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.
Related Articles
Mulcaire’s Contracts for NOTW
Andy Coulson Voicemail
Correction: swallows words – Why I probably WILL be in the Old Bailey Tomorrow
Why I probably won’t be live tweeting much more of the Hacking Trial
Previous Posts
Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 13 Nov
Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 14 Nov
Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 18 Nov
Links: The Trial So Far | Full Trial Summary | Indexed Evidence | Breaking News
Pingback: Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 27 Nov | Live Tweeting the hacking trial
Pingback: Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 26 Nov | Live Tweeting the hacking trial
Pingback: Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 25 Nov | Live Tweeting the hacking trial
Pingback: Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 21 Nov | Live Tweeting the hacking trial
Pingback: Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 20 Nov | Live Tweeting the hacking trial
Pingback: Hacking Trial Live Tweets – 18 Nov | Live Tweeting the hacking trial