Hackgate - Springwatch

A summary of recent events and what to watch out for from my regular contributor.

1  Kavanagh's replacement?

No, not Trevor.  As discussed here back in January, all Hackgate investigations were quietly migrated back to the home of their troubled and stuttering genesis in Specialist Operations under Assistant Commissioner (AC) Cressida Dick.  After Sue Akers' retirement, responsibility for Operations Weeting, Elveden and Tuleta had passed to Deputy AC Steve Kavangh. Kavanagh promptly applied for the post of Chief Constable of Essex Police and was confirmed in his new post in February.  Meanwhile, no news has emerged of who now has operational command of Operations Weeting, Elveden, Tuleta as DAC Kavanagh's designated replacement.

That leaves AC Cressida Dick holding the Hackgate baby, having to act as spokeswoman in defending those dawn raids and arrests of journalists (see here), at the same time as justifying why Counter Terrorism should remain within her Metropolitan Police (MET) command and not be transferred to the new National Crime Agency.  It would be interesting - and in the public interest - to see some clear up-to-date statement from the MET on the chain of command of the Hackgate investigations. Perhaps Chair of Home Affairs Select Committee Keith Vaz MP might ask?

2  Craig Denholm and the IPCC

Still waiting for any sign of that Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report following the investigation into aspects of the Milly Dowler phone hacking in 2002.  (for background see here)

Surrey's Deputy Chief Constable Craig Denholm and Det Sup Maria Woodall were referred for IPCC conduct investigation in June 2012.  By November 2012, it was reported (Guardian) that the IPCC report was "almost complete" and due to be submitted to Surrey Police by the beginning of December.  Denholm then applied unsuccessfully for the post of Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall.  Despite suspicions that the report would be delayed for 18 months or more (here) whilst Denholm would be allowed to retire from Surrey, in January 2013 the IPCC

said it has completed its file on Craig Denholm, the senior police officer who allegedly knew the News of the World had hacked the phone but took no action.  Speaking to the BBC, chief constable Lynne Owens described the police watchdog’s report as “thorough” and said Surrey Police will decide what action to take in the wake of ongoing criminal investigations.
The IPCC has said it is now awaiting chief constable Owens response to the file.

3  Media Plurality

Debates on the Royal Charter and press regulation have taken centre stage, allowing key issues of media ownership to be overshadowed. A News Corporation re-newed bid for BSkyB has even been rumoured.

In the US though, Rupert Murdoch is not yet getting his own way in expecting a waiver to laws designed to prevent market dominance in Los Angeles and elsewhere.  Similar pan-European legislation is also being mooted (here) through a recognised European Citizens' Initiative.  Meanwhile in the UK, ownership concentration is back on the Parliamentary agenda - with a focus on safeguarding plurality particularly in news provision across media platforms.

On March 28th, the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications announced its new inquiry into Media Plurality.  It aims to give its recommendations in Autumn 2013.  Its call for evidence says

Achieving a workable approach to plurality, particularly in provision of news and current affairs, is generally considered fundamental to a well-functioning democratic society, ensuring as far as possible informed citizens and a media without any single set of views or individuals wielding too much influence over the political process. Any consideration of plurality is, of course, heavily tied in with the wider context of the future of news provision more generally, particularly of newspapers....issues surrounding media plurality are once again under the policy spotlight, prompted by concerns raised about the proposed (and then dropped) acquisition of BSkyB by News Corporation; Ofcom’s report on Measuring Media Plurality; Lord Justice Leveson’s report; the report by the European Commission’s High Level Media Group on Media Freedom & Plurality; and the recently-launched European citizens’ initiative for media pluralism.

4  The ICO and Data Protection Act

Published in March, 'The Functions, Powers and Resources of the Information Commissioner' is the latest, and timely, report from the Justice Select Committee.

The phone hacking scandal and the subsequent inquiry by Lord Justice Leveson into the ethics, practice and culture of the press drew attention to the past failings of the ICO during Operation Motorman. It also showed the importance of data protection and the need for a regulator with the ability to take effective action.

The Data Protection Act, with its controversial Section 55 applicable to press intrusion, came back under the Justice Committee scrutiny.  Surprisingly, it appears that a conviction under Section 55 does not currently result in a criminal record.  The ICO

argued that criminal records, which are a matter of both deterrence and of assisting detection, were essential in reflecting the seriousness of the offence. At present the offence of unlawful obtaining etc is not a recordable offence. It is not therefore recorded on the Police National Computer. Fingerprint impressions, DNA samples and descriptive details are not currently taken from those individuals who are prosecuted by the ICO for the section 55 offence 

Unsurprisingly, the Justice Committee wishes to see Section 55 breaches recordable.  As for triggering legislation to include custodial sentences (up to 2 yrs, subject to public interest defence), the Report strongly recommends

Introduction of the option of custodial sentences for section 55 offences would emphasise their seriousness. We call on the Government to adopt our previous recommendation, as well as that of the Home Affairs Committee, the Joint Committee on the Draft Communications Data Bill and the Leveson Inquiry, and commence sections 77 and 78 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 to allow for custodial sentences for breach of section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998.

5  Operation Elveden conviction

There have so far been four convictions in Operation Elveden for the offence of Misconduct in Public Office.  Yet each individual sentence has been different. April Casburn received 15 months imprisonment. She had pleaded not guilty so did not have her sentence reduced on conviction

The defendant does not have the benefit of the mitigation that would have accompanied a guilty plea.
Without the important complicating factor [ongoing child adoption process]..., the sentence would have been 3 years imprisonment.

On March 27th, three others were sentenced for misconduct offences for which each had pleaded guilty.  Alan Tierney, former Surrey police officer, received 10 months and 6 months (concurrently) for two offences, whilst former prison officer Richard Trunkfield was sentenced to 16 months for a single