Thread: Phone Hacking scandal snowballs

First it was celebs, then it turns out murder victims, victims of terrorism, and now dead soldiers.

Every newspaper has been doing it, there are bent coppers involved, and no-one's even asking about the security services' involvement, nor the politicians.

Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks should both end up in prison with any luck.

Murdoch will probably run and hide somewhere as usual.

LONDON -- Britain’s phone hacking scandal intensified Wednesday as the scope of tabloid intrusion into private voice mails became clearer: Murder victims. Terror victims. Film stars. Sports figures. Politicians. The royal family’s entourage.
Almost no one, it seems, was safe from a tabloid determined to beat its rivals, whatever it takes.
The focal point is the News of the World -- now facing a spreading advertising boycott -- and the top executives of its parent companies: Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, and her boss, media potentate Rupert Murdoch.

In his first comment since the latest details emerged, Murdoch said in a statement Wednesday that Brooks would continue to lead his British newspaper operation despite calls for her resignation.
The scandal, which has already touched the office of Prime Minister David Cameron, widened as the Metropolitan Police confirmed they were investigating evidence from News International that the tabloid made illegal payments to police officers in its quest for information.
The list of potential victims also grew. Revelations emerged Wednesday that the phones of relatives of people killed in the July 7, 2005, terrorist attacks on London’s transit system, as well as those tied to two more slain schoolgirls, may also have been targeted.
The true extent of the hacking is not yet clear -- and may not be known for months as inquiries unfold.
Graham Foulkes, whose 22-year-old son David died in the 2005 terrorist attacks, was told by police that he was on a list of potential hacking victims.
“I just felt stunned and horrified,” Foulkes told The Associated Press. “I find it hard to believe someone could be so wicked and so evil, and that someone could work for an organization that even today is trying to defend what they see as normal practices.”
Foulkes, who plans to mourn his son on Thursday’s sixth anniversary of the attack, said an independent investigation is needed because the police were compromised by accepting payoffs from the tabloid.
“The police are now implicated,” he said. “The prime minister must have an independent inquiry and all concerned should be prosecuted.”
Foulkes also demanded the resignation of Brooks, the former News of the World editor who is now chief executive of News International, the U.K. newspaper division of Murdoch’s News Corp. media empire. News Corp. owns a swath of newspapers, including News of the World, the Sun, and the Wall Street Journal.
“She’s gotta go,” Foulkes said. “She cannot say, oops, sorry, we’ve been caught out. Of course she’s responsible for the ethos and practices of her department. Her position is untenable.”
Brooks, one of the most powerful women in British journalism, maintains she did not know about the phone hacking. She said she will continue to direct the company.
Foulkes also challenged Murdoch -- a global media titan with newspaper, television, movie and book publishing interests in the United States, Britain, Australia and elsewhere -- to meet with him to discuss the intrusion into his privacy.

Read more: Spreading phone hacking scandal touches nerves - World - BradentonHerald.com

Further arrests are expected over phone hacking claims within days - as it emerges relatives of killed soldiers could have been targeted.

The Times reports five journalists and newspaper executives have been identified as suspects.

It comes as Times owner News International, which publishes the News Of The World (NOTW), the paper at the centre of the scandal, said it would be "appalled and horrified" if claims over the soldiers were true.

Meanwhile, lawyers said the families of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan may have been targeted by a private investigator working for the Sunday tabloid.

The personal details of the families of servicemen who died on the front line are reported to been found in the files of Glenn Mulcaire.

He and ex-NOTW royal editor Clive Goodman were jailed in 2007 for phone hacking.

A News International (NI) spokesman said: "News International's record as a friend of the armed services, and of our servicemen and servicewomen, is impeccable.

"Our titles have campaigned in support of the military over many years and will continue to do so.

"If these allegations are true we are absolutely appalled and horrified.

"We will be contacting the MoD immediately to try and verify the situation."

