Phone hacking scandal: A Series of arrests
After an inquiry started in July 2011 by Lord justice Leveson, sixteen people from the Rupert Murdoch Empire have been accused of phone hacking.
Journalism went too far this time. The phone hacking scandal has pushed the border of ethics. It also has driven some editors directly to the police station. Hunger for the scoop was stronger that morals. The whole scandal came out in July 2011. The Miller Dowler case upset public opinion about journalistic methods. Even the members of the Parliament expressed their outrage. In 2002, the Miller Dowler case - a high school student who had been kidnapped and murdered- pushed sensationalism to the highest point. Investigations revealed that the journalists working at the News of the World, a part of Rupert Mordoch’s News International newspaper group, hacked her phone to get messages from her family but also deleted older messages. This method has been set up in order to get new messages while Miller Dowler was missing. By doing this, they made believe to investigators that she could be alive.
Politicians also got involved in this particular scandal. On 6th July 2011, the Prime Minister David Cameron announced inquiries into the police investigation lead by Lord Justice Levenon. A day before, he called the hacking of Milly Dowler’s phone a “truly dreadful act”. However, it seems that other victims than Miller Dowler had been hacked by the newspaper News of the World. Some of British soldiers’ relatives killed in Iraq and Afghanistan got their phone hacked as well. About a hundred of persons testified against the News of the World newspaper.
For a second time, an empire of the media is attacked for its journalistic methods leading some journalists under arrest. It was no longer a question of ethics but also a question about the respect of the law. Many figures in the company got involved with the scandal. The main accusations are dealing with interruption of mobile phone voicemail messages and corruption as well. Finally, the News of the World stopped publishing on 10th July 2011 after 168 years.
Since July, Lord Justice Leveson has not stopped to look for evidence. On Wednesday 23th November, he has gone deeper in the testimony, trying to get as much witness as possible to inquire into media ethnics. Famous people have started to complain about phone hacking like the actor Hugh Grant. Most of people who were arrested have been bailed but still under investigations.
PORTRAITS OF THE SCANDALS
A journalism in trouble. The scandal has brought journalists and their executives under pursuits. During this summer, police investigations inquired on the News of the world’s members.
Andy Coulson
He was the News of the World Editor from 2003 to 2007. He resigned because of a first hacking phone scandal. Then, he became the Prime Minister David Cameron’s communications director. But he resigned in January 2011. He has always denied any knowledge of the phone hacking. Yet, the police arrested him in July and accused him of phone hacking and corruption as well. It seems that he gave money to police. By being a close of David Cameron, his arrest also hurts Cameron political strategy.
Rebakah Brooks
Rebekah Brooks was the former News of the World Editor from 2000 to 2003. Thus she was the editor when some journalists hacked the schoolgirl Miller Dowler’s phone. She is the main overseer of the phone hacking. That is why she was arrested on 17th July 2011 when she was chief executive of News International.
Stuart Kuttner
He was the News of the World’s Assistant Editor. At 66 years old, he was arrested on suspicion of unlawful interception of communications.
Greg Misk
He was the New of the World Managing Editor until he resigned from his position in 2009. He gave the excuse of “specialised projects” to explain his resignation. However, just after his decision, The Guardian reveals that International News paid out victims of phone hacking. He was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption.
Neuville Thurlbeck
He was the News of the World Chief Reporter until 2011. He was arrested in April 2011 on unlawfully intercepted voicemail messages.
Ian Edmondson
He was the News of the World’s assistant editor. He was suspected to have instructed private investigator Glenn Mulcaire in order to intercept phone messages. He was fired from the newspaper after that an internal inquiry had found “highly damaging evidence”. He was arrested in April 2011 on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting mobile phone voicemail messages.
Others arrests…
James Desborough was the News of the World U.S. Editor. He also was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications.
James Weatherup was a reporter in the News of the World. He was arrested on 14 April on suspicion of conspiracy to unlawfully intercept communications.
Neil Wallis was the News of the World’s deputy editor. He was arrested by police on 14 July on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications.
Terenia Taras was a Freelance journalist. She was arrested on 23 June and later bailed considered as part of investigations in the phone hacking.
Dan Evans was the News of World’s feature writer. He was questioned on 19 August in connection with phone-hacking allegations. Then, he was arrested by appointment at a London police station.
Raoul Simons was a sports journalist. He was used to work at London’s Evening Standard before moving to the Times in 2009, was arrested in September in connection with the phone-hacking investigation.
You want to go further: Public trust in the British press: how to get it back ?Sources: guardian.co.uk, bbc.co.uk, nytimes.com
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