The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has today published new evidence relating to our inquiry the phone hacking scandal. This new evidence takes us into the heart of the decision making process which led to News International deciding to settle with Gordon Taylor, and also whether senior executives mislead parliament.
I have gone through this new evidence and also the previous evidence given to parliament by Tom Crone, the former News International Legal Manager, and by Colin Myler the former editor of the News of the World. I think two interesting questions emerge from this, and I have included these below with references to the evidence.
Did News International try to cover up Neville Thurlbeck's involvement in the Gordon Taylor phone hacking story?
21st July 2009 – Select Committee evidence session with Tom Crone and Colin Myler
Q 1347 “the [Gordon Taylor voicemail] transcript, which was sent in an email to [the private investigator] Glenn Mulcaire, as far as you are aware never, went beyond Glenn Mulcaire”
Mr Crone: “I cannot find any evidence that it did”
But written evidence submitted by Farrers to the committee on 31st October 2011 includes an email dated 24th May 2008 between Tom Crone and Julian Pike, in which Tom Crone states;
“I went through the new Taylor docs with [X] today...now remembers the transcripts...he was given the story only at the end to do the showdown and write it up”
[This answer is similar to Tom Crone’s description of Neville Thurlbeck’s involvement in the Gordon Taylor story in his evidence on 21st July 2009 in answer to Q 1344, although here Mr Crone asserts that Thurlbeck knew nothing about the transcripts. Mr Crone said, “His position is that he has never seen the email, nor had any knowledge of it. He says that he was brought into the relevant editorial project, the story, at the end of the story and his task was to go and knock on the door of one of the story subjects...in order to get their comments.”]
Included with the written evidence submitted by Farrers is a memo prepared by Tom Crone and sent to Colin Myler and Julian Pike, on 24th May 2008 regarding the Gordon Taylor case. In this Tom Crone states regarding the ‘For Neville’ email;
“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.”
Also, the Opinion prepared by New Group Newspapers QC, Michael Silverleaf, who advised them on 3rd June 2008 regarding the Gordon Taylor case, states with regards to the ‘For Neville email’ containing the voice mail transcript and other documents released by the Metropolitan Police that;
“at least three NGN journalists (Greg Miskiw, X and Ross Hindly) appear to have been intimately involved in Mr Mulcaire’s illegal researching into Mr Taylor’s affairs”
If Neville Thurlbeck was the person referred to in these documents but whose name has been redacted, Tom Crone has misled the committee on his understanding of Thurlbeck’s role.
21st July 2009 – Select Committee evidence session with Tom Crone and Colin Myler
Q1363 “Did you ask Mr Thurlbeck whether he had received a hard copy of the [Gordon Taylor voicemail] transcript?”
Mr Crone: “He says he had never seen it and did not know anything about it.”
Also, Colin Myler was asked (Q 1451) in the same session whether disciplinary proceedings against Neville Thurlbeck were taken as a result of the ‘For Neville’ email:
Mr Myler: No. No, there is no evidence. Mr Thurlbeck says he has no recollection of receiving it.
Did News International try to cover up evidence of widespread criminality?
6th September 2011 – Select Committee evidence session with Tom Crone and Colin Myler
Q803: Isn’t the reason you paid many hundreds of thousands more to the Taylor settlement because you were trying to conceal widespread criminality at News of the World?
Mr Crone: No
Yet, evidence submitted by Farrers to the committee on 31st October 2011 includes the Opinion prepared by New Group Newspapers QC, Michael Silverleaf, who advised them on 3rd June 2008 regarding the Gordon Taylor case stated that:
“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 at a public trial would, I imagine, be extremely damaging to NGN’s public reputation.”
I would be interested in your thoughts on this. You can also view the published evidence on the committee website http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/culture-media-and-sport-committee/news/say-committee-publishes-further-evidence-on-phone-hacking/