Quote:John Yates: Phone hacking investigation was a 'cock up'

John Yates, Assistant Commissioner of the Met police, has admitted letting down the victims of the News of the World phone hacking scandal

John Yates, if not quite squirming in his armchair, appears distinctly uncomfortable.

Seated in an office high up in Scotland Yard, with views over London, Assistant Commissioner Yates is finally making his apologies.

Two years ago, in July 2009, 'Yates of the Yard' had the chance to reopen the Metropolitan police's investigation into "industrial scale" phone hacking at the News of the World. He missed it.

Instead of re-examining 11,000 pages of material recovered from the home of the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, jailed in 2007 for hacking into the mobile phones of Royal aides, Yates decided after eight hours' consideration, which included consulting the Crown Prosecution Service and investigating officers, that there was no likelihood of further convictions.

It was a decision he now admits was a "pretty crap one".

Jan Klimkowski Wrote:Last night, watching BBC2's Newsnight, I briefly stirred from slumber when their film used first hand insider sources (unidentified) to reveal how Met Police corruption went down.

The problem for any rozzer seeking to sell information to a hack is the electronic audit trail. Every key stroke on a police computer is recorded and can be accessed retrospectively by Professional Standards/Internal Affairs cops.

So, how did these corrupt cops get round the electronic audit trail?

Allegedly, they set the NOTW hacks up as Confidential Informants. This automatically took all activity outside all standard electronic audit.

If this allegation is true - again, that Met Police officers set up NOTW journalists as Confidential Informants (ie protected intelligence sources) - then the Met is in deep deep trouble.

The more humorous colour is that the payments would often take place in a drive-thru McDonalds near Wapping, where the cash would be handed over in a brown paper bag over a Royale with Cheese.

Some things change.

Some things stay the same.

Quote:

News International, the British arm of Murdoch's media empire, "has always worked on the principle of omertà: Do not say anything to anybody outside the family, and we will look after you,' " notes a former Murdoch editor who knows the system well. "Now they are hanging people out to dry. The moment you do that, the omertà is gone, and people are going to talk. It looks like a circular firing squad."

News of the World was always Murdoch's "baby," one of the largest newspapers in the English-speaking world, with 2.6 million readers. As anyone in the business will tell you, the standards and culture of a journalistic institution are set from the top down, by its owner, publisher, and top editors. Reporters and editors do not routinely break the law, bribe policemen, wiretap, and generally conduct themselves like thugs unless it is a matter of recognized and understood policy. Private detectives and phone hackers do not become the primary sources of a newspaper's information without the tacit knowledge and approval of the people at the top, all the more so in the case of newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch, according to those who know him best.

As one of his former top executivesonce a close aidetold me, "This scandal and all its implications could not have happened anywhere else. Only in Murdoch's orbit. The hacking at News of the World was done on an industrial scale. More than anyone, Murdoch invented and established this culture in the newsroom, where you do whatever it takes to get the story, take no prisoners, destroy the competition, and the end will justify the means."

"In the end, what you sow is what you reap," said this same executive. "Now Murdoch is a victim of the culture that he created. It is a logical conclusion, and it is his people at the top who encouraged lawbreaking and hacking phones and condoned it."

Could Murdoch eventually be criminally charged? He has always surrounded himself with trusted subordinates and family members, so perhaps it is unlikely. Though Murdoch has strenuously denied any knowledge at all of the hacking and bribery, it's hard to believe that his top deputies at the paper didn't think they had a green light from him to use such untraditional reportorial methods. Investigators are already assembling voluminous records that demonstrate the systemic lawbreaking at News of the World, and Scotland Yard seems to believe what was happening in the newsroom was endemic at the highest levels at the paper and evident within the corporate structure. Checks have been found showing tens of thousands of dollars of payments at a time.

For this reporter, it is impossible not to consider these facts through the prism of Watergate. When Bob Woodward and I came up against difficult ethical questions, such as whether to approach grand jurors for information (which we did, and perhaps shouldn't have), we sought executive editor Ben Bradlee's counsel, and he in turn called in the company lawyers, who gave the go-ahead and outlined the legal issues in full. Publisher Katharine Graham was informed. Likewise, Bradlee was aware when I obtained private telephone and credit-card records of one of the Watergate figures.

