Important developments in the News of the World hacking and bribing public officials story .
Yesterday saw two important developments on the criminal prosecutions of former News of the World employees. First, it was disclosed that on Wednesday 5 November 2014, a former News of the World journalist (who cannot be named for legal reasons) had been found guilty of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.
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The judge puts Charlie Brooks at centre of conspiracy verdict. Was he trying to hide evidence from police because he didn’t want The Guardian to reveal his addiction to lesbian DVDs and lose a book contract or was it part of the conspiracy to hide phone hacking evidence?
Day 118, Part 2: The charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice against Rebekah Brooks, News International former chief executive, and Mark Hanna, the newspaper group’s head of security, hinges on the evidence against her husband Charlie, the judge suggested today.
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Judge’s summing up ; Mulcaire’s suspected 12 victims named. Milly Dowler hacking central to case against Rebekah Brooks , Andy Coulson.and Stuart Kuttner.
Day 115, Part 2: Glenn Mulcaire may have hacked the phones of three female celebrities during Rebekah Brooks’ editorship of the News of the World, the Old Bailey heard.
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The scrum around defendant Rebekah Brooks at the Old Bailey. Pic courtesy Inforrm Blog
The first ever Old Bailey trial to be covered by tweeting is about to become a book.
Peter Jukes, the dramatist,citizen journalist and friend, has made a little bit of journalism history by providing instant tweets from the trial and got the public to back him through ” crowd sourcing.”
Now with the trial about to end he is producing a book subtitled The Inside Story of the Hacking Trial. This will not just be a rerun of his half a million words in tweets but the stuff reporters can’t print while a trial is in full swing because it would be contempt of court.
And as it involves the Murdoch empire there will be a lot to disclose that can’t be reported now.
To do this he has teamed up with Martin Hickman, whose blogs, with his permission, have been reproduced on this site as they appeared on Inforrm’s blog and Hacked Off websites. He is publishing the book under his own imprint, the Canbury Press.
It will be sold in four formats, including an e-book priced £8.99, from www.hackingtrial.com.
The four formats are e-book for quick release; first edition signed paperback with free e-book; the above with a dedication in the paperback and an invite to the launch party with special guests; and an access-all-areas pass.
Peter Jukes was recently named best reporter on Twitter and social media by Press Gazette in April and whose blog was nominated a month later for best UK news site by the London Press Club. He talks about book here.
He soundly beat yours truly as the best reporter on Twitter which is hardly surprising given his innovative skills. So be part of journalist history and buy into the new way journalism will survive well into the twenty first century.
The judge begins his summing up. Strictly no comment.
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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Charlie Brooks- just a loving husband not a criminal hiding a phone hacking scandal, his lawyer
Day 114, Part 1: Charlie Brooks is a loving husband who enjoys a few drinks down the pub and makes “stupid” decisions, rather than the mastermind of a criminal conspiracy, his lawyer told London’s Central Criminal Court today.
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Damning summing up by David Spens for defendant Clive Goodman who says he was ” groomed ” by Andy Coulson to take the phone hacking rap so other NI executives could escape blame.
Day 109: Clive Goodman, the News of the World’s royal editor, was “groomed” to take sole blame for the phone hacking scandal, his lawyer told a court today.
Making his closing speech at the phone hacking trial, David Spens, QC, said his client was encouraged by executives to stay silent in 2006-07 about the full scale of illegality at the paper as part of a “cynical” cover-up.
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So the powerful Rebekah Brooks has been a victim herself- subject to a misogynist witch hunt according to her defence lawyer,Jonathan Laidlaw
Day 108: Rebekah Brooks is the victim of a “witch-hunt” by the prosecuting authorities, her lawyer said today.
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Finally a date is set for the jury to retire and consider their verdict as Clive Goodman completes his evidence.
Day 106:
The jury in the phone hacking trial is set to retire to consider its verdicts on 9 June 2014, three weeks today, Mr Justice Saunders said this morning.
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A strong defence of Stuart Kuttner from Guy Black, the Conservative peer, and former director of the Press Complaints Commission.
Day 89: A newspaper executive on trial at the Old Bailey was an influential behind-the-scenes advisor to the Press Complaints Commission, a former PCC boss told the court today.
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Westminster Confidential 