The MoD said the matter was for the Metropolitan Police, who are investigating the allegations.

"It would be inappropriate for us to comment whilst this investigation is ongoing," a spokesman said.

Carol Valentine, whose son Simon was killed by a blast during a patrol in Afghanistan's Helmand province in 2009, told Sky News the claims of hacking were "appalling".

Law firm MPH Solicitors - whose clients include Samantha Roberts, widow of one of the first Britons killed in Iraq in 2003 - said they were looking into the claims.

But senior lawyer Geraldine McCool said she had "never seen a news article that gave rise to concern that information had been obtained through phone hacking".

Meanwhile, the Press Complaints Commission has announced it will launch a review of "all aspects of press regulation" in the wake of the scandal.

The body said it had a responsibility to ensure "events of this sort" never happened again.

Chancellor George Osborne has revealed he had also been told by police that his name and phone number had appeared in notes belonging to Mulcaire.

However there was no suggestion the Chancellor's phone was hacked, Mr Osborne's spokesman stressed.

Families of 7/7 bombing victims and the parents of murdered Soham schoolgirls
Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, and as those of murdered Milly Dowler, have also been told by police they may have been targeted.

The latest allegations come after the rare intervention of Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation - the parent company of NI, which publishes the NOTW.

In a statement, he described phone hacking and claims the tabloid's journalists paid police as "deplorable and unacceptable".

However, he backed the NOTW's former editor and current NI chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, who has faced calls to resign from Labour leader Ed Miliband among others.

Mr Murdoch said: "Recent allegations of phone hacking and making payments to police with respect to the News Of The World are deplorable and unacceptable.

"I have made clear that our company must fully and proactively co-operate with the police in all investigations and that is exactly what News International has been doing and will continue to do under Rebekah Brooks' leadership.

"We are committed to addressing these issues fully and have taken a number of important steps to prevent them from happening again."

News International executives said they were "very close" to discovering who commissioned Mulcaire to allegedly hack Milly Dowler's phone - and said it was not Ms Brooks.

As well as phone hacking, police are also investigating allegations that journalists have paid police officers for information.

Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs on Wednesday that at least one public inquiry would take place as soon as police investigations were completed.

:: The scandal has hit BSkyB shares, which fell 18p to 827p on the London market on Wednesday as concerns grew over the possible impact it could have on News Corporation's bid for the satellite broadcaster.

http://www.capitalfm.com/on-air/news...ests-expected/

Out of interest - is there anyone where who got voicemail with their package, and doesn't know that there's a good chance it's probably accessible to anyone until they set their own password?

Originally Posted by Sailing into trouble

Agree this is sick. What is sicker that us the punters lap it up. News is what? The News of the World editor was Cameron's media advisor until this broke. What a sad reflection on the media. And we complain about the thais taking pictures of bodies and victims of crime. Shit we are all as bad as each other.

Close any rag down for a month year for ever. Set the bar so high that no one will go near it again.

Well fortunately there is quite a backlash going on, with people urging advertisers to boycott the NotW. And also urging the government to stop Murdoch taking over BSkyB.

But the problem is every fucking red top was at it, and I wouldn't be surprised if the middle class rags like the Mail and the Express were, too.

I'd say it was nailed on that the Times was involved as well.

I hope there's a massive back lash back in the UK about this. The red tops really are the gutter press they've been getting away with this sort of shit for too long.

What's even more sad is the British publics appetite for the inane shite they print. The News Of The World is Britons top selling news paper!

Originally Posted by The Tea Man

The News Of The World is Britons top selling news paper!

Not everyone can operate a computer or afford the internet.

^. 1989 i think

Originally Posted by Neo

As you say a big story. They were talking about it last night on Newsnight and it was claimed that the Police have been reluctant to investigate this in the past because they felt that the Murdoch group was too powerful.

Cameron has done the usual and called an inquiry, roll out the gravy train.

