Report: UK tabloid hacked into voicemails

[AhabsOtherLeg]

Here's an old story about how Andy Coulson, NOTW editor and then Head of Communications for current Prime Minister David Cameron (yeah, I know you all know, but furners still mightn't) scratched the back of Andy Hayman, head of Specialist Operations for the Met, away back in the olden times of 2010:

http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/20 ... dy-hayman/

And how The Sun, quite restrainedly by their standards, helped the Met in smearing De Menezes as a suspected rapist back in 2006:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... e40996.ece

Extra: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_J ... llegations

And how Coulson scratched Hayman's back even harder yet more soothingly back in 2005, immediately after the Menezes shooting:

http://twitpic.com/3fkntc/full

And then there's the Forest Gate raid... where the NOTW, exonerating the Met, claimed that one of the suspects had shot the other, whereas in fact the police had shot him without good reason (for raising his arm - not a gun, his arm).

200 officers busted into a house to arrest two suspects who were later shown to be innocent, despite the fact that both were Muslim men. The man who was shot, after bringing charges against the Met for compensation, was then picked up and charged with having child porn on his computer - this being loudly trumpetted by the NOTW - but was then shown to be entirely innocent of that charge too! Coverage of his innocence was minimal.

Given what Tom Watson has said about the other methods NOTW used - trojan horses, computer hacking, etc. - is it a stretch to think that they, or their private eye employees, could be used as a deniable implanter of child porn on the home computers of those who threaten or inconvenience certain people within the Met? Or they might plant it themselves just to prolong or give flavour to a story? The conviction of Karen Matthews' boyfriend on those grounds never seemed right to me, however scummy he might've been. It was like a scripted epilogue to a perfect NOTW editorial about "broken britain."

We know that the Murdoch papers committed or facilitated criminal acts solely in order to report them, as in the Victoria Beckham kidnapping conspiracy. And we know that nothing was off-limits or beneath them, as Paul MacMullan is only too happy to keep telling us, with either pride, defiance, or fleeting remorse depending on his current level of sobriety:



There are (still) people who claim that the NOTW served the public interest. Who the hell cared or needed to know about Denholm Elliot by this stage, nevermind his daughter? FFS! They killed her.

[AhabsOtherLeg]

The BBC's political editor Nick "Tory" Robinson having a chat with Andy Coulson over their latest kill or conquest:



UKers will already know Nick Robinson, but to give dem furners an idea of his journalistic integrity and lack of political bias, which is naturally integral to his role as the political editor on a taxpayer-funded state broadcasting network with a remit to inform without prejudice, here he is feebly destroying an anti-war protestors' sign:



For the record, Robert Peston is quite closely linked to the Murdoch apparatus too, through Will Lewis. He might sound like he's on our side for the moment, and getting all the best leaks and revelations, but just ye watch and wait. The fact that he talks to the camera as though he's trying his best with no hope of success to educate a class of six year olds on concepts they could not possibly grasp is not, in fact, his most offensive trait. He also loves - nay, worships - "entrepreneurs."

I bought and read one o his books, for my sins. The chapter about Sir Phillip Green in "Who Runs Britain?" is the most dedicated and shameless work of hagiography I've seen since I was in high school.

[AhabsOtherLeg]

A bit more on Daniel Morgan's murder:

On the 24th anniversary of private detective Daniel Morgan's death, the inquiry into his murder outside a pub in Sydenham, south-east London, collapsed.

Since 1987, the Metropolitan Police (Met) said it had dealt with 750,000 documents, taken 8,854 actions, provided 6,180 statements, gathered 17,960 exhibits and interviewed 188 witnesses.

The following shows the key dates in a case which, after six investigations, three years of legal hearings and an estimated £30m cost, remains unsolved.


10 March 1987
Daniel Morgan's body, with an axe embedded in his head, is found in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham.


3 April 1987
Six men are arrested over the murder but police find there was not enough evidence to charge any of them.


April 1988
An inquest at Southwark Coroner's Court gives a verdict of unlawful killing.

Papers are again submitted to the CPS but no charges brought.


24 June 1988

The Met refers the case to the Police Complaints Authority (now the Independent Police Complaints Commission) after allegations against the police by Mr Morgan's family.

The review by Hampshire Constabulary looks at "allegations that police were involved in the murder of Daniel Morgan".


31 January 1989
Three people are arrested by the force conducting the investigation.

Two of them are charged with murder and one for perverting the course of justice.


11 May 1989
The Director of Public Prosecutions discontinues proceedings.


9 June 1989
The IPCC inquiry concludes without any evidence produced to support any allegation of criminal misconduct by Met officers.


Jan 1999
A covert investigation, Operation Two Bridges, finds information relevant to the case.

Following the investigation, charges are brought in connection with an unrelated matter.


October 2001
A review by the Met's Murder Review Group finds new investigative opportunities and recommends the case should be re-investigated.


June 2002
The Met launches a new covert investigation, Operation Abelard.

Police appeal for witnesses and information on the case in Crimewatch.


October 2002 to January 2003
Eight people are arrested during this period but all are released on bail.


March 2003
The Met submits evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for consideration.


September 2003
The CPS says there is insufficient evidence for a prosecution and all people previously bailed are released.

The case is referred to the Met's Murder Review Group which concludes all lines of inquiry are exhausted.


March 2006
Another investigation, Operation Abelard Two, begins.


August 2006
Two men are arrested and bailed.


September 2006
A third man is arrested and bailed.


April 2008
James Cook and brothers Glenn and Garry Vian are charged with murder.

Two other men are arrested, of which William John Rees is charged with murder, and the second with perverting the course of justice. The case against the second man was later discharged.

A serving PC in Southwark is arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and bailed.


September 2008
The PC's bail is cancelled and no further action taken against him. His arrest was not in connection with Mr Morgan's murder but in connection with the five other arrests.

He is suspended and due to face a misconduct hearing, but resigns before that.


December 2008
A seventh man is arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice. He remains on bail.


June 2009
A woman is arrested and bailed on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.


November 2009
The woman is released with no further action taken.


March 2010
William John Rees, James Cook, Glenn Vian and Garry Vian are granted conditional bail pending a trial in November 2010.

The judge imposes reporting restrictions on the case.

Mid-2010
James Cook is discharged.


March 2011
William John Rees and Glenn and Garry Vian are formally acquitted.

From the Guardian:

Garry and Glenn Vian

Garry Vian, 50 and his brother Glenn Vian, 53, knew Rees through their sister Sharon. Rees occasionally employed them as security for his agency. Garry Vian was jailed in 2005 for 14 years for conspiring to supply controlled drugs; he tried to smuggle millions of pounds' worth of Class A drugs into the UK in hollow pianos. When convicted he was described in court as a drug dealer on a "commercial" scale. Both men were charged with Morgan's murder.


Sidney Fillery

At the time of Morgan's murder, Fillery, 63, was a detective at Catford CID in south-east London. He was a friend of Rees and one of a number of officers moonlighting at Southern Investigations. As a member of the Catford crime squad Fillery was involved in the first murder inquiry but did not reveal his connection with Rees or the agency. After Morgan's death he left the Met after obtaining a medical discharge and became Rees's partner at Southern Investigations. In 2003 Fillery was convicted of making indecent images of children. Fillery was charged in the Daniel Morgan case with attempting to pervert the course of justice: the allegation was that he threatened a potential witness in relation to the murder. The charge against him was stayed in February 2010 after the judge ruled evidence from a key supergrass was inadmissible.

Until I read Byrne's link, I had no idea Fillery had been picked up later on child porn charges. He seems like the likely lynchpin of the whole operation. Being a long-term copper, a man of experience, apparently both in the police and the criminal underworld, why the fuck did he plead guilty? A guy like that would be expected to know better. Say nothing, contest everything, and give no legally binding statements except those translated through a loyal lawyer - that's the general rule, isn't it? It's what would be expected from an old cop who finds himself in custody, I reckon. Never understood the guilty pleas on that charge by anyone really, unless they're daft and deeply harried, or longing to confess in the first place.

I had a BBC link from long ago where it said a police bug in the house next door to Southern Investigations had recorded somebody saying, in effect, that they knew guys (police) from Catford station who had come out and killed him (Morgan). I've lost the link. Will find it though.

Sorry to all for the prolonged posting spasm.

[Stephen Morgan]

[gnosticheresy_2]

Aaaannnnd she's gone:

News International have just confirmed that Rebekah Brooks has resigned.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/20 ... ge#block-7

[Stephen Morgan]

i wonder how much she got.

[seemslikeadream]

Rudy Giuliani: Rupert Murdoch 'a very honorable, honest man'

[justdrew]

[Stephen Morgan]

[crikkett]

It has also been mentioned by various sources there is a wave of gripping fear overtaking Fox News at the moment.

Amid the breaking news this morning that Newscorp/News International/Rupert Murdoch are abandoning their takeover bid for BskyB, and with the growing firestorm surrounding the phone hacking scandal at the now-defunct News Of The World becoming something of a Perfect Storm, questions are now being raised if in fact Rupert Murdoch will survive this scandal and if he will abandon the UK as any place to continue his empire.

Bets are on he will, as he has done many times in the past. Whether his son James or his coveted, trusty assistant, confidant, whatever-she-is Rebekah Brooks will survive is another question. Odds are neither Rupert or James will be obliged to testify at the Home Affairs Select Committee Hearings, since neither are actual British Citizens (oh, that citizenship thing again), but Brooks will be since she is a British citizen, and it may make for very interesting theater on Tuesday (the day testimony is tentatively scheduled).

As of yesterday there were calls by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Jay Rockefeller to begin hearings on Newscorps' possible violations here while stockholders in Delaware are making their discomfort known. It has also been mentioned by various sources there is a wave of gripping fear overtaking Fox News at the moment.

As was indicated last week when the bomb was dropped over the closing of News Of The World, the story is changing constantly and quickly. At the rate this is going, it may change again by Friday.

But for the moment, here is BBC Radio 4's PM Program with the latest as of this morning (afternoon in the UK).

Stay tuned.

]

I followed that link, and the "wave of fear" language was not there any longer.
This is why we benefit from copying articles rather than linking to them. It thwarts the memory hole.

[Harvey]

I'm starting my own tabloid newspaper.



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[gnosticheresy_2]

Les Hinton resigns from News Corp

Hinton, who has worked for Rupert Murdoch for over 50 years, told staff at the Wall Street Journal he had no option but to resign

Rupert Murdoch's righthand man Les Hinton has resigned in the latest shock development of a saga still threatening to engulf the newspaper and TV mogul's empire.

Hinton, who has worked for the media baron for more than 50 years, told staff at the Wall Street Journal he had no option but to resign.

"It is a deeply, deeply sad day for me.

"When I left News International in December 2007, I believed that the rotten element at the News of the World had been eliminated.

"That I was ignorant of what apparently happened is irrelevant," he wrote in a letter to staff adding: "I feel it is proper for me to resign from News Corp."

Hinton headed Murdoch's British newspaper arm, News International, when the phone-hacking allegations first arose.

His resignation comes just hours after his successor in the UK, Rebekah Brooks, fell on her sword as Murdoch made attempts to draw a line under the scandal.

Hinton had come under increasing scrutiny recently as a cascade of allegations indicated the problems at the centre of the scandal were more widespread than he had twice led a parliamentary committee to believe.

In 2007 and 2009, he told a select committee that the company had carried out a full investigation into the matter and was convinced just one of its journalists was involved.

Murdoch said: "Les and I have been on a remarkable journey together for more than 52 years. That this passage has come to an unexpected end, professionally, not personally, is a matter of much sadness to me."

Hinton was parachuted into New York in 2007 after Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal and tasked with transforming the paper into the "Financial Times of America".

A trust and discreet lieutenant of Murdoch's, he said in a statement that he had "watched with sorrow from New York as the News of the World story unfolded".

"The pain caused to innocent people is unimaginable. That I was ignorant of what apparently happened is irrelevant and in the circumstances I feel it is proper for me to resign from News Corp and apologise to those hurt by the actions of News of the World."

He added that "his testimonies" before the "culture, media and sport select committee were given honestly".

At the heart of the scandal were News International's claims that the phone-tapping was the work of a "rogue reporter" - royal reporter Clive Goodman.

In his statement, Hinton says at the time he believed that to be the case.

"When I appeared before the committee in March 2007, I expressed the belief that Clive Goodman had acted alone, but made clear our investigation was continuing. In September 2009, I told the committee there had never been any evidence delivered to me that suggested the conduct had spread beyond one journalist.

"If others had evidence that wrongdoing went further, I was not told about it."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/ju ... rt-murdoch

[gnosticheresy_2]

I'm starting my own tabloid newspaper.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Well I'd buy it .

[Harvey]

And we have a special feature about Galadriel on page 3.

[gnosticheresy_2]

And we have a special feature about Galadriel on page 3.

Really? Was he rocking that Elven hair that has all the girls bringing lactose based beverages to the public space, or something along those lines?