Episode 26 The Phone Hacking Inquiry

Time for a review of the Leveson Inquiry.

An implication was clear. News International turn against

coalition. That is the high watermark of the arrogance of power

without was there the ability. -- without responsibility. Lord

Justice Leveson returned after a week in which his inquiry did not

sit but which still saw him making headlines. When he got back to

business, he had plenty to say about that article. As the inquiry

resumed on day 87... On Friday 15th June, the Mail on Sunday contacted

the inquiry, outlining in broad terms a story that quotes an

excellent source. It was a tale that began with a speech in

February in which Michael Gove said there was a chilling atmosphere

towards freedom of expression coming from the Leveson Inquiry.

This was no secret. The education secretary stood by his arguments.

The day after the address, the prime minister said Michael Gove

had made an important point. want a vibrant press that feels it

can call the powerful to let out. What happened next was revealed by

the Mail on Sunday. Lord Justice Leveson got in contact with the

most senior civil servant in the country, Sir Jeremy Heywood. The

newspaper said that conversation had been interpreted as a threat to

resign. I want to to find out whether Michael Gove was speaking

for the government, whether it was thought that the existence of the

inquiry was having a chilling effect on healthy and vibrant

journalism, and whether the government had a few on any

potential recommendations. That is, I was concerned about the

perception that the inquiry was being undermined while it was

taking place. I was told that no fixed view had been formed. And

that it was wrong to interpret any concerns all collective view.

said the papers were entitled to hold him to account. However, it

can be argued that what has happened is an example of an

approach that seeks to convert any attempt to question the conduct of

the press as an attack on free speech. He knew he was being

closely watched for signs he had already decided on his conclusions.

On every day of the inquiry, every exchange I have with a witness will

be analysed and considered in order to reveal a hidden agenda. There is

no hidden agenda. There were recollections of meeting James

Murdoch and Alistair Darling from one of the witnesses. It was

gruesome. He criticised Alistair Darling over the earlier decision

that Mr Darling had taken over the acquisition of BSkyB. -- the

requirement of Sky to sell its shares in BSkyB. It was both

socially inappropriate for what would normally be an exchange of

political gossip and inappropriate otherwise. It was a classic English

embarrassment where no-one knew where to look. He did not warm to

the view that papers were the voice of their readers. When I read a

column for a leader in the papers saying, our leaders say this, I am

sceptical. They I to judge it by totally unscientific methods like

volume of e-mails. They do not analyse what their readers believe.

In most cases, these opinions are formed by half a dozen people.

it was later explained that comment was important to papers because

they con -- compete with broadcasters. They no longer want

to be a newspaper of record but to provide analysis for comment. They

do not want to regurgitate what their readers have seen on the Ten

O'clock News bulletins the night before. That has changed the

character of the product. It is something that the inquiry

has heard it time and time again - newspapers his television and radio.

An inquiry barrister asked if that... Will all of that left

political coverage? You have explained that you take the view

that most people have crossed the line between scepticism of

politicians and cynicism. When you see most papers, do you include

your own? I would regard the Independent as whole police

sceptical. I would say the Guardian is healthily sceptical I would say

that papers like the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph have become too

cynical. There was nothing year in rough handling of politicians,

according to a former Times political editor. There were

occasions when the treatment of certain politicians was over the

top. I can recall the newspaper trade and of John Major, Neil

Kinnock, Gordon Brown, where it got too personal. -- newspaper

treatment. However, I do not regret the passing of the age of deference

at all. There has not been much deference to Jimmy Carr since the

Times reveal details of his taxation arrangements. The Leveson

Inquiry heard how the investigation was pursued. In our series of

investigations last week, the disclosures about tax avoidance, we

used an undercover reporter to become involved in that. There was

a lot of discussion within the Times about the way we went about

our investigation. High relief provided that you know what you are

after her is in the public interest, you have to believe that what you

are dealing in the public interest. Such techniques are perfectly OK.

Channel 4 News has long prided itself on the exclusives. But they

may have missed a few opportunities. One would be staking out Downing

Street and he would be aware of the comings and goings of some of the

Peter Kay -- individuals have featured in this inquiry. I do not

know why we never really asked what they were doing there. In some ways,

we did not ask for because we felt it would be visited upon us.

Sometimes broadcasters opened their cheque books. We paid Monica

Lewinsky for the first interview that she gave after the shenanigans

with Bill Clinton. However, that, in my opinion, that was different.

The idea that you are paying someone to give you information

about... Or give you access to material that they are able to

access through their work, that is totally unacceptable. Jon Snow is

both a journalist and celebrity. He has his own tussles with the media.

As someone who has been apologise to by a tabloid, the original

offence spread over five pages, the conviction that it was completely

untrue, the retraction, the apology... The apology was 1.5

inches. The wrestle was whether they should be a photograph of me a

part it or not. He had no problem with attack in the papers. There is

something SED is about -- insidious about Associated Newspapers. I

believe they have an agenda for trying to undermine or destroy the

careers of individual people in public life. That is not healthy.