Another aspect is that the press have been buying personal information, etc., from the old bill for years, and there's more than a few senior coppers would go down if they had a proper, independent investigation.

And Crippen:

This was in 1969

What was? Because Hillsborough was 1989.

corrected ttm

full list of those that are known to have been hacked so far:

Phone hacking: full list of the victims identified so far. As a spreadsheet | Media | guardian.co.uk

Originally Posted by alwarner

full list of those that are known to have been hacked so far:

Phone hacking: full list of the victims identified so far. As a spreadsheet | Media | guardian.co.uk

Notably funny because Andy Coulson's on it!

great isn't it. And below are the advertiser who have already bailed.

ALREADY OUT (updated with Political Scrapbook)
1. Ford Cars
2. Mumsnet
3. Halifax / Lloyds Banking Group
4. Virgin Holidays
5. Coca-cola
6. The Bodyshop UK
7. Debenhams
8. Vauxhall
9. Cadburys
10. Renault
11. Natwest
12. Marks and Spencers
13. Cooperative
14. Aldi
15. TalkTalk
16. Mitsubishi Motors donating ad spend to charity.
17. Butlins

Quite frightening how many publications illegally obtaining personal information were identified several years ago, and very little action taken:

The first number is the number of instances, the second the number of staff obtaining them.

Daily Mail 952 58
Sunday People 802 50
Daily Mirror 681 45
Mail on Sunday 266 33
News of the World 228 23
Sunday Mirror 143 25
Best Magazine 134 20
Evening Standard 130 1
The Observer 103 4
Daily Sport 62 4
The People 37 19
Daily Express 36 7
Wknd (Daily Mail) 30 4
Sunday Express 29 8
The Sun 24 4
Closer Magazine 22 5
Sunday Sport 15 1
(Mail on Sunday) 9 2
Sunday BusNews 8 1
Daily Record 7 2
Saturday (Express) 7 1
S Mirror Magazine 6 1
Real Magazine 4 1
Woman’s Own 4 2
The Sunday Times 4 1
D Mirror Magazine 3 2
Mail in Ireland 3 1
Daily Star 2 4
The Times 2 1
Marie Claire 2 1
Personal Magazine 1 1
Sunday World 1 1

Breaking news in the UK.
Last edition of the news of the world this week.
BBC News - News of the World to close amid hacking scandal

Hi....I'm afraid I am unable to answer my mobile phone at the moment but if you leave me a message, The News Of The World will email it to me later.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Quite frightening how many publications illegally obtaining personal information were identified several years ago, and very little action taken:

The first number is the number of instances, the second the number of staff obtaining them.

That list is disgusting. If this is common practice world wide the mind boggles as to the amount of hacking that is going on. I wonder how active the secret agencies are in this area. Obviously if this happens in Britain it must be endemic world wide.

Guess we are all buggered on this forum!

The truth will be revealed

News International is investigating itself

The Met Police, accused of bodging the first investigation, is again investigating itself

Apparently Murdoch is shutting the NOTW down.
News Of The World: This Sunday Last Ever Issue After Phone Hacking Scandal At Tabloid | UK News | Sky News
Shutting the gate after the horse has bolted springs to mind.

"The good things the News Of The World does, however, have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong," Mr Murdoch said.
"Indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company.

As if he didn't know.. still that's why he has a CEO to take the fall I guess.

7 July 2011 Last updated at 18:47

This Sunday's edition of The News of the World will be its last, News International chairman James Murdoch has said, after days of increasingly damaging allegations against the paper.

The weekly tabloid is accused of hacking into the mobile phones of crime victims, celebrities and politicians.

On Thursday, the Met Police said it was seeking to contact 4,000 possible targets named in seized documents.

The UK's biggest selling paper has been in circulation for 168 years.

More here: BBC News - News of the World to close amid hacking scandal

I wonder what Rebekah Brooks has on the Murdock's ?