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Quake42 Warrior Princess
Great Old One Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Total posts: 5212 Location: Over Silbury Hill, through the Solar field Gender: Unknown |
 Posted: 11-06-2012 23:33 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | I thought Mr Brown was very dignified this morning. He makes a convincing case.
[...]
So who do we believe?
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I'm inclined to believe Brown's claims that his son's medical records were obtained from hospital staff - and the local NHS Trust appears to confirm this (Private Eye went into rather more detail about the alleged source of the leak some weeks ago).
I'm less sure about his claims re: the phone call he did or did not have with Rupert Murdoch re: the Sun's decision to switch support to the Tories.
Ultimately though Brown has no credibility on this stuff: (a) he was PM for 2 years and could have got a handle on this stuff and (b) if Brooks and the Murdochs were so dreadful, why did he keep hobnobbing with them for so long? I'm sorry but I can't take him seriously on this. |
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| theyithian Keeping the British end up
Joined: 29 Oct 2002 Total posts: 11649 Location: Vermilion Sands Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 12-06-2012 13:30 Post subject: |
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Believe him about his son.
Uncertain about the Murdoch call.
Utterly convinced he's lying about not knowing his Spads smearing and briefing against Blair, and that he wasn't in on the Tom Watson resignation/attempted coup. Apparently you could hear the collective intake of breath from the press when he denied he had his advisors brief against Blair; they couldn't believe the size of his balls for trying such a whopper. |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13303 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 12-06-2012 18:59 Post subject: |
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Full story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18405629
| Quote: | Rupert Murdoch warned John Major to switch policy on Europe or his papers would not support him, the ex-prime minister has told the Leveson Inquiry.
Sir John recalled the exchange from a private meeting in 1997, which he said he had not spoken about before.
Later that year, his Conservative party lost power to Labour, with the Sun backing his rival Tony Blair.
Sir John said he was subjected to some "hurtful" press coverage while he was PM, but was "too sensitive" at times.
The third module of the inquiry is focusing on the relationship between the press and politicians.
Labour Leader Ed Miliband and his deputy Harriet Harman also gave evidence.
Sir John was prime minister from 1990 until the 1997 general election. That defeat - which saw his party lose power after 18 years - came after Mr Murdoch's newspaper titles famously switched their support away from the Conservatives to Labour.
He recalled the dinner with Mr Murdoch on 2 February 1997, during which he said the media mogul asked him to change his policy on Europe, warning that his newspapers would not support him if he failed to do so.
When he came to power, the then prime minister said he wanted Britain to remain "at the very heart of Europe"... |
More contradictions! Now we have to decide whether the politicians or Newscorp are lying. Hobson's choice? |
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| Pietro_Mercurios Heuristically Challenged
Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 12-06-2012 19:04 Post subject: |
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| I do actually believe John Major on this one. |
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| Ronson8 Things can only get better.
Great Old One Joined: 31 Jul 2001 Total posts: 5970 Location: MK Gender: Male |
| Posted: 12-06-2012 22:34 Post subject: |
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| Having met the man, yes, so do I. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 12-06-2012 22:42 Post subject: |
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| Ronson8 wrote: | | Having met the man, yes, so do I. |
I really think he has a decent streak, in this case I believe him. |
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| Pietro_Mercurios Heuristically Challenged
Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 12-06-2012 22:46 Post subject: |
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| I don't know about a decent streak, but I certainly think that he makes a much more credible witness than Murdoch. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 12-06-2012 22:52 Post subject: |
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| Pietro_Mercurios wrote: | | I don't know about a decent streak, but I certainly think that he makes a much more credible witness than Murdoch. |
Well, when Eric Heffer was terminally ill he left his hospital bed to attend the Commons and spoke vociferously against a government bill. John Major paid tribute to Heffer for coming and masking his contribution. I can't imagine Cameron or his ilk doing that. |
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| Pietro_Mercurios Heuristically Challenged
Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 12-06-2012 23:26 Post subject: |
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| ramonmercado wrote: | | Pietro_Mercurios wrote: | | I don't know about a decent streak, but I certainly think that he makes a much more credible witness than Murdoch. |
Well, when Eric Heffer was terminally ill he left his hospital bed to attend the Commons and spoke vociferously against a government bill. John Major paid tribute to Heffer for coming and masking his contribution. I can't imagine Cameron or his ilk doing that. |
I didn't know that. Looking back, he was hard to dislike. But then, as a Prime Minister, he was sandwiched between two absolute monsters. |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13303 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 24-07-2012 18:51 Post subject: |
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Full story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18961228
| Quote: | Phone hacking: Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson face charges
Eight people, including Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, will face a total of 19 charges relating to phone hacking, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.
The two ex-News of the World editors are to be charged in connection with the accessing of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone messages.
They are among seven of the now-defunct paper's former staff facing charges of conspiring to intercept voicemails.
The CPS said the charges related to 600 alleged victims between 2000 and 2006.
The others facing charges are former News of the World (NoW) managing editor Stuart Kuttner, former news editor Greg Miskiw, former assistant editor Ian Edmondson, former chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, former assistant editor James Weatherup and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.
