Dial M for Murdoch: News Corporation and the Corruption of Britain

TOM WATSON AND MARTIN HICKMAN

Dial M for Murdoch

News Corporation and the Corruption of Britain

ALLEN LANE
an imprint of
PENGUIN BOOKS

Contents

List of Illustrations

Dramatis Personae

Preface

1 The Wrong Headlines

2 Wapping’s News Factory

3 The Dark Arts

4 First Heads Roll

5 A Rogue Defence

6 The Manchester Lawyers

7 One Determined Reporter

8 Intimidating Parliament

9 A Murder

10 Our Man in Downing Street

11 Losing a Battle

12 Out of Control

13 U-turn at Wapping

14 Summer’s Lease

15 A Missing Girl

16 Sky Plus

17 ‘We Are Sorry’

18 Democracy Day

19 Assault on the Establishment

20 The Ghosts of Wapping

21 The Press on Trial

22 Darker and Darker

Illustrations

Appendix 1: Individuals in Glenn Mulcaire’s Notes

Appendix 2: Arrests

Notes

Acknowledgements

For
Saoirse and Malachy
and
Rachel, Kate and Finlay

List of Illustrations

1
. Rupert Murdoch in London in 1969, the year he took over the
News of the World
© Syndey O’Meara / Getty Images

2
. Rupert Murdoch in London in 2011, the day after his appearance before the Commons Cultural Committee © Press Association Images

3
. Piers Morgan, Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, at a party hosted by Elisabeth Murdoch and Matthew Freud in 2004 © Dave M Bennett / Getty Images

4
. Rebekah Brooks and Tony Blair at the Newspaper Press Fund reception in 2004 © Fiona Hanson / Press Association Images

5
. James Murdoch, David Cameron and George Osborne at a summit on social responsibility in 2007 © Stephen Lock / Rex Features

6
. Tommy and Gail Sheridan celebrate their libel victory over the
News of the World
in 2006 © Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

7
. Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator convicted of hacking phones for News International © Bloomberg / Getty Images

8
. Clive Goodman, the
News of the World
’s royal editor, jailed in 2007 © Chris Jackson / Getty Images

9
. Les Hinton, Rupert Murdoch’s loyal man for five decades © Bloomberg / Getty Images

10
. Max Mosley, Formula I motor-racing chief, who triumphed over the
News of the World
in 2008 © Michael Cooper / Getty Images

11
. Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the PFA and the first phone-hacking victim to mount a legal challenge to News International (pictured with the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo) © John Peters / Man Utd / Getty Images

12
. Charlotte Harris, one of the first lawyers to take on the
News of the World
© Nick Harvey / WireImage / Getty Images

13
. Nick Davies, the Guardian journalist who unpicked News Corp’s defence © Guardian News & Media Ltd 2011

14
. Neville Thurlbeck, the
News of the World
’s chief reporter © Yui Mok / Press Association Images

15
. John Yates, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, who declared his faith in Operation Caryatid © Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

16
. Neil ‘Wolfman’ Wallis, deputy editor of the
News of the World
, later hired by Scotland Yard (with friends) © Dennis Stone / Rex Features

17
. David Cameron and Andy Coulson: Coulson helped the Conservative Leader acquire the ‘tabloid touch’ © Tom Stoddart Archive / Getty Images

18
. Cameron and Murdoch in bed: in 2010, the Conservatives backed News Corp’s takeover bid for BSkyB © Sang Tan / AP / Press Association Images

19
. The Golden Lion, the site of Daniel Morgan’s murder in 1987 © Rex Features

20
. Jonathan Rees, the private detective re-employed by Coulson’s
News of the World
, after he was jailed for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice © Rex Features

21
. Daniel Morgan, Rees’s murdered business partner © Press Association Images

22
. ‘The world’s greatest newspaper 1843–2011’ Colin Myler and
News of the World
staff outside the office as the paper closes down © Yui Mok / Press Association Images

23
. Sir Paul Stephenson resigned as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in July 2011 © Leon Neal / AFP / Getty Images