All institutions have lapses, even great ones, especially by individual rogue employeesfamously in recent years at The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the three original TV networks. But can anyone who knows and understands the journalistic process imagine the kind of tactics regularly employed by the Murdoch press, especially at News of the World, being condoned at the Post or the Times?

Quote:John O'Connor: The suspects are in charge of the case

News International and the Metropolitan Police are looking into corruption at Wapping. But face-saving is their priority

The IndependentSunday, 10 July 2011

Scotland Yard is facing its worst corruption crisis since the 1970s, when senior police officers were found to be controlling London's pornography industry. The investigation and subsequent purge left many detectives out of a job and in some case serving prison sentences. The gloom that surrounded the Yard in those days is similar to the atmosphere that pervades it today.

Each day reveals more details of misconduct by the press and the police. The investigation is going to be looking for heads to roll, and the higher the rank the better. This extraordinary state of affairs has its roots back in the Eighties, in the days when News International was dependent on the police to protect its new premises in Wapping.

Violent demonstrations occurred each night and the police were able to assist News International in getting its product out on to the streets. This was a complete turnaround for The Times newspaper, which only a decade earlier had launched the huge inquiry into police corruption that shook Scotland Yard to its foundations. News International was now best friends with Scotland Yard, and senior executives and top policemen wined and dined together on a regular basis.

Nobody could see the potential problems of a free lunch. This mutual admiration society worked very well for a time. Information passed freely both ways. The police benefited from undercover operations run by the newspapers, and in return the papers got their exclusive stories. This comfortable arrangement was cemented by regular briefings from Scotland Yard's press bureau to the national press directly and sometimes through the Crime Writers Association.

The culture of police officers mixing with journalists was encouraged, and little thought was given to the potential of misconduct. Crime writers were expected to know lots of police officers, and there was great competition to get the inside story. If only things could have stayed the same.

The News of the World began to pursue a strategy of aggressively targeting celebrities. The use of "the Fake Sheikh", Mazher Mahmood, was very effective, and produced some exclusive exposés on the greed and stupidity of people who should have known better. They were able to obtain confidential information on individuals including criminal records but they were in too much of a hurry to research public records.

Some private detective agencies realised that there was money to be earned from celebrity stories and confidential crime stories. Some of these detective agencies were run by former Metropolitan Police officers who maintained good contacts with serving officers. Some ex-police officers set themselves up as stringers, and provided a conduit for confidential information supplied by officers directly to the press. Once the Rubicon had been crossed, it was comparatively easy for police officers to contravene the Data Protection Act and supply information from the Police National Computer.

Short cuts adopted by the News of the World put them closer to the coalface. The strategy of using several intermediaries was abandoned and they employed private detectives such as Jonathan Rees of Southern Investigations and Glenn Mulcaire. This was clearly cheaper but the drawback was that if the private detectives came unstuck so did those who hired them.

The Department of Professional Standards at Scotland Yard has not been standing idly by. A number of undercover operations were mounted against ex- and serving police officers who were suspected of receiving corrupt payments. Nobody in authority was prepared to recognise the endemic nature of this corruption and each case was dealt with as a stand-alone incident. Much the same attitude was adopted when Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman were convicted of hacking messages of members of the royal family.

At this stage, the number of police officers involved is unknown. News International's attempts to switch the focus of the inquiry onto the police by releasing details of payments to officers raised more questions than answers. The obvious questions are "What about payments to intermediaries?" and "What were the payments for?" Hospitality and gifts must also be probed.

The two organisations that are carrying out the investigations are... the Metropolitan Police and News International, both of whom are the subject of these allegations.

It is with breathtaking cheek that News International announced its own investigation. It is quite clear that getting to the truth is not a goal, its real objective is damage limitation and face-saving. It is quite clear that any number of junior staff will be sacrificed in order the save the skins of the real decision-makers. The News International investigation should be laughed out of court, not that it is ever likely to get there.

