Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 19 Nov

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Summary
	The Prosecution Case Continues
		Back at the Old Bailey
	Witness – Harry Scott (former NOTW journalist)
		Counsel for Andy Coulson cross examines Harry Scott
		Counsel for Rebekah Brooks cross examines Harry Scott
		Further Prosecution question to Harry Scott
	Witness – Geoffrey Sweet (a former sports journalist for NOTW)
		Prosecution Counsel questions Geoffrey Sweet
		Counsel for Rebekah Brooks cross examines Geoffrey Sweet
	Witness – Robert Beasley (chief sport correspondent for the Sun and NOTW)
		Prosecution Counsel questions Robert Beasley
		Counsel for Andy Coulson cross examines Robert Beasley
	Witness – Emma Harvey (former PA to Andy Coulson)
		Prosecution Counsel questions Emma Harvey
		Counsel for Ian Edmondson cross examines Emma Harvey
		Further Prosecution questions to Emma Harvey
	Witness – Frances Carmen (former News desk secretary at the NOTW)
		Prosecution Counsel questions Frances Carmen
		Counsel for Stuart Kuttner cross examines Frances Carmen
		Counsel for Ian Edmondson cross examines Frances Carmen

The Prosecution Case Continues
	Back at the Old Bailey
		Back in Court 12 of the Old Bailey with Harry Scott, former NOTW night editor, giving evidence #hackingtrial
Witness – Harry Scott (former NOTW journalist)
	Counsel for Andy Coulson cross examines Harry Scott
		Harry Scott is being cross-examined by Antony Langdale QC, counsel for Andy Coulson, discussing plan and size of now defunct NOTW
		Scott describes the NOTW newsroom as about twice as wide as the courtroom and four times as long.
		Scott says there were news conferences with Coulson, Wallis and Kuttner plus heads of features, news, pictures, sports politics and deputies
		Those conferences would also be joined by someone from legal, circulation and advertising
		At the news conferences different stories would be discussed by the various heads of department
		NOTW stories would move up and down the list: these meetings would last at least half an hour, Harry Scott says
		“In the end it was the editor who would decide on placement of stories,” Langdale says. Scott agrees #hackingtrial
		Tom Crone, NI’s legal director, would mainly be present at these NOTW conferences. Scott says he was in constant contact with him
		Scott points out that Crone had an office downstairs because he was also servicing the Sun, but on Saturdays would be in NOTW offices
		Langdale asks Scott if he went to ‘think tanks’ devised by Andy Coulson. He remembers this would happen about once a year
		Scott agrees that the NOTW ‘School of Excellence’ came out of one of these NOTW ‘think tanks’
		Production of the Sunday NOTW would begin on Wednesday, starting with the ‘back of the book’ – gardening, finance, travel
		“You’d probably do the underspread on a Wednesday,” says Scott: the underspread are the two pages beneath the pull out section
		“The further back you go the less important the story is…. right hand important, left hand less important.” Scott on NOTW structure
		“You try to balance it out…. light and shade… humour and seriousness.” Harry Scott, former NOTW editor, on the design of the paper
		“if you cut a reporter in half like a stick of rock you find ‘expenses’ all the way through,” night editor NOTW Scott on his fellow journos
		“40 percent of readers start at the back of the paper” according to Scott
		Langdale asking about the importance of sport to NOTW. “Pretty rapid stuff going on with results coming in late,’ according to Langdale
		Scott says when it comes to NOTW news and features “you’d tried to read every item” #hackingtrial
		“We tended to divide the stories up, and paid more attention to ones you were working on” Scott on NOTW
		Scott explains the ‘flat plan’ of the paper which laid out the advertising and set the template the rest of the stories had to fit into
		There would be several ‘flat plans’ for the NOTW from the Wednesday to Saturday printing: some tension between commercial and editorial
		“If the advertising people got the ads they wanted to get in, they’d take over the paper.” Scott on the tension between ads and editorial
		Scott is explaining the cost balance between printing more pages and taking more ads
		“You’d hope for late breaking stories,” says Scott former of NOTW: “Some parts of the the paper just waiting for them to happen.”