This is not a question of suppressing press freedom. It is

about dealing with the important things in life instead. It is

pernicious and I think at times mendacious. And I try to analyse if

a lot, I tried to see what it is that makes this worthwhile. Where

does it come from? What role does the editor at Associated Newspapers

Mendacious is quite a charge, but he was not asked to provide any

evidence of his own. Next up was the Mail on Sunday journalist to

wrote that story about the contact with the Cabinet Secretary. Yet

despite spending 20 minutes addressing the issue that morning,

the judge reached what was perhaps a surprising conclusion. I have no

intention of asking any questions about 17th June. There is some

nonsense that I would like to deal with. He is said that the reporter

had been invited before he wrote his article. He was questioned

about the comment that found its way into his pieces? I tried to

rattle of Nine News stories in a fair and balanced way. So when you

write a news report, that you would insure, or try to ensure as its you

can, that there is no comment or opinion without our article?

Broadly speaking, yes. But when you are riding a news story, there is

an element of story and Alaric -- narrative. And, if you were

reporting the bare facts, you would be left with a pretty dry story, at

the end of the day. At the end of the day, there is an element of

interpretation. I know people who were involved in that flow of

information. It was an open secret that Downing Street could more or

less dictate the terms of the journalists. And then we heard from

this up to the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, who also made

bread Michelle, in a state room at Number Ten. News Corp's attempts to

buy the be -- BSkyB shares that it did not already Yarin, was on the

agenda. I was not entirely surprised that we would take the

opportunity, given that we were sitting in a run together, to try

and pick my brains. In an e-mail to James Murdoch, Fred Michele said

that they should discuss any Labour on board as it would influence

Vince Cable. He had no recollection. It strikes me in the way that this

is phrased, there is an implication that I was offering strategic

advice to News Corp. In return for the furtherance of their beards. At

that time, it was in progress. And that I was offering that advice

with the implication that Vince Cable would be receptive if they

took one stance or another in relation to the Labour Party. That,

I completely reject. 28 people, 22 of them children, died when a train

crashed in Switzerland in March. A British boy was one of the victims.

A solicitor and friend of the family told the inquiry that his

nine-year-old sister was photographed on the porch of the

hotel has signed to grieving families. And how newspapers quoted

from a message posted on a block set up for the children's family is.

The Daily Mail published an article and online on their website, the

online article, a copy which is exhibit three, included the

photograph of his sister, the family photographs which I will

describe in a minute, and the photograph of Sebastian in his

skiing outfit which was taken from the or mind block. Some of the

pictures were taken from Sebastian putts father's Facebook account.

The photographs published of your clients on holiday, one at croc to

show only Sebastian, and were taken from Mr Rolls's Facebook page on

Friday, at a time when they were openly accessible. We know that the

page's prissy sessions have now increased and we have removed the

photographs from the website. Mail expressed its in the but only

recently removed the picture of his sister. The son was asked not to

print a pitch of Sebastian, they used one anyway. British

journalists turned up at the family home in Belgium. Although the

reporter was said to be polite and somewhat apologetic. There was no

sense of apology at all from some in the foreign media. One Belgian

newspaper and one Belgian magazine printed that picture of her lane up

on their front pages. That is exhibited in exhibit a lemon. Ask

you to turn that up because of the distressing incident that took

place in respect of it, which is that Edward saw the magazine in a

supermarket with his daughter as it was Premier League displayed. And

they were both very upset by it. As they passed it, another member of

the public 0.2 them both. A letter to the Press Complaints Commission,

did see fewer reporters outside the home and meant that none were

President as his funeral. Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb are used to be an

adviser to Nick Clegg. While Business Secretary Vince Cable was

deciding whether to report the news Corp BSkyB bid to Ofcom. And then

Fred Lamb took two meetings. It was uncovered by his wife on the

morning of this appearance. He read that account of what he described

as an extraordinary encounter. have been supportive of the

coalition, but if it goes the wrong way, he is worried about the

implications. It was brazen. The case is referred to Ofcom, they --

turn nasty. Refer the case and the implication was clear out - the

News Corp would turn against the coalition. He cut not remember the

words that Michelle had used. But I remember that I left that meeting

with a very clear understanding that, firstly, they had been trying

to be helpful since the election, through their newspapers. But, that

if things went the wrong way, in terms of the actions that Vince

Cable took, in exercising his responsibility, then he was

concerned that things could change. And I took that to mean very

clearly, that the positive coverage that they had given, might change.

Now it Clegg told the inquiry that he did not regard the threat as

credible. He said that he had been horrified by what had been taking

place at the meeting. It left an obvious question. I have been asked

if we this to you, why were you so late in coming forward with these

terms, with his evidence? I have been thinking for some time about

whether I should contact the inquiry. I had been thinking over

in my mind, at a time when I have been trying to get to grips with

new ministerial responsibilities. When Vince Cable gave his evidence,

I felt that I had to tell the story of what happened. In a sense, you

are left with a gap, you are left with a lack of clarity. I felt that

it was important that you got that full story. We have long thought

that we knew the full story about the former Conservative minister

who was the subject of a kiss-and- tell in the 90s and famously

accused of conducting an affair with an actress while wearing a

replica football strip. When I comes to the wretched Chelsea strip.

I never felt the need to own one. And that was a total invention. And

then Mr Clifford, I am amazed, it does not take his own very

seriously. This was cooked up between him and the then deputy

editor of the Sun, Mr Higgins. Because the then editor, he is now

of course they senior statesman. I don't want to go to my grave with

the only thing people remembering about me as some Chelsea shirt.

That is a sign and that is the high-water mark of the arrogance of

power without responsibility. Because, they made that up, they

made that up with total cynicism. In this telling evidence on the

final day of the inquiry is looking at the relationship between press

and politicians. The former minister possibly best known for

something that he says they made up. They know -- what no-one can ignore