Justice Saunders Sentencing Remarks at the Hacking Trial

Posted on July 4, 2014 by davidhencke

What the judge said about Coulson and the other defendants in full.Andy Coulson got 18 months in jail.

R –v- Coulson and others.

Sentencing Remarks

Parliament has decided that it is a criminal offence to access the voicemails of other people without their consent or an order of the court. Parliament has decided that the offence applies to members of the press in the same way as it does to all other citizens. This law provides the same protection to all citizens including those who, for one reason or another, are in the public eye. Parliament set the maximum sentence for the offence of intercepting communications at 2 years imprisonment and Parliament has decided that the same maximum sentence applies to an offence of conspiracy which can cover, as it does in this case, a very large number of individual offences.

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Phone Hacking Trial: Summing up, Coulson made no effort to inquire into extent of phone hacking at NoTW in 2004 – Martin Hickman

Posted on June 9, 2014 by davidhencke

The judge makes two very important points re Andy Coulson revealing David Blunkett’s affair with Kimberley Quinn – first a public interest justification that he was breaching security was never revealed in the public article- and secondly when he realised Blunkett’s phone had been hacked – he made no further inquiries way back in 2004 to find out whether phone hacking was widespread at the News of the World. One can only wonder why.

Inforrm's Blog

Day 117: Andy Coulson made no attempt to inquire into the extent of phone hacking at the News of the World in 2004 after the chief reporter eavesdropped the messages of the Home Secretary, the Old Bailey was told today.

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Phone Hacking Trial: Mr Justice Saunders begins three-day summing up – Martin Hickman

Posted on June 5, 2014 by davidhencke

The judge begins his summing up. Strictly no comment.

Inforrm's Blog

Day 115: Jurors in Court 12 of the Old Bailey will have to determine three key issues about phone hacking at the News of the World: how much was there, when – and who knew?, the judge said today.

Beginning his three-day summing up in the phone hacking trial, Mr Justice John Saunders said the jury should disregard all extraneous matters when deciding whether the seven defendants were guilty or not guilty.

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