		Harry Scott says any changes between different editions of the NOTW would be the editor’s decision
		Langdale takes Scott back to the ‘Missing Milly’ story from April 2002: Scott cannot remember details of that story or particular day
		14th April 2002 the Missing Milly story appeared on page nine in first edition of NOTW, then was moved to page 32 in third edition
		For a story to be moved from page 9 to 32 would signify a downgrading if “the story was not as good as it was” according to Scott
		Scott says “it’s possible” the night editor would move a story like that in discussion with the editor.
		The jury are shown first edition “Milly ‘Hoax’ Riddle” a whole page spread on p 9 of first NOTW edition 12/04/02
		The page nine has a large photo of Milly Dowler, a please call us appeal, a timetable of her disappearance, and an ad in bottom left
		The jury are now shown the third edition. It’s on page 32 and takes over only a third of the space, the rest filled with ads
		Replacing the Milly story on page nine is a headline “5 SBS Heroes Kill Hundred Al-Qaeda” Scott says “It’s a great story.”
		Nobody seems to know if the SBS story was a new one, or promoted from elsewhere in the paper
		When Scott looked at the story sometime later did he assumed the voicemail messages in original Dowler story “had come from a policeman”
		Scott says the first edition would be available in the office in Saturday: they’d soon know what was in the rival Sundays and have a meeting
		At an editorial meeting they’d go through the first edition of NOTW and look for changes, improvements, in light of rivals papers
		Scott says Coulson “believed in a really clean looking paper” He was like all editors “they all changed things late in day like a rotavator”
		Asked by Justice Saunders “which edition of NOTW sold more” Scott says he doesn’t know.
		Scott is asked about emails: he agrees he was bombarded by emails, probably on a Saturday, and agrees editor must have been too
		Langdale shows Scott some emails from NI server to see if he can remember them or their context
		Langdale shows a Jules Stenson 24/03/05 email to about a dozen people about an ‘East Enders orgy’ and talks of texts and voicemails
		Two days later from Jules Stenson, same circulation list about Muhammad George’s voicemails and texts, not suggesting illegal access
		Langdale shows Scott another email from Fran Goodman (chief sub) to Andy Coulson, cc’ed to Wallis to Scott about “copy in secret queue”
		The secret queue was a directory of ‘ultra secret production’ which could only be seen by a privileged number of people
		Scott explains that previous reference to ‘voicemail’ wasn’t phone hacking, but was a kiss and tell with legitimate exposure of voicemail
		Because of leaks, there would be a ‘secret room’ with an artist and a sub working out of sight on secret queue stories
		Scott is shown another email from him to Coulson in November 2005 about a new printing process they viewed in Augsburg in Germany
		Scott’s three page email to Coulson in Nov 05 is filled with lots of technical material; “The sort of matters that come up for editors.”
		Another email from Scott to Coulson – this time about a promotion, and the fight between advertising and editorial.
		Another email from Scott to Coulson and Wallis in March 2006 about new size ads, page layouts, colour and mono, gutters etc.
		Langdale asks Scott is Coulson is the kind of person who would “avoid unnecessary intrusion into people’s lives”
		Scott asksCoulson if a Gary Lineker Headline about divorce “They think it’s all over. It is now” would be too cruel? Coulson says “yes”
		Another email from Stenson to Coulson and others dealing with a well known person and their children. Coulson says “Don’t Name Kids”
		Another email produced by Langdale, counsel to Coulson, is about “love boat revellers”; Coulson says ‘pixelation’ for their faces
		Langdale then explores the kind of things – for example the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster – which would require a major revamp
		The jury are shown the front page of the NOTW during the Columbia disaster “No Chance” with more Horrific Story Pages 1-9
		Second edition of Columbia disaster NOTW shows a different photo and two more pages of coverage
		Langdale goes to David Beckham Rebecca Loos affair: Coulson produced a spoof edition to fox rivals over a secret story
		Scott says rivals would see the ‘street edition’ which would often be spoofed to deceive rivals and couldn’t be copied.