24
. Rebekah Brooks and Rupert Murdoch after the closure of the
News of the World
– and shortly before she resigned © Ian Nicholson / Press Association Images

25
. Detectives raid Andy Coulson’s home in July 2011, on suspicion of phone hacking and corruption © Paul Hackett / Reuters

26
. ‘I Regret Hiring Coulson’ © Ray Tang / Rex Features

27
. Protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in July 2011 © Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

28
. James and Rupert Murdoch appear before MPs – and the world watches © Press Association Images

29
. Steve Coogan, Hugh Grant and Max Mosley at Parliament’s joint committee on privacy in December 2011 © Press Association Images

30
. J. K. Rowling felt as though she was being ‘blackmailed’ by the
Sun
over a leak of the fifth Harry Potter book © David Miller / Empics / Press Association Images

31
. Charlotte Church, harassed by News International papers from an early age © NBC via Getty Images

32
. Sienna Miller began a High Court case against News International in 2010 © Reuters

33
. Bob and Sally Dowler, Milly Dowler’s parents, arrive at the Leveson Inquiry with Mark Lewis © Rex Features

The Cotswold Triangle [map]

Cartographer: Michael Hill / Maps Illustrated

1. Rebekah and Charlie Brooks © Alan Crowhurst / Getty Images

2. The Brooks Residence © Rui Vieira / Press Association Images

3. Hackers Lane © INS News Agency

4. Burford Priory © Prixnews / Alamy

5. Elisabeth Murdoch and Matthew Freud © Dave M Bennett / Getty Images

6. David Cameron’s constituency home © INS News Agency Cartoon © Howard McWilliam /
The Daily Telegraph

Really what Rupert Murdoch managed to do was break the civil compact of this country through achieving a degree of control over the essential institutions of a free society: the press, the police and the politicians.

I’ve been one who has never accepted any of this ‘gate’ stuff and all the parallels – that are usually made by the Murdoch press – to some sex scandal … but this is for real. And the parallels are remarkable.

– Carl Bernstein, asked how the hacking scandal compares to Watergate, 29 September 2011

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.

– Lord Acton, 1887

Dramatis Personae

NEWS CORPORATION

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive

James Murdoch, chief executive, News Corp Asia and Europe; Chairman, BSkyB

Les Hinton, chief executive, News International

News of the World
:

Rebekah Brooks (nee Wade), editor

(Later editor of the
Sun
and chief executive, News International)

Andy Coulson, editor

(Later, communications director, Conservative Party)

Colin Myler, editor

Tom Crone, legal director

Neville Thurlbeck, chief reporter

Clive Goodman, royal editor

METROPOLITAN POLICE

Sir Paul Stephenson, Commissioner

Andy Hayman, Assistant Commissioner

John Yates, Assistant Commissioner

Sue Akers, Deputy Assistant Commissioner

PRIVATE DETECTIVES

Steve Whittamore

Glenn Mulcaire

Jonathan Rees

LAWYERS

Mark Lewis

Charlotte Harris

Mark Thomson

POLITICIANS

John Prescott

Tom Watson

Chris Bryant

LITIGANTS

Gordon Taylor

Max Clifford

Sienna Miller

Steve Coogan

Hugh Grant

Max Mosley

Charlotte Church

JOURNALISTS

Guardian
:

Nick Davies

Amelia Hill

New York Times
:

Don van Natta Jr

Jo Becker

Graham Bowley

BBC
:

Glenn Campbell

Independent
:

Martin Hickman

Cahal Milmo

Preface

This book tries to explain how a particular global media company works: how it came to exert a poisonous, secretive influence on public life in Britain, how it used its huge power to bully, intimidate and to cover up, and how its exposure has changed the way we look at our politicians, our police service and our press. Some political ‘friends’ have tried to portray the hacking and bribery which has exposed the workings of News Corporation as part of the price you pay for good tabloid journalism. They’re wrong. Of course, tabloids sometimes get out of hand, but this is not (at least, not much) a story of harmless mischief, of reporters in false moustaches and rollicking exposés of hypocrites. It is not just the famous and wealthy who have been damaged, but ordinary decent people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.