Phone hacking: It’s swords at dawn for the Guardian & Murdoch. Place your bets

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11th July, 2009

CPS to undertake ‘urgent review’ of evidence despite Yates’s “no further investigation required.”

YATES DOES IT AGAIN – OR NOT, AS THE ‘CASE’ MAY BE

SUDDENLY  –  PROMISES OF ’EXPLANATIONS’ & ‘REVIEWS OF EVIDENCE’

Today it is reported that the Home Office has asked Scotland Yard for an explanation of what they know: Senior Home Office official Sir David Normington has written to Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner John Yates asking him to elaborate on a number of points.

And on Thursday The Guardian reported - ‘that the Crown Prosecution Service was undertaking an urgent review of evidence in the News of the World phone hacking case.

Keir Starmer QC, the director of public prosecutions, said he had ordered an “urgent examination” of material provided by the police in the News of the World case three years ago. He added that the process will take time but he hopes to make a further statement in coming days.’

This was shortly after the Metropolitan Police under the leadership of John Yates, revealed it did not plan a further investigation of the allegations. (Yates’s full statement with 4 m video.)

Excerpt:

“I have been asked by the Commissioner today to establish the facts around our inquiry into the alleged unlawful tapping of mobile phones by Clive Goodman and Glen Mulcaire. I was not involved in the original case and clearly come at this with an independent mind.

[...]

“This case has been the subject of the most careful investigation by very experienced detectives. It has also been scrutinised in detail by both the CPS and leading counsel. They have carefully examined all the evidence and prepared the indictments that they considered appropriate.

“No additional evidence has come to light since this case has concluded.

“I therefore consider that no further investigation is required.”

Iust admit, it amazed me how quickly John Yates had decided on this one.

No sooner, or so the Guardian suggests, was he asked to look at the business of journalist hacking being endemic than he quickly thumbed through the notes from the 2006 inquiry and said everything at that time checked out.  Following the Guardian’s accusations of the News of The World’s ‘phone hacking’, Mr Yates was on the job.

Then he was off it (BBC report.)

So was he on the right job? Are/were ANY of them – DPP, Home Office, the MET on the right job? Are you left wondering if the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing? Or is this pure obfuscation for some as yet uncovered reason?

Whatever the course of the investigation we can expect a right royal dual between the organs of the political Left & Right over the next few weeks.

RECENT HISTORY OF ‘YATES OF THE YARD’

John Yates was NOT leading the department  involved with the Goodman/Mulcaire case in 2006. He was a little tied up at the time; busy with far more serious matters of state. Or rather matters which might  – had they succeeded – have helped reduce the state (of government) to rubble.

If I were a conspiracy theorist I’d be tempted to ask if there aren’t a few people who might be getting their own back on Yates.  The leap over his head by the DPP and the Home Office … ? Promises of cash for Labour’s depleted funds IF … if…?

Or is Yates NOT in the firing line at all, but Cameron, via a disgraced Coulson?

Just as well I don’t DO conspiracy.

“JUST DOING MY JOB”.

For around 16/17 months Assistant Commissioner Yates tried to secure a case against Tony Blair and/or colleagues on the cash for honours debacle. Mr Blair was interviewed by Police THREE times over about 18 months, the first British Prime Minister to be questioned by police. And, particularly galling I should imagine for BOTH sides, in an investigation which the Police could not make stick – to ANYONE.

Mr Blair and colleagues did not know if charges would be dropped until AFTER he had left office.

On that investigative occasion it took Yates almost two years to fail. Now it’s taken him TWO minutes.

All of this nonsensical “just doing my job“-ness (whiffs of Brown too?) added to the distrust of government at that time. The press and the ourt of public opinion became judge and jury on the whole issue. They were encouraged in this responsibility by … you got it … the press.

Ahhh!  THE PRESS.  The press were often, oddly, in possession of information ONLY the Police could have known. Even the knowledge that there would likely be “no case to answer” on cash for honours. We were informed by the papers of this likely outcome weeks before the Police announced it officially.

How come? Are there bodies buried in the MET’S backyard too. PRESS bodies?

And I just remembered this:

we were informed by The Daily Mail in February 2007 that Blair would be interviewed AGAIN. How did THEY know that? In fact he was interviewed for a third time months later just as he was leaving office in June 2007. But The MAIL KNEW IT ALL, didn’t they, in their usual two and two makes five fashion? Excerpt:

Tony Blair is set to be quizzed by police for a third time over the cash for honours affair, it has emerged.

Sources close to the inquiry confirmed the interview – likely to take place within weeks – could even take place under caution.

Such a development would mean the Prime Minister is being treated as a suspect in the case and would intensify demands for him to quit before the summer.

What a crowd of disappointed faces there must have been when no charges were made to anyone in the end.

Read Yates’ statement here on hacking

A week on Tuesday, Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor, now the Tory communications chief, could be grilled by MPs in a Select Committee inquiry into the affair.

No-one is suggesting there is NO case to answer by the News of The World.  For a start, why make an out-of-court settlement of £700,000?