The new police investigation is even more curious. Everybody wants to know why the original hacking investigation was curtailed after the convictions of Mulcaire and Goodman. It seems unlikely that this decision was made solely by the police, but it is a possibility, and if so, why?

The suspicion must be that pressure was brought to bear by either News International, the Crown Prosecution Service or a very high-ranking police officer, or perhaps a combination of all three.

The new police investigation into hacking has been running since January 2011 and the police corruption enquiry has only just begun. It seems to me that this is a classic situation whereby an outside police force should be used, under the supervision of the Independent Police Complaints Commission. There is clear precedent for using an outside force, and if the public are to be convinced that this is a fair and unbiased investigation then that should clearly point to using an independent force outside of London.

This is no reflection on the skill, determination or ability of Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, but the pressure which killed off the first enquiry might still exist.

The Metropolitan Police had one go at this and fell very short. At risk is the reputation and integrity of the service. It cannot afford to get it wrong again. The problem is that senior officers did not recognise the extent of the corruption and were probably unwilling to upset their new found pals in the media.

They must accept their responsibility for what has happened. It is astonishing that with so many resources being spent on anti-corruption, they could not see it when it was right under their noses.

John O'Connor is former commander of the Flying Squad at Scotland Yard

Quote:At least two Scotland Yard protection officers are alleged to have jeopardised the security of the royal family by selling the contact details of the Queen, Prince Charles and their friends and associates to the News of the World.

Sources have told the Guardian that a contacts book was sold for £1,000 to the paper by the officers who were assigned to protect the royal family.

A 2007 report for News International, prepared by a law firm, showed emails in which the purchase of the royals' details was discussed within the Sunday tabloid.

The Guardian understands from sources with knowledge of the 2007 report that a senior executive at the News of the World exchanged emails about the alleged illegal purchase of the contacts book with a senior reporter. It is believed the extensive details in the book allowed the News of the World to hack phones, helped by information passed on by at least two royal protection officers.

The information was only passed by News International to the police in June this year despite the emails and other documentation having been uncovered by an internal NI investigation in 2007.

Quote:Journalists from across News International repeatedly targeted the former prime minister Gordon Brown, attempting to access his voicemail and obtaining information from his bank account, his legal file as well as his family's medical records.

There is also evidence that a private investigator used a serving police officer to trawl the police national computer for information about him.

That investigator also targeted another Labour MP who was the subject of hostile inquiries by the News of the World, but it has not confirmed whether News International was specifically involved in trawling police computers for information on Brown.

Separately, Brown's tax paperwork was taken from his accountant's office apparently by hacking into the firm's computer. This was passed to another newspaper.

Brown was targeted during a period of more than 10 years, both as chancellor of the exchequer and as prime minister. Some of the activity clearly was illegal. Other incidents breached his privacy but not the law. An investigation by the Guardian has found that:

Scotland Yard has discovered references to both Brown and his wife, Sarah, in paperwork seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who specialised in phone hacking for the News of the World;

Abbey National bank found evidence suggesting that a "blagger" acting for the Sunday Times on six occasions posed as Brown and gained details from his account;

Brown's London lawyers, Allen & Overy, were tricked into handing over details from his file by a conman working for the Sunday Times;

Details from his infant son's medical records were obtained by the Sun, who published a story about the child's serious illness.

Brown joins a long list of Labour politicians who are known to have been targeted by private investigators working for News International, including the former prime minister Tony Blair and his media adviser Alastair Campbell, the former deputy prime minister John Prescott and his political adviser Joan Hammell, Peter Mandelson as trade secretary, Jack Straw and David Blunkett as home secretaries, Tessa Jowell as media secretary and her special adviser Bill Bush, and Chris Bryant as minister for Europe.

The sheer scale of the data assault on Brown is unusual, with evidence of attempts to obtain his legal, financial, tax, medical and police records as well as to listen to his voicemail. All of these incidents are linked to media organisations. In many cases, there is evidence of a link to News International.

