Todays news in the world of Murdoch is a follow-up to the committee evidence given by Pike and Lewis last week. The committee today released the documents that they had been promised at that meeting. which is available here
Reuters reports the following Law firm documents add to heat on James Murdoch | Reuters
during testimony in October before the committee by Farrer & Co lawyer Julian Pike, the documents are expected to raise questions about an account James Murdoch, the presumed heir to the News Corp empire, gave during an appearance with his father before the committee.
James Murdoch told the committee in July he did not remember being briefed about settling a phone-hacking claim brought by Gordon Taylor, head of the English soccer players' union, until a meeting on June 10, 2008, with Colin Myler, then News of the World editor and Tom Crone, the tabloid's in-house lawyer.
But Pike told the committee last month that he had notes of a meeting between Myler and Murdoch on May 27, 2008, about the case. Pike said: "27 May was probably the first time James Murdoch had been given a briefing about the cases."
"So James Murdoch has mis-recalled the sequence of events in that regard ?" Pike was asked by Damian Collins, a member of the parliamentary committee.
"I think so, yes," Pike replied.
The documents are somewhat redacted for legal reasons. (In UK law publication of details ahead of trials can be seen to prejudice the impartiality of those trials)
The most interesting part of the new documentation is the legal opinion contained in the Farrar notes from a senior barrister. it includes several interesting quotes
There is overwhelming evidence of the involvement of a number of senior NGN journalists the illegal enquiries into {redacted} In addition there is substantial surrounding material about the extent of NGN journalists' attempts to obtain access to information illegally in relation to other individuals. . In the light of these facts there is a powerful case that there is (or was) a culture of illegal information access used at NGN in order to produce stories for publication. Not only does this mean that NGN is virtually certain to be held liable to Mr Taylor, to have this paraded in a public trial would, I imagine be extremely dmaging to NGN's public reputation
He goes on to say that if this information had been known at the time of the Goodman and Mulcaire trial, then the prosecution would most likely have not accepted that the contract between Mulcaire and NGN was for legitimate purposes. this would have created a whole world of disaster for them.
The Guardian quotes from Internal NI messages
Phone hacking: NoW lawyer warned editor of 'damning email' in 2008 | Media | guardian.co.uk
News International executives consistently denied that they had been aware that any other reporters were implicated in alleged hacking until 2010, and Goodman was described as a "rogue reporter". However, the now released internal correspondence shows the company knew of evidence that Mulcaire worked for reporters other than Goodman.
Crone, writing to Colin Myler in May 2008, wrote: "This evidence, particularly the email from the News of the World is fatal to our case," he added in an email, referring to News International's defence of Taylor's infringement of privacy case.
"Our position is very perilous. The damning email is genuine and proves we actively made use of a large number of extremely private voicemails from Taylor's telephone in June/July 2005 and that this was pursuant to a February 2005 contract, ie a 5/6-month operation.
"He has no evidence that the News of the World continued to act illegally after that but he can prove Mulcaire continued to access his mobile until May 2006 (because Mulcaire pleaded guilty to it)."
John Whittingdale, the committe Chairman is now saying that
the documents prove that NOTW senior managers were aware of hacking in 2008, and that statement Implies that the evidence given by News International to various committees has been at best Dishonest.
No doubt more to come as people go through the documents in Further detail.