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Phone Hacking Trial: Coulson offered Goodman “every possible support” after arrest – Martin Hickman

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This secretly taped call between Andy Coulson and Clive Goodman – later to be jailed for phone hacking – reveals Coulson was prepared to back him to the end. It also reveals that as early as 2006 the NotW should have realised the game would be up because the Met police had extensive evidence of phone hacking from investigator Glenn Mulcaire’s files.

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Andy CoulsonDay 21 (Part 1):  Andy Coulson offered Clive Goodman “every possible support” after he was arrested for hacking into the voicemails of aides to the Royal family, the phone hacking trial heard today. Mr Coulson, then News of the World editor sympathised with Mr Goodman in  phone call on 8 November 2006. The call was  secretly taped by Mr Goodman.

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Charlie Brooks Will Lewis email exchange: Chris Bryant MP “making stuff up”

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This little gem from Peter Jukes comes from documents released in the hacking trial and shows the dislike in the Murdoch Empire for Chris Bryant having the temerity to suggest they could have been. involved in phone hacking. Note BBC Panorama being ” hit” by two legal letters and the determination that Rebekah Brooks must be protected from any suggestion that phone hacking took place prior to 2005. ” We will not let this happen”says Will Lewis. No comment is necessary now.

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Here’s the email exchange cited today in court between Rebekah Brooks‘ husband Charlie, and Will Lewis, formerly a senior executive at the Telegraph and then a senior News International executive.  It was prompted by questions raised in the House of Commons by the Labour MP Chris Bryant.

Will Lewis went on to run, under Lord Grabiner, the Management and Standards Committee, which provided evidence to the three MPS investigations – Operation Weeting, Elveden and Tuleta – as proof of co-operation with the police and compliance with US Department of Justice requirements under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Lewis is now a senior News Corp executive in New York.

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Phone Hacking Trial: Ian Edmondson halted payments to Glenn Mulcaire a year before he was arrested, Old Bailey hears – Martin Hickman

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This story reveals that Ian Edmondson, the News of the World news editor,accused alongside Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, of conspiring to hack phone messages, moved to cancel a £2,000 a week retainer to phone hacker, Glenn Mulcaire, as part of a cost saving exercise. The decision was taken 18 months before Mulcaire was arrested. An intervention by his defence lawyer makes it clear that he will be highlighting his attempts to sack Mulcaire to defend himself against the charges.

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????????????????Day 18: News of the World news editor Ian Edmondson halted payments to the paper’s phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire a year before he was arrested, the hacking trial heard today. Mr Edmondson is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of conspiring with Mulcaire and other former colleagues to intercept voicemail messages between 2000 and 2006.

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Phone Hacking Trial: Murdoch executive packed up phone hacking suspect’s belongings on day of his arrest, court hears – Martin Hickman

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This extraordinary story of a successful attempt to remove evidence from the News of the World’s office after James Weatherup, a news editor, who has already pleaded guilty of plotting phone hacking was arrested. No wonder the judge asked the witness,Frances Carmen, a former newsdesk secretary, to repeat the claims. Another story of an alleged cover up in the Murdoch empire

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James WeatherupDay 17:  One of Rupert Murdoch’s senior executives packed up the belongings of a News of the World reporter suspected of phone hacking and sent them away from the newspaper’s offices in a taxi, the Old Bailey heard today. Paul Nicholas, Deputy Managing Editor of the News of the World, acted on the day in April 2011 that former news editor James Weatherup was arrested at his home in Essex, Frances Carmen, the paper’s newsdesk secretary, told the jury.

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Phone Hacking Trial: Sun lawyer: “possible” that he gave advice to journalists on phone hacking, Old Bailey hears – Martin Hickman

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Lawyers are now under pressure at the Hacking Trial. Sun lawyer Justin Walford is pleading that he can’t remember whether he gave advice on phone hacking – rather like evidence given by the Murdochs to Parliament. But then he admits it is possible he did. As a former journo at the Guardian I know lawyers crawl over all copy before it is published, so his answers are at the very least rather interesting.

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Brooks arriving at Old BaileyDay 16:  A senior lawyer today said today that it was “possible” he had given advice to Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper group on phone hacking. Justin Walford, editorial legal counsel at News UK, who was being asked for a second time whether he had done so, went on to say: “I cannot remember.”

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Phone Hacking Trial: Sun political editor claimed evidence of non-existent affair between Home Sec and special adviser, court hears – Martin Hickman

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An extraordinary story of how surveillance and phone hacking were used to try and stand up a baseless story that former Labour home secretary Charles Clarke was having an affair. This time the ” victim” put an end to the tale by telling Trevor Kavanagh, then the Sun’s political editor, by refusing his offer to ” confess” and instead warning him that it was untrue and he would sue. Another murky look into the worst side of the tabloid world.

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Charles ClarkeDay 14:  The Sun’s political editor, Trevor Kavanagh, confronted a Home Secretary claiming to have “evidence” of a non-existent affair, the phone hacking trial was told today.  

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Phone Hacking Trial: Transcript and recording of Prince Harry’s voicemail found at royal editor’s home, jury told – Martin Hickman

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The scale of hacking by the News of the World into Prince Harry’s voicemail and his Royal aides is revealed after the police seized transcripts and recordings from the then Royal Editor Clive Goodman’s home. Another example of News International story searching at the time.

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harryDay 13 (cont):   The News of the World’s royal editor Clive Goodman had a verbatim transcript of a voicemail left by Prince Harry, the hacking trial was told today. The document and a poor-quality recording of the mobile phone message were seized by police from Mr Goodman’s home in south-west London in 2006, the court was told.

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Phone Hacking Trial: Former NoW journalist emailed Sun colleague about phone hacking, jury hears – Martin Hickman

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The scale of phone hacking across the News of the World and the Sun is revealed in today’s hearing – with the admission that Greg Miskiw, News of the World news editor who has pleaded guilty to conspiring to hack phones, contacting a Sun journalist about hacking Heather Mills phone. Glenn Muclaire’s large hacking target list is said to have included Kate Middleton.

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Greg MiskiwDAY 12: A former News of the World news editor emailed a Sun journalist about the targeting of Heather Mills’ mobile phone, the hacking trial heard today. Greg Miskiw wrote to the employee of the NoW’s sister paper on 29 May 2006, days after Ms Mills and Sir Paul McCartney had announced their separation.

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Phone Hacking Trial: “Just say I love you and it’s 25 grand”, Mulcaire heard saying on Blunkett tapes – Martin Hickman

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The avarice of £100,000 a year Glenn Mulcaire – who has already pleaded guilty to phone hacking – is revealed as he twice targeted the private love life of Labour Cabinet minister David Blunkett in this latest sordid episode in the hacking trial.

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Glenn MulcaireDay 11:  A private detective who hacked voicemails for the News of the World recorded himself saying over a message left by a Cabinet Minister: “Just say ‘I love you’ and it’s 25 grand.”  Glenn Mulcaire made the remark as he eavesdropped a message left by David Blunkett for a woman with whom he was developing a close friendship.

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Secret Murdoch recording : Exaro nominated in 2013 British Journalism Awards

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Exaro has been nominated for the the ‘breaking news award’, marking the ‘best story of the year’ in the 2013 British Journalism awards.
The tale which came from one of my sources revealed what Murdoch really thought about the phone hacking and bribery scandals and disclosed his fury about the police investigation.
There is also a tale on this site.
The story put together under Mark Watts, Exaro’s editor, was a team effort with a lot of input from Alex Varley-Winter.
Separately Fiona O’Cleirigh has been nominated for her series on Coiste for the ‘new journalist of the year’. The story was about £1.3m EU aid being given to an ex IRA prisoners group.
The full list of nominations are on the UK Press Gazette’s website.
AS you can see there will be stiff competition from the nationals but last year Exaro did achieve a breakthrough when I won Political Journalist of the year for the exposure of Ed Lester’s tax arrangements while he was head of the Student Loans Company.