RELATED

From CPS website: Re-starting a prosecution

And from Brand Republic - the News of the World reminds those who are paying attention: ‘News International has issued a statement in response to The Guardian’s story. It said it was prevented by “confidentiality obligations” in discussing the allegations. The statement went on to outline the chronology of events, pointing out that the Information Commissioner in an report in December 2006 had highlighted a number of papers using private investigators, including The Guardian Media Group.

ANDY COULSON

And what of David Cameron’s Alastair Campbell – Andy Coulson? The former editor of the News of the World is widely belived to have come up with the “hug a hoodie” phrase used to such damaging great effect by Tony Blair AGAINST Cameron when the NoW was Blairs babe? Now Cameron owes much of his recent progress to his spin doctor. But Coulson has some serious questions to answer on what he knew of any phone tapping policy while he was editor. Time will tell.

Andy McSmith at Independent Minds:  “He may be implicated but Coulson is too dangerous … important to lose”

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GUARDIAN articles on the hacking story

Targets of tabloid dirty tricks consider legal action against News of the World: 9 Jul 2009: Football chairman’s successful case could open floodgates for other alleged phone-hacking victims eager for similar actions

David Cameron and George Osborne stand by their man despite disquiet: 9 Jul 2009: Tory high command insist Andy Coulson not to be forced out amid unease among some backbenchers

Watchdog to examine if News of World executives told the truth: 9 Jul 2009: Press Complaints Commission to investigate scale of phone hacking practice within News International after revelations

Tabloid hacking scandal: DPP examines files: 9 Jul 2009: Claims of evidence being systematically suppressed result in ‘urgent’ examination of material from court case

Technical support: modern-day eavesdropping: 9 Jul 2009: Phone-hacking journalists guessed pin codes to break into mobile phone voicemail boxes

David Cameron urged to sack Tory spin doctor Andy Coulson: 9 Jul 2009: Calls for Andy Coulson to be fired after new details emerge of phone-hacking by the News of the World while he was its editor

Tabloid hacking victims: legal advice: 9 Jul 2009: Anyone who fears that their personal data has been hacked could bring an invasion of privacy action against Sunday newspaper

MPs call top News of the World staff back to Commons: 9 Jul 2009: Current and former editors of Murdoch tabloids to face committee again after emergency government statement

Masters of the dark arts – News of the World reporters used ‘toolkit’ of tricks: 9 Jul 2009: Blagging and hacking were routine in ‘no questions asked’ newsroom where use of private investigators was ‘well known’ by management

Tabloid hacking scandal: the email exchange: Jul 2009: The email correspondence in which Nick Davies asks Andy Coulson about the allegations

Ministers who justify state snooping might now learn that biters can be bit: 9 Jul 2009: Simon Jenkins: The News of the World phone-hacking scandal lays bare the chaos that surrounds our privacy and data security

Three inquiries launched into News of the World hacking claims: 9 Jul 2009: Press regulator, director of public prosecutions and parliamentary committee announce their intentions to investigate allegations

Phone hacking: what Les Hinton told the Commons culture select committee:9 Jul 2009: What Les Hinton told committee chairman John Whittingdale in March 2007

Rebekah Wade: from celebrity party to political parties, a woman of influence: 9 Jul 2009: Influence stems less from her superficial – if glamorous – connections than the bonds of friendship she has established

Sir Alex Ferguson and Alan Shearer calls were hacked: 9 Jul 2009: Man Utd manager and former Newcastle striker among those whose messages were recorded by a private investigator, says sourc

More Guardian links here, including News of The World’s response

(PCC) Press Complaints Commission on phone message tapping claims

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ETCETERA

Is it only me, or has Any Answers/Any Questions gone completely LEFT-wing? I ask that as somenoe who is not RIGHT-wing.

All right with such panellists as Claire Short and that Green lady, we can expect the panel to lean that way. But even the huge majority of callers in to Any Answers seem to be unable to see anything other than the “reasons not”.

And they are generally “we ALL know”-ers too. For instance:

1. It may be a NATO intervention in Afghanistan  – “to hunt down terrorists but why was it caused? Is it a result of our foreign policy?

2. I want to know the exact instructions given to the military from Blair … was it regime change by force of arms?

3. What about soldiers killed from other countries?  We need to know. It might show us the senselessness of the present campaign. How many Spanish and other European soldiers have been killed every day? Why has Great Britain got to take the brunt of all this… financially and militarily? We should NOT have gone into Afghanistan or Iraq.

4. Unless we place same value on an Afghani civilian then we do not have the moral right to say we are doing it on behalf of the Afghanis.

5. “For the benefit of Afghani people” – the Miliband statement – is as false as the WMD spin.

6. I am with Lord Lamont. We should start planning an exit strategy. The govermnment is resorting to scare tactics. The cause of the war was the protection of the oil pipeline. Talk of terrorist training schools was nonsense.

I only heard ONE caller in support of the campaign in Afghanistan. And remember - THIS is an internationally recognised LEGAL war, so charges of “illegality” cannot be added to the mix of reasons why NOT.

What has happened to the British people that they are so willing to abdicate ALL responsibility to others?  This is NOT the Britain or the spirit that the world admires.

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Tags: Andy Coulson, Assistant Commissioner, David Cameron, john yates, News of the World, the Guardian