The eight, who will be charged when they answer police bail, are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 16 August.
The revelation that 13-year-old Milly's phone had been hacked by the NoW after she went missing in Surrey in 2002 led to the closure of the Sunday tabloid newspaper in July last year.
'Upsetting'
Mrs Brooks, who is also a former chief executive of the paper's publisher News International, faces three charges relating to the alleged accessing of phones belonging to Milly and former Fire Brigades Union boss Andrew Gilchrist.
In a statement, Mrs Brooks said: "I am not guilty of these charges. I did not authorise, nor was I aware of, phone hacking under my editorship."
She added that the charge concerning Milly was "particularly upsetting, not only as it is untrue but also because I have spent my journalistic career campaigning for victims of crime".
Mr Coulson, who also used to be Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief, will face four charges linked to accusations of accessing the phone messages of Milly, former Labour home secretaries David Blunkett and Charles Clarke, and Calum Best, the son of the late footballer George Best.
He told reporters he would fight the allegations and said anyone who had worked with him "would know that I wouldn't, and more importantly, that I didn't do anything to damage the Milly Dowler investigation".
"At the News of the World we worked on behalf of the victims of crime, particularly violent crime, and the idea that I would then sit in my office dreaming up schemes to undermine investigations is simply untrue," he added.
BBC chief political correspondent Norman Smith says many people will now be pondering how the PM came to appoint someone to his inner circle who had these question marks against him.
It will not be a short, sharp difficulty but a long, slow protracted problem for the government with the build-up to the court case and the trial itself likely to go on for months, he says.
Mr Cameron will be concerned about the bolt-from-the-blue factor - not knowing what will emerge from the court case, our correspondent adds... |
It's still not going away. Be interesting to know who is the most nervous about these trials. I'm guessing they wouldn't go to court with this if there were not very good reasons to do so. |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13303 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 20-11-2012 23:54 Post subject: |
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Full story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20405915
| Quote: | Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks charged in Operation Elveden
Ex-Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson and ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks have been charged over alleged payments to police and public officials.
Journalists Clive Goodman and John Kay and MoD employee Bettina Jordan-Barber also face charges, the CPS says.
Mr Coulson, who was editor of the News of the World before moving to Downing Street, says he denies the allegations.
Operation Elveden is the Met Police investigation into corrupt payments.
Mr Coulson has been charged with two conspiracies relating to the request and authorisation of alleged payments to public officials in exchange for information - including a royal phone directory known as the "Green Book".
It is said to have contained contact details for the Royal Family and members of the household.
Mr Goodman, a former royal correspondent at the now-defunct News of the World, is to face the same charges, the CPS says.
These two counts of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office involve one between 31 August 2002 and 31 January 2003 and another between 31 January and 3 June 2005.
Mr Coulson was charged when he answered bail at Lewisham police station and was bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 29 November.
In a statement, Mr Coulson said he was "extremely disappointed" by the CPS's decision.
"I deny the allegations made against me and will fight the charges in court," he said.
Misconduct charge
Mrs Brooks and former Sun chief reporter John Kay have been charged with conspiring to pay Ministry of Defence employee Bettina Jordan-Barber around £100,000 for information.
The three face one count of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office between 1 January 2004 and 31 January 2012.
The MoD said it would not comment on the charges related to its employee, who has not yet been formally charged.
There is one remaining suspect who is still being investigated in relation to the charges faced by Mrs Brooks, Mr Kay and Ms Jordan-Barber.... |
It's hotting up again - do the dodgy dealings go right to the top? £100,000! Who has that kind of cash to splash? That information must have been seen as an investment. |
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| Quake42 Warrior Princess
Great Old One Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Total posts: 5212 Location: Over Silbury Hill, through the Solar field Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 21-11-2012 11:46 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | It's hotting up again - do the dodgy dealings go right to the top? £100,000! Who has that kind of cash to splash? |
£100K for a company like News Corp is a drop in the ocean. It does sound like a lot to pay one informant, but it was over the course of seven years so may well have involved a large number of relatively small payments.
Clealrly though there's little doubt that "dodgy dealings" were not confined to the odd "rogue reporter". |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13303 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 29-11-2012 19:59 Post subject: |
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The report is here at last! Loads on the Beeb website, but start here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20543936
| Quote: | A tougher form of self-regulation backed by legislation should be introduced to uphold press standards, the Leveson report has recommended.
Lord Justice Leveson said the press had "wreaked havoc in the lives of innocent people" for many decades.
The report's recommendations have divided the coalition government.
David Cameron said he had "serious concerns" over statutory regulation but Nick Clegg said he supported some form of legal underpinning.
And Labour leader Ed Miliband urged the government to accept the report in its entirety.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Cameron said he broadly welcomed Lord Justice Leveson's principles to change the current system.
But he said: "We should be wary of any legislation that has the potential to infringe free speech and the free press.
"The danger is that this would create a vehicle for politicians whether today or some time in the future to impose regulation and obligations on the press."
