The phone hacking saga has produced an extensive cast of victims and villains. Prominent among the key players are Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator hired by the News of the World and convicted of phone hacking in 2006, and Andy Coulson, Editor of the newspaper between 2003 and 2007. In December 2011 the High Court handed down judgment in two separate claims brought by Mulcaire ([2011] EWHC 3469 (Ch)) and Coulson ([2011] EWHC 3482 (QB)) against News Group Newspapers (“NGN”), owners of the now defunct tabloid. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Month: February 2012 (Page 4 of 6)
Not so foolish these Lords of ours. As inquiries were starting left, right and centre into newspaper malpractice following the phone hacking revelations last July, the Lords recognised there was a need for some balance, particularly from Parliament. So they wisely decided to go against the grain and announce an inquiry into the future of investigative journalism. Continue reading
The arrest of five “Sun” employees at the weekend produced a pugnacious response from its former political editor, Trevor Kavanagh. The online version of the article was entitled “Witch-hunt has put us behind ex-Soviet states on Press freedom“. As Julian Petley pointed out in his post on Tuesday, the “Sun” has long supported increased police powers and “decisive action” against suspected criminals. But, it now turns out that these views are tempered by concerns about proportionality and civil liberties. Continue reading
News: Cabinet Minister’s 17 year old son gets privacy injunction but not anonymity – Keith Mathieson
The son of Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, has obtained an injunction against the publishers of the Daily Star Sunday. The judgment is available here ([2012] EWHC 239 (QB)). The injunction was granted to restrain publication of a story which it is alleged would have breached his right to privacy. The application was made last Saturday 11 February 2012 to Mr Justice Lindblom. Continue reading
The UK Supreme Court has granted private investigator Glenn Mulcaire permission to appeal against the ruling of the Court of Appeal, on 1 February 2012, that he could not claim privilege against self-incrimination in the phone hacking litigation. The appeal will be heard on the 9 and 10 May 2012. Continue reading
Inforrm recently featured a list of media law academic articles published in the last 6 months. Since then we’ve been notified by readers of a number of other items, some slightly outside our chronological cut-off. We’re happy to bend the rules (given that six months is a short time in academic terms) to include them here, and also list some recently published books. Continue reading
Front-paging dawn raids, trumpeting censorship, smearing suspects and biasing the jury… The UK’s top-selling daily has terrifying influence over Britain’s police force, legal system, politicians, and press. But now the world it has helped to create may be turning against it. Continue reading
In the case of Michael Seckerson v United Kingdom (App Nos. 32844/10 and 33510/10) the European Court of Human Rights rejected as “inadmissible” Times Newspapers’ challenge to its 2009 conviction for contempt of court. The decision, which was made by seven judges, is a good example of an early stage “strike-out” by the Court which is nonetheless a substantial, reasoned decision (see the UK Human Rights Blog posts on the “UK loses 3 out of 4 cases at the court” controversy). Continue reading
There is fury and fear among Sun staff after the latest round of arrests by police investigating the alleged corruption of public servants by journalists, and there is more widespread alarm about the future of the press. Where will this end? Will other papers close, as the News of the World did? Is the baby of free expression about to go down the plughole with the murky bathwater of journalistic misconduct? Continue reading
Five employees of The Sun have been arrested on suspicion of corruption, aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office, and conspiracy in relation to both these offences: Geoff Webster, deputy editor; John Edwards, picture editor; John Kay, chief reporter; Nick Parker, chief foreign correspondent; and John Sturgis, deputy news editor. “A Ministry of Defence official, a member of the armed forces and a policeman were also arrested over allegations that journalists paid officials for information. All eight were later released on bail,” reported the AFP. Continue reading
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