Scotland Yard recently wrote separately to Brown and to his wife to tell them that their details had been found in evidence collected by Operation Weeting, the special inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World. It is believed that this refers to handwritten notes kept by Mulcaire, which were seized by police in August 2006 and never previously investigated. Brown last year asked Scotland Yard if there was evidence that he had been targeted by the private investigator and was told there was none.

Journalists who have worked at News International say they believe that Brown's personal bank account was accessed on several occasions when he was chancellor of the exchequer. An internal inquiry by Abbey National's fraud department found that during January 2000, somebody acting on behalf of the Sunday Times contacted their Bradford call centre six times, posing as Brown, and succeeded in extracting details from his account.

Abbey National's senior lawyer sent a summary of their findings to the editor of the Sunday Times, John Witherow, concluding: "On the basis of these facts and inquiries, I am drawn to the conclusion that someone from the Sunday Times or acting on its behalf has masqueraded as Mr Brown for the purpose of obtaining information from Abbey National by deception."

Quote:Police: Leaks on UK scandal hurt probe

LONDON (AP) - British police say media leaks relating to a phone-hacking scandal are part of a "deliberate campaign" to undermined a corruption investigation.

Scotland Yard says the release of certain information - known to only a select few - could have a "significant impact" on the investigation.

The police force said it is "extremely concerned and disappointed" over the leaks.

Quote:News Corp investors attack Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch accused of 'egregious' behaviour for using firm as 'family candy jar' in lawsuit that claims it is 'inconceivable' he was unaware of phone hacking at News of the World

Rupert Neate guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 July 2011 17.28 BST

A powerful group of News Corp's shareholders have accused Rupert Murdoch of "egregious" behaviour and treating his media empire like a "family candy jar".

The shareholder group, which includes banks and pension funds, accused Murdoch of "rampant nepotism" and using News Corp resources for "his own personal and political objectives".

The institutional shareholders, led by the Amalgamated Bank, said it was "inconceivable" that Murdoch would not have been aware of rampant phone hacking at the News of the World.

"It is inconceivable that [James] Murdoch and his fellow board members would not have been aware of the illicit news gathering practices. And yet, the board took no real action to investigate the allegations until 7 July 2011, when Murdoch selected two of his co-directors to deal with the imbroglio," the shareholders said in a legal filing in Delaware, where News Corp is registered.

"These revelations should not have taken years to uncover and stop," the filing adds. "[They] show a culture run amuck within News Corp and a board that provides no effective review or oversight."

The shareholders noted that Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International and editor of the News of the World at the time of the hacking, was "consistently promoted even while the scandal was unfolding".

The legal filing is an update to an earlier lawsuit against the appointment of Elisabeth Murdoch to News Corp's board following the $615m (£383m) acquisition of her Shine Group production company.

"News Corp's behaviour has become an egregious collection of nepotism and corporate governance failures, with a board completely unwilling to provide even the slightest level of adult supervision," said Jay Eisenhofer, a Grant & Eisenhofer lawyer representing the shareholder group.

"The result has been a piling on of questionable deals, a waste of corporate resources, a starring role in a blockbuster scandal, and a gigantic public relations disaster. It is way past time that the News Corp board step in and initiate serious changes to the company's corporate governance."

The legal complaint filed in Delaware chancery court said: "Murdoch has treated News Corp like a family candy jar, which he raids whenever his appetite strikes. Ignoring the distinction between public and family business, the board has repeatedly permitted Murdoch to: intertwine rampant nepotism in the conduct of company business; undertake actions designed to maintain his control over News Corp; use News Corp resources for his own personal and political objectives; and reward himself handsomely with excessive compensation."

The shareholders complain that Murdoch's personal interference with good corporate governance has led to a so-called "Murdoch discount" that has depressed the value of the shares below those of other similar media companies.

"The fact that the board has been so passive despite years of misconduct is a testament to how lacking in independence its members are from the Murdoch family, shareholders allege. This has led to a 'Murdoch discount' in the marketplace," the complaint adds.

The shares were down 5% at $16.50 in New York trading at 3.45pm London time. The shareholder lobby group owns less than 1% of News Corp stock.