Andy Coulson ‘discussed phone hacking’ says report
PM’s media adviser knew about voicemail hacking when he edited Sunday tabloid, says the New York Times
LAST UPDATED 10:44 AM, SEPTEMBER 2, 2010
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The former editor of the News of the World, Andy Coulson, was the talk of the New York media last night following the posting of an extensive article exposing the culture of journalism at the British Sunday tabloid during his time at the helm. It will make for very uncomfortable reading at 10 Downing Street where Coulson is now David Cameron's media adviser.
"Everyone knew," one former senior reporter who worked at the tabloid during the Coulson era told the New York Times. "The office cat knew."
The article claims that Coulson ruled the News of the World newsroom with "single-minded imperiousness". The motto was: get the story, no matter what.
And two former journalists at the Murdoch-owned paper - one speaking on the record, one talking anonymously - told the NYT that Coulson freely discussed the use of voicemail hacking.
A former News of the World assistant editor said he had been to "dozens if not hundreds of meetings with Andy [Coulson]" when the subject of hacking came up.
The editor said that when Coulson asked where a story had come from, editors would reply, "We've pulled the phone records" or "I've listened to the phone messages".
A former reporter, Sean Hoare, told the NYT that when he and Coulson worked together at the Sun, from where they both graduated to the News of the World, he would personally play tape recordings of hacked messages for Coulson. They including messages for David and Victoria Beckham.
Later, at the News of the World, Hoare "continued to inform Coulson of his pursuits" and Coulson "actively encouraged me to do it".
At the heart of the NYT report is the conviction in 2007 for phone hacking of the News of the World's royal reporter, Clive Goodman, and a private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire. They were both jailed for hacking into the private voice mails of a number of high-profile targets, including Princes Harry and William.
They claimed in court that other reporters and editors at the News of the World did not practice or know about these tactics.
Following Goodman and Mulcaire's conviction, Coulson resigned as editor in January 2007, saying he had to take responsibility for what his troops got up to. But he denied having any knowledge of their illegal practices.
In July 2009, Coulson - by now Cameron's press adviser, but yet to go with Cameron to Downing Street - appeared before a Commons select committee. He again denied any knowledge of phone hacking during his time at the News of the World, as did Les Hinton, former executive chairman of News International, the paper's owner.
The NYT article claims to have interviewed more than a dozen former reporters and editors to paint a picture of life in the News of the World newsroom during the Coulson era.
"They described a frantic, sometimes degrading atmosphere in which some reporters openly pursued hacking or other improper tactics to satisfy demanding editors," the article claims. "Andy Coulson, the top editor at the time, had imposed a hyper-competitive ethos, even by tabloid standards. One former reporter called it a 'do whatever it takes' mentality."
Coulson has refused to comment to the New York Times on the allegations, but Bill Akass, managing editor of the News of the World, is quoted as saying:
"We reject absolutely any suggestion or assertion that the activities of Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire, at the time of their arrest, were part of a 'culture' of wrongdoing at the News of the World and were specifically sanctioned or accepted at senior level in the newspaper."
He accused the New York Times of writing about the case because of a rivalry with "a competing media company". He was referring to the Wall Street Journal, now owned by Murdoch, and where Les Hinton is the CEO. In April Hinton was named Publisher of the Year by Editor & Publisher magazine.
Read more: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/68065,news-comment,news-politics,andy-coulson-discussed-phone-hacking-says-report-news-of-the-world#ixzz1JV9KJfyv
