Venabales info to the sun.

 

[agricola]

I appreciate they pled guilty, but those sentences do raise more questions over the term of imprisonment that ex-DCI Casburn got (fifteen months inside, only reduced from three years because of a child she had adopted).

 

[ymu]

A victim of the phone hacking scandal today said pressure group Hacked Off had “steamrolled” through curbs on press freedom and “suckered” politicians.

Graham Foulkes, whose son David died in the 7/7 bombings in 2005, said Labour leader Ed Miliband was “shameless” in letting the group fronted by Hugh Grant take part in crucial talks on press regulations.

Mr Foulkes, told by police in 2011 that bomb victims’ phones had been hacked, said: “The fact is phone hacking and bribery of officials is in itself a criminal offence.

“It is being dealt with in the criminal courts. Any law that says it’s against the law to break the law is just a nonsense. We don’t need further punishment.

...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-new...110?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Good point, well made.

 

[pesh]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/apr/18/sun-executive-editor

The Sun executive editor Fergus Shanahan is to face prosecution over an allegation that he authorised payments totalling £7,000 to a public official.

(((((Fergus)))))

 

[elbows]

Rebekah Brooks bodyguard charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22399267

"It is alleged that between 15 and 19 July 2011 Mr Johnson conspired to pervert the course of justice by concealing computers and other items from the Metropolitan Police Service during its investigation into allegations of phone hacking and the corruption of public officials by journalists."

 

[Badgers]

Rebekah Brooks bodyguard charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22399267

Good Friday news

 

[teqniq]

Heh, good news indeed. What's the chance of her and now the bodyguard doing time over this I wonder?

 

[DexterTCN]

Is he taking the rap for it then, pretty sure it said there were 3 of them on tape seen doing it.

 

[1%er]

Looks like the UK have more journalists currently under arrest than China and Russia combined.

Who'd have thunk it