		A big story would be 2 or 3 or 4 spreads: the spoof story to cover it up would have to be as big, and also be true.
		Scott says accidentally papers have produced the real story on the spoof edition, and a spoof story in the real paper
		Langdale shows Jury a first edition of NOTW on Chelsea and Harry, with mention of the pope’s illness. A later edition changes ‘Pope Dead’
		Scott can’t remember the front page of the NOTW having to change because of a legal injunction.
	Counsel for Rebekah Brooks cross examines Harry Scott
		Laidlaw, counsel for Brooks, with two or three questions for Harry Scott, former NOTW editor. He goes back to Milly Dowler April 02 story
		Laidlaw calls up front page of that edition of NOTW “Beppe Blasts Eastenders” and asks if it rings any bells. Scott says it doesn’t
		Scott can’t even remember if he was at work that Saturday, or who was editing. Laidlaw points out that Brooks was abroad – edited by deputy
		Laidlaw talks of Brooks’ calls to NOTW editorial desk on Friday midnight. There’s an issue whether time is London or Dubai
		Scott says he wouldn’t be working midnight that Friday unless it was a big story. But if call times are 3 hours earlier he would be there
		On the Saturday Brooks calls 11.24/25 am (if Dubai time three hours earlier) Scott would be at work, but probably in secret room
		“Is it possible she was speaking to you?” Laidlaw asks Scott: “A headline story… she wouldn’t necessarily be speaking to me about it”
		“Anyone on the back bench could have picked up that phone,” Scott says of Brooks’ calls to the NOTW on Milly Dowler story weekend
		Laidlaw asks Scott about Glenn Mulcaire; he says he had never heard of him until his arrest and conviction
		Scott didn’t realise Mulcaire had appeared in a copy of the News of the World as their private investigator in 2002
		Scott hadn’t seen the Mulcaire appearance partly because it was in the sports section.
		Laidlaw returns to the front page of that 2002 edition which focused on the Soham murders
		Laidlaw says the news of the discovery of the bodies of Holly and Jessica was on a Saturday, with NOTW leading the news
		Scott says “it depends on the timing of the discovery of the bodies” Laidlaw says “I think it happened at lunchtime” of the Soham murders
		Scott can’t remember the re-ordering of the NOTW that Sunday in the light of discovering the bodies.
		Laidlaw says this is “particularly relevant to my client Mrs Brooks” and points to a Sarah’s Law campaign article from that edition
		“She took heavy criticism for Sarah’s Law,” Laidlaw suggests of Brooks: “Yes, the public loved it, the authorities hated it,” replies Scott
		Laidlaw wants to confirm one more detail with Scott about ‘Fran Goodman’ – chief sub, and Clive Goodman‘s sister
	Further Prosecution question to Harry Scott
		Bryant Heron for prosecution refers back to Milly Dowler article and moving articles between editions “shuffling the book”
		Scott confirms the post first edition conference details to prosecution counsel, around 8.30 or 9pm
		Scott says Editor/Deputy, department heads would all attend that meeting. But the reshuffle is the editor’s call.
		Bryant Heron refers to a call to NOTW from Brooks around time of this post first edition editorial conference.
		This call comes in from Dubai around 9pm on the Friday – not relevant to the first edition conference
Witness – Geoffrey Sweet (a former sports journalist for NOTW)
	Prosecution Counsel questions Geoffrey Sweet
		Next witness if Geoffrey Sweet – a sports journalist for NOTW in 2002
		Bryant Heron for prosecution calls up a NOTW article “now guess which’ 18/08/02 which Sweet wrote
		This is the story about AFC Wimbledon. It was a “novelty story” during which he interviewed Mulcaire who had been a Wimbledon centre forward
		“Glenn Mulcaire – the man they call Trigger… part of our Special Investigations Team” according to Sweet’s 2002 article
		Sweet remembers it was an “extremely hot day”: How did you know Mulcaire. “I was part of the NOTW empire and it was generally known.”
