Category: Uncategorized (Page 2 of 4)

In what will be seen by many as another piece of phone hacking fallout, James Murdoch has left the News Corporation English newspaper business and moved to New York.  In a statement released today by parent group News Corporation, it was announced that James Murdoch has relinquished his position as Executive Chairman at News International. 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

“[Nick] Davies’s work…has gained no traction at all in the rest of Fleet Street, which operates under a system of omerta so strict that it would secure a nod of approbation from the heads of the big New York crime families” Peter Oborne, The Observer, April 2010

“There seemed to be some omerta principle at work that meant that not a single other national newspaper thought this could possibly be worth an inch of newsprint” Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, Newsweek, 2011. Continue reading

The conviction of Paul Chambers for a joke made on Twitter has inspired satire, celebrity outrage and simple incomprehension. It has also led to two appeals, the second of which begins in Court 74 at the High Court in London today before Lord Justice Gross and Mr Justice Irwin. This appeal, ‘by way of case stated’ (on questions of law alone) examines the scope of the legislation under which Chambers was convicted, and brings into focus some of the broader issues surrounding his prosecution, including the regulation of social media. Continue reading

What lies behind the Daily Mail’s assault on Hugh Grant? Could it be conventional piety? Hardly: have you looked at Mail Online lately? It is an artful mix of soft porn and celebrity gossip of the kind which, just a few years ago, the Mail itself would have dismissed as morally corrosive.  Continue reading

The trial of the privacy claim brought by Carina Trimingham against Associated Newspapers which began yesterday before Mr Justice Tugendhat has been adjourned following a successful application for permission to amend by the claimant.

The case was opened yesterday by William Bennett on behalf of Ms Trimingham who told Mr Justice Tugendhat that a series of stories about her relationship with Chris Huhne MP was a “cataclysmic interference” in her private life. Continue reading

There are two hearings of interest to readers of this blog at the Royal Courts of Justice today.  First, in Court 76, there is a preliminary hearing of the Leveson Inquiry.   Tweeting from the Inquiry has been permitted and it is possible to follow either @Press_Inquiry (from Full Fact) or @hackinginquiry (from Hacked Off).  Continue reading

The Leveson Inquiry has published a “Note Submitted by Counsel to the Inquiry” dealing with maters to be covered at the preliminary hearing on 4 October 2011.   This sets out an agenda for the hearing and identifies issues covering the future conduct of the inquiry.  Core participants were invited to add to the agenda and make submissions. Continue reading

The Master of the Rolls yesterday issued guidance on Interim injunctions. It is available on the MOJ website here and includes not only guidance but also model orders and undertakings consistent with his report of earlier this year.

The most significant parts of the new guidance relate to notification and are set out below. A detailed post will appear later this month.

Continue reading