The Phone Hacking Scandal That Was
The only news item being covered these days in the British media is perhaps the most embarrassing scandal that the United Kingdom is grappling with. Media baron Rupert Murdoch was forced to close down the 168-year-old News of the World tabloid over allegations of phone hacking that has created a firestorm. The serious accusations included it hacked into the voicemails of more than 7000 people including murder victim Milly Dowler, as well as victims of the 7/7 attacks and relatives of deceased British soldiers. The probability that it hacked into the 9/11 victims is also under way and is being pursued by the FBI currently.
According to a report in the Times of India, NOTW's dubious means of securing information "...included hacking of phones to access voicemail messages, hacking computers for personal data, 'blagging', 'pinging', and even simply bribing policemen for information... Until recently, mobile phones came with a four-digit number that was necessary to access voicemail messages. The messages could be accessed from another phone by dialing the mobile number and then using the four-digit number. The four-digit number usually that came with the new mobile was 1234, 0000 or 3333, and users were expected to change it immediately to their preferred number. However, not many did so.
Under the Data Protection Act, 1998, 'blagging' is defined as "knowingly or recklessly obtaining or disclosing personal data without the consent of the data controller". 'Blagging' involves the use of actors or other impersonating as the target and securing information through calls to banks and others repositories of personal data. 'Pinging' is used to track the whereabouts of celebrities or other targets whose movements may reveal information relevant to news. The police can ask mobile networks to determine the location of a phone, based on data from nearby radio masts."
Thanks to The Guardian which brought this ignominious affair to light in July 2009, disclosing that NOTW reporters indulged in phone hacking of celebrities and politicians between 2003 to 2007 when Andy Coulson was the editor and Rebecca Brooks, the CEO of News International, with the support from senior employees. But nothing was proved conclusively due to lack of evidence in spite of the case getting reopened again in January, early this year for a new hacking allegation. Come April, it saw NOTW finally admitting to the fact that it had a role in phone hacking and led to the resignation of Coulson as Communication's chief of Mr. David Cameron, the British Prime Minister.
But nothing was as devastating and damaging as the statement made by Milly Dowler's lawyer on the 4th of this month. Milly, a 13-year-old girl, was abducted on her way back from school and later found murdered in 2002. He alleged that the teenager's voicemail messages had been hacked, possibly by a News of the World investigator, while police were searching for her and some even deleted, to make room for more messages, misleading her family into thinking she was still alive. "Police later say that they have also been in touch with the parents of two 10-year-old girls killed in the town of Soham in 2002."
It was later known that the police were bribed for information and these were authorized by Coulson himself. It was also revealed later that the phones of the 7/7 London bombing victims and deceased Iraq and Afghanistan war soldiers were hacked. The former PM, Gordon Brown also fulminated The Sunday Times, another sister publication of the News Corp, for targeting him to get financial and property details and he feared that his son Fraser's medical records may also have been obtained. The Sun had reported in 2006 that he was suffering from cystic fibrosis.
These shocking epiphanies sparked a furore and public outrage in the U.K. leading to the closure of the News of the World tabloid. It saw its last edition on the 10th of July, with a front-page headline that blared 'Thank You and Goodbye'. It also forced Murdoch to drop a $12 billion plan to buy the highly profitable broadcaster BSkyB.
Not only that, the British PM has also come under severe flak for being friendly with Mrs Brooks and for employing former NOTW editor Coulson as his press secretary after he quit the paper in 2007 following the jailing of Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire for phone-hacking and intercepting voicemail messages. Cameron said he was 'revolted' by the phone hacking allegations and promised quick measures to contain this elephant in the room. All this brouhaha finally culminated in the resignations of Mrs. Brooks, the London Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson and the Asst. Commissioner John Yates, who made the flawed decision of not reopening the case in 2009 for an earlier inquiry, and the police made a number of high profile arrests including that of Mrs. Brooks.
During the evidence before the House of Commons media committee yesterday, the Murdochs have apologized for this deeply regretful incident and have vowed to cleanup and win back the people's trust. Rupert Murdoch has also said this was "the most humble day of my life" but has refused to take responsibility for this scandal saying he was let down by the "people I trusted". A lame excuse, I must say!