	Counsel for Rebekah Brooks cross examines Geoffrey Sweet
		Laidlaw for Brooks cross examines Sweet: Sweet wasn’t based full time in Wapping, and would visit Wapping every six or so weeks
		Sweet spent most his time in the sports department when at the Wapping Office. “It was generally known” about Mulcaire
		“As far as I know Mulcaire was never discussed,” says Sweet. The actual line about special investigations could have been put in by sub.
Witness – Robert Beasley (chief sport correspondent for the Sun and NOTW)
	Prosecution Counsel questions Robert Beasley
		The next witness for the prosecution is Robert Beasley: a chief sport correspondent at the Sun, previously NOTW
		Beasley became the chief sports reporter, mainly away a matches and assignments, working a lot at home on laptops and mobile phones
		In the old days Beasley used to dictate to copy taker. Copy sent now to an agreed email address.
		Beasley used to file to Mike Dunn, who’d query number of sources on a difficult story. “You break stories people didn’t want you to break”
		Bryant Heron shows Beasley a page from Mulcaire’s notebooks: it has Dunn, Beasley’s name and mobile, then a story about Chelsea footballer
		Beasley did not know till this moment his name was on Mulcaire’s notebooks
		Laidlaw for Brooks cross examines Beasley: he’d visit NOTW offices 10 times a year. Common practice to sports reporters
		Beasley says he never met Mulcaire, or heard his name, till after his arrest.
		Beasley said he was never aware of phone hacking at NOTW
		The Chelsea Player story appeared in 2004: Beasley had no idea of Mulcaire then
	Counsel for Andy Coulson cross examines Robert Beasley
		Langdale, counsel for Coulson, cross examines Beasley on “brilliant” atmosphere at NOTW. “Good training ground for journalists”
		Beasley says he was never asked to undertake any inquiries which were illegal or unethical. Editor wouldn’t ask about sources all the time
		Back after lunch – sorry I forgot to flag that up. Interview with Australian TV
Witness – Emma Harvey (former PA to Andy Coulson)
	Prosecution Counsel questions Emma Harvey
		Bryant Heron for the crown calls Emma Harvey: in early 2002 she was PA to Andy Coulson.
		Prior to that she had been Coulson PA on Current Bun – the online sun paper. She went with Coulson to NOTW in 2000. In 2003 she left
		No prosecution questions. Instead Harvey is cross examined by Langdale, counsel for Coulson.
		Harvey said she left NOTW because she ‘wanted a new challenge’ and they ‘departed on good terms’
		Harvey said she would book lunches and meetings, and deal with personal and private aspects of his life.
		Harvey was aware of Coulson’s professional meetings, and would act as a liaison sometimes talking to the police liaison
		Harvey explains how NOTW was competitive with the Sun, and journos were secretive about their information.
		Harvey can’t remember dealing with Coulson’s emails and she was never aware of phone hacking, nor of Glenn Mulcaire and his company
		Harvey’s statement says she was ‘aware’ someone well placed in royal circles was supplying information to NOTW
		Harvey knew someone paid in cash for Royal Stories: she was asked to transcribe taped conversation between Heather Mills and a prostitute
		Harvey says NOTW tried to support police in their investigations. She says Coulson “was a very good boss…. with enormous talent”
		Harvey agrees with Langdale Coulson was “approachable” and “understood the issues and time pressures of his staff… keen to get it right
		Harvey agrees Coulson was concerned about “leaks” about stories “coming out inadvertently in other papers before we had a chance”
		Langdale turns to the April NOTW 2002 edition on Milly Dowler. Harvey has no recollection of that, but remembers Michael Greco story
		That story was the front page of the NOTW in April 14th 2002 with the ‘Beppy Blasts Eastenders’ headline.