Deputy Leader Nick Clegg said changing the law was the only way to ensure "the new regulator isn't just independent for a few months or years, but is independent for good".
Mr Miliband described the report as "measured, reasonable and proportionate" and said Labour "unequivocally" endorsed its conclusions...
The Hacked Off campaign, which represents victims of phone hacking said Mr Cameron's "failure" to accept the full recommendations of the report was "unfortunate and regrettable".
Founder Brian Cathcart said: "Despite their years of abuses and outrageous conduct, it seems that the prime minister still trusts the editors and proprietors to behave themselves. It seems that the prime minister wants self-regulation all over again."
Madeleine McCann's mother Kate said she hoped the report would "mark the start of a new era" for the press, in which it treated those in the news "with care and consideration"... |
Well, I'm shocked the Prime Minister doesn't agree with this damning report, it's not as if he was in the pocket of the most corrupt areas of the media - hey, waitaminute! |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13303 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 01-02-2013 19:23 Post subject: |
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Full story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21292338
| Quote: | The first person to be prosecuted as part of the investigation into payments by journalists to officials has been jailed for 15 months.
Det Ch Insp April Casburn, 53, from Essex, was convicted last month of misconduct in public office.
She had offered to sell information to the News of the World newspaper after the inquiry into hacking by the tabloid reopened in 2010.
The sentencing judge called it "a corrupt attempt to make money".
The Metropolitan Police said it was "a great disappointment that a detective chief inspector in the counter terrorism command should have abused her position in this way".
Casburn had said she contacted the paper out of public interest, but Mr Justice Fulford said her offence could not be described as whistle-blowing.
She spoke to journalist Tim Wood about the fresh investigation into phone hacking and claimed she did so because she was concerned about counter-terror resources being wasted on the phone-hacking inquiry, which her colleagues saw as "a bit of a jolly".
The detective denied asking for money, but Wood had made a note that she "wanted to sell inside information".
The newspaper did not print a story after the call and no money changed hands.
The judge, in his sentencing remarks at the Old Bailey said Wood was "a reliable, honest and disinterested witness" who had "absolutely no reason to lie".
"If the News of the World had accepted her offer, it's clear, in my view, that Ms Casburn would have taken the money and, as a result, she posed a significant threat to the integrity of this important police investigation," he said.
He told her it was "a corrupt attempt to make money out of sensitive and potentially very damaging information"... |
One down, how many to go? And she didn't even get a story published! |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13303 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 14-03-2013 20:13 Post subject: |
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Full story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21785611
| Quote: | Prime Minister David Cameron has called a halt to cross-party talks on press regulation, sparking anger from party leaders and victims of media intrusion.
Mr Cameron said he would publish plans for a royal charter to establish a tougher press regulator and will ask Parliament to vote on it on Monday.
Both Labour and the Lib Dems said they were disappointed and surprised.
The two parties had backed statutory underpinning as recommended by the Leveson inquiry into the press.
The inquiry was set up by Mr Cameron to examine the culture, practice and ethics of the press in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid.
Its 2,000-page report, published in November, found press behaviour was "outrageous" and "wreaked havoc with the lives of innocent people".
It recommended that the press should set up a tough new independent regulator, but the system should be underpinned by legislation to ensure the system was effective.
The report exposed divisions in the coalition government, with Mr Cameron opposing statutory control.
Many who oppose statutory control feel it could limit freedom of speech, whereas those who back it say self regulation - the current system of press regulation - has been shown to be ineffective in preventing press intrusion.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson says Labour are now expected to table parliamentary amendments to produce what they describe as "a Leveson compliant royal charter"...
The prime minister is understood to have told Mr Clegg and Mr Miliband by phone on Thursday that he would not accept a press law of any kind.
The deputy prime minister said he was "disappointed and surprised that David Cameron has decided to walk away from the cross-party talks" just when "real progress" was being made.
"Clearly I don't agree with David Cameron's approach. I will be working with politicians... from all parties to make sure we deliver the right solution," he said, adding that press regulation should not be the subject of "party political points scoring".
Nick Clegg: "David Cameron has decided to turn his back on a cross-party approach, I have not..."
Meanwhile, media reform campaign group Hacked Off said the prime minister's announcement "shows that he's still protecting his friends in the press and betraying press abuse victims".
Its director, Prof Brian Cathcart, said the system Mr Cameron wanted to introduce would represent an "appalling betrayal" of the victims of press abuse who gave evidence to the inquiry.
"What David Cameron proposes is not real change. His charter is a complete disappointment, not only to those who gave evidence to the inquiry but the country," he said.
Baroness Sheila Hollins, the mother of Abigail Witchalls who was attacked and became the subject of press intrusion, said she was "extremely angry" that the prime minister stepped away from the talks.
'Commons confrontation'
She said Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations "do in fact secure the freedom of the press, but it's the freedom of the press to act in an ethical and responsible way" rather than the freedom for them to work in a way that intrudes on people's lives...
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Doesn't look like Dodgy Dave is being a strong leader, it looks like the more conniving sections of the powerful press are pulling his strings. What a farce. |
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