While agreeing to the fact that he was running a humongous empire with close to 53000 people, one can't stop wondering why wasn't this matter taken up with due care and alacrity when such complaints cropped up consistently. Being in an incumbent position, Mr. Murdoch failed in his responsibility and saying he was let down by the people he trusted just looks pretty unconvincing. At least, he acquiesced to the fact that he was lax in dealing with this. Whatever be the case, he is also equally culpable as the others.
Rebecca Brooks also opened her testimony by apologizing to the committee and to the public en masse. But no amount of apologies and regret can disguise the shady and unscrupulous methods that were employed by the reporters to get information. This entire episode has blown the lid off the extent of liaison between the journos and the police and the disgusting fact that these tabloids are ready to do anything for the sake of sensationalism. A proper set of stringent media regulations and guidelines need to be set up in place to avoid such a disgraceful and a detestable event in the future.
Edit: A new revelation yesterday that could be further politically discomfiting to the PM prompted me to emend this post. Disgraced royal correspondent Clive Goodman, in his explosive letter written four years ago that was published yesterday, claimed that the practice was "widely discussed" at editorial meetings until Coulson himself banned further references to it. The letter also says he acted "with the full knowledge and support of named senior journalists".
What does this mean? It implies more embarrassment for the PM for hiring Coulson (who had at that point denied any knowledge of such an event) and more new allegations of cover-up and unscrupulous behavior levelled against the Murdochs. This letter also effectively annuls and invalidates the Murdochs' evidence they had presented to the media committee last month that they had no knowledge of the hacking incidents at NOTW. This big cover-up will most likely result in them being recalled and questioned again. Hope justice prevails this time!
First published: July 20, 2011
These shocking epiphanies sparked a furore and public outrage in the U.K. leading to the closure of the News of the World tabloid. It saw its last edition on the 10th of July, with a front-page headline that blared 'Thank You and Goodbye'. It also forced Murdoch to drop a $12 billion plan to buy the highly profitable broadcaster BSkyB.
Not only that, the British PM has also come under severe flak for being friendly with Mrs Brooks and for employing former NOTW editor Coulson as his press secretary after he quit the paper in 2007 following the jailing of Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire for phone-hacking and intercepting voicemail messages. Cameron said he was 'revolted' by the phone hacking allegations and promised quick measures to contain this elephant in the room. All this brouhaha finally culminated in the resignations of Mrs. Brooks, the London Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson and the Asst. Commissioner John Yates, who made the flawed decision of not reopening the case in 2009 for an earlier inquiry, and the police made a number of high profile arrests including that of Mrs. Brooks.
During the evidence before the House of Commons media committee yesterday, the Murdochs have apologized for this deeply regretful incident and have vowed to cleanup and win back the people's trust. Rupert Murdoch has also said this was "the most humble day of my life" but has refused to take responsibility for this scandal saying he was let down by the "people I trusted". A lame excuse, I must say!
While agreeing to the fact that he was running a humongous empire with close to 53000 people, one can't stop wondering why wasn't this matter taken up with due care and alacrity when such complaints cropped up consistently. Being in an incumbent position, Mr. Murdoch failed in his responsibility and saying he was let down by the people he trusted just looks pretty unconvincing. At least, he acquiesced to the fact that he was lax in dealing with this. Whatever be the case, he is also equally culpable as the others.
Rebecca Brooks also opened her testimony by apologizing to the committee and to the public en masse. But no amount of apologies and regret can disguise the shady and unscrupulous methods that were employed by the reporters to get information. This entire episode has blown the lid off the extent of liaison between the journos and the police and the disgusting fact that these tabloids are ready to do anything for the sake of sensationalism. A proper set of stringent media regulations and guidelines need to be set up in place to avoid such a disgraceful and a detestable event in the future.
Edit: A new revelation yesterday that could be further politically discomfiting to the PM prompted me to emend this post. Disgraced royal correspondent Clive Goodman, in his explosive letter written four years ago that was published yesterday, claimed that the practice was "widely discussed" at editorial meetings until Coulson himself banned further references to it. The letter also says he acted "with the full knowledge and support of named senior journalists".
What does this mean? It implies more embarrassment for the PM for hiring Coulson (who had at that point denied any knowledge of such an event) and more new allegations of cover-up and unscrupulous behavior levelled against the Murdochs. This letter also effectively annuls and invalidates the Murdochs' evidence they had presented to the media committee last month that they had no knowledge of the hacking incidents at NOTW. This big cover-up will most likely result in them being recalled and questioned again. Hope justice prevails this time!
First published: July 20, 2011
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