		Inside the paper was a spread featuring Michael Greco: Harvey has no recollection of the photo shoot.
	Counsel for Ian Edmondson cross examines Emma Harvey
		Edmondson’s QC asks Harvey “Coulson would not suffer fools gladly” she agrees “He was a confident character”
	Further Prosecution questions to Emma Harvey
		Bryant Heron for prosecution on her phrase Coulson “was keen to get it right.” End of Harvey’s evidence
Witness – Frances Carmen (former News desk secretary at the NOTW)
	Prosecution Counsel questions Frances Carmen
		Prosecution call Frances Carmen; she was a NOTW employee as temp in 1999, made permanent in 2000 as news desk secretary until 2011
		Carmen’s direct boss was the news desk editor, but she worked generally to all of the reporters
		Carmen started under Desk Editor Greg Miskiw, and Clive Goodman was his deputy. Brooks replaced Hall in May 2000 as editor
		Miskiw was briefly New York editor according to Carmen under Phil Hall. Brooks brought him back to head up an investigation unit
		The Miskiw investigation unit was separate from news desk. On it was Thurlbeck, Sara Arnold and Paul McMullan.
		Bryant Heron asks about the time Miskiw went to head up Manchester office: Carmen doesn’t know what happened to investigations unit then
		Miskiw went up to Manchester on 8th Dec 2003.
		Carmen says the investigations unit was at the other end of the office from the news desk, so she doesn’t know what went on there
		On her day to day role at news desk, Carmen would answer phones, sort out expenses, and ‘casuals’ working on Saturdays etc.
		Carmen often typed up the contracts for external contributors. Bryant Heron shows her Mulcaire’s July 2005 Nine Consultancy contract
		The contract is for £104,988 per annum with Neville Thurlbeck signature. Carmen says this is not the normal template.
		Carmen says she might have been sent the contract to tidy up. She can’t remember Nine Consultancy. She used to file contributors files
		Carmen said she stored old contracts in brown envelopes. On 14/04/11 she was there when Weatherup arrested
		Carmen was witness for Paul Nicholas packing Weatherup’s desk which she then took to lawyer’s at Lincoln’s Inn Fields
		Carmen “knows a man called Glenn” used to call up from time to time wanting to speak to people on the news desk. Never heard surname
		Bryant Heron for the crown asks Carmen about her archiving duties and show the jury a NI records transfer list during move from Wapping
		In top line from archive 16/10/10 is a reference to ‘Ian’s Tapes’: common for journos to have tapes of interviews
		Carmen remembers a company called Euro Research, but didn’t know at the time it belonged to Mulcaire
		Carmen would arrange to have cash paid to external contributors, signed off by news desk and managing editors.
		Problems with payments would be referred to Kuttner or his deputy Paul Nicholas
	Counsel for Stuart Kuttner cross examines Frances Carmen
		Kuttner’s counsel cross examines Carmen over the Mulcaire contracts calls up Euro Research contract from Sept 2001 for £92k signed by Miskiw
		A similar Mulcaire contract for 2002 for Euro Research worth £92k is also signed by Greg Miskiw.
		Carmen agrees that Kuttner “worked hard… wanted things done correctly”.
	Counsel for Ian Edmondson cross examines Frances Carmen
		QC for Edmondson will cross examine tomorrow. Meanwhile Langdale for Coulson asks where Carmen was sitting “on the news desk” she says
		Carmen accepts that before Goodman’s 06 arrest she had no idea of practice of phone hacking. “I enjoyed it very much” she says of NOTW work
		Prosecution have no further evidence to call today – early finish. Back 10 am tomorrow
		For my #hackingtrial followers: I try to respond to every query. If I don’t, it’s usually because I don’t know or legal rules constrain me
		Meanwhile short trial day gives me time to catch up on another project http://www.guccithemusical.com pic.twitter.com/tW93ghXE3d

Note: All the defendants deny all the charges. The trial continues.

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Previous Posts
Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 13 Nov
Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 14 Nov
Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 18 Nov

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