News of the World's ex-legal manager insists he showed James Murdoch evidence of phone-hacking in 2008

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2074117/News-Worlds-ex-legal-manager-insists-showed-James-Murdoch-evidence-phone-hacking-2008.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

News of the World's ex-legal manager insists he showed James Murdoch evidence of phone-hacking in 2008

Madeleine McCann representative 'gave NOTW permission to publish Kate's diaries' claims lawyer, contradicting Kate's claims

James Murdoch 'shown' email which apparently reveals phone-hacking went beyond a single reporter

By Rob Cooper
Last updated at 4:20 PM on 14th December 2011

The News of the World’s ex-legal manager today insisted that he told James Murdoch there was 'direct and hard evidence' that phone hacking extended beyond a single reporter in 2008.

Tom Crone said he showed the News International chief a printout of the now-notorious 'For Neville' email at a meeting also attended by the paper’s then-editor Colin Myler.

The email, which contained transcripts of illegally intercepted voicemail messages, apparently showed that hacking went beyond a single rogue reporter.

Image
Email claims: Tom Crone, pictured giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry yesterday, today said he showed James Murdoch in 2008 there was evidence phone hacking went beyond a single rogue reporter

Mr Crone told the Leveson Inquiry that he had shown Mr Murdoch a number of documents which included the 'For Neville' message during the meeting on June 10, 2008.

'I cannot remember whether they were passed across the table to him, but I am pretty sure I held up the front page of the email,' he said.

'I am also pretty sure that he already knew about it - in terms of it had been described to him already, which I think the other documents that have come out suggest anyway.'

Clive Goodman, the News of the World’s former royal editor, was jailed along with private investigator Glenn Mulcaire in January 2007 after they admitted intercepting voicemail messages left on royal aides’ phones.

Image
Claims: James Murdoch was shown evidence that phone hacking was more widespread than just one reporter, Tom Crone said

Yesterday the inquiry was told Mr Murdoch was sent emails which revealed that phone-hacking was ‘rife’ at the News of the World in 2008.

Mr Myler forwarded the executive an email exchange and added the note: ‘Unfortunately it is as bad as we feared’.

Today Mr Crone said: 'What was certainly discussed was the email - not described as For Neville, but the damning email - and what it meant in terms of further involvement in phone hacking beyond Goodman and Mulcaire.

'And what was relayed to Mr Murdoch was that this document clearly was direct and hard evidence of that being the case.'

Mr Murdoch has insisted that he was not shown the email or told that it proved phone hacking was more widespread at the News of the World than previously thought.

The crucial 'For Neville' message is thought to have been intended for Neville Thurlbeck, the paper's chief reporter.

The meeting with Mr Murdoch had been arranged to discuss a claim brought by Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Gordon Taylor over the hacking of his phone by the News of the World, the inquiry heard.

Image
Former News of the World editor Colin Myler arrives at the Leveson Inquiry today

Mr Crone said he only 'temporarily' breathed a sigh of relief when the case was settled, adding: 'I was expecting another claim, frankly.'

Explaining why the paper’s publishers agreed to pay Mr Taylor £425,000 plus costs, the lawyer said the company wanted to protect its reputation and reduce the likelihood of further expensive litigation.

Robert Jay QC, counsel to the inquiry, asked him: 'This might also be interpreted as, to use a blanket term, a culture of cover-up. Would you accept that?'

Mr Crone replied: 'No, I don’t think I would. It’s a culture of avoiding reputational damage through bad publicity, but it certainly isn’t a culture of cover-up if the damning documents are in the police’s possession and in fact came from the police.'

Mr Crone also said he understood a representative of Madeleine McCann’s family gave the News of the World permission to publish the personal diary of the missing girl’s mother.

Kate McCann told the inquiry last month that she felt 'violated' and like 'climbing into a hole and not coming out' when the intensely private journal appeared in the paper on September 14, 2008.

Mr Crone said today: 'My understanding was that the representative of the McCanns had given the OK, the permission to the head of the newsdesk at the News of the World, to run the diaries or extracts from the diaries. I think he had emails to support that.'

Mr Jay said: 'I have seen some documents which on one interpretation of them broadly support what you are saying.'

Separately, appearing before the inquiry today, former News of the World editor Colin Myler said he 'did not recognise' much of the evidence given by Paul McMullan, the paper's ex-deputy features editor.

Mr McMullan told the hearing last month that phone hacking was in the public interest, claimed celebrities often 'loved' being chased by journalists, and argued that 'privacy is for paedos'.

Mr Myler said today: 'The criminality that took place, if it did take place, at the News of the World, is one thing, and whatever acts that individuals took part in, the full force of the law should take care of them. I'm sure it will.

'Mr McMullan often drifted off into a world of car chases, hacking phones, blagging, doing rather disagreeable things, and that is no world that I recognise.'

Mr Myler took over running the News of the World in January 2007 after Andy Coulson resigned as editor when Goodman and Mulcaire were jailed.

He spoke of losing his job as the Sunday Mirror's editor in 2001 after publishing an interview that led to the collapse of the first criminal trial of footballers Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate.

'Being an editor is all about learning, and you learn from experience, and sometimes you make the wrong decision. The impact of making the wrong decision as an editor can be severe,' he said.

Looks like the Daily Mail has stuck its head above the parapet and mentioned that the McCanns probably sold the diary to the NOTW (via their PR - Clarrie the Spin).

Sadly no other media sharing it as far as I can see.

Andy Davies from Channel 4 Home Affairs recent tweets @adavies4

Clarence Mitchell has just claimed to my colleague that at no point did Edmondson spell out to him #NOTW had Kate McCann's diary.


Mitchell says he received 1 phone call from #NOTW's Edmondson on the Friday night and 1 text on Sat night before publication...


Edmondson's text, claims Mitchell, was along the lines of #NOTW to expose Portuguese lies.

Suffice it to say, Clarence Mitchell v angry about claim that he OK'd Kate McCann diary publication.


IMO Suffice it is to say Clarence Mitchell is not speaking under oath.

old article:

Portuguese police accuse McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell of 'lying through his teeth'


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-559675/Portuguese-police-accuse-McCanns-spokesman-Clarence-Mitchell-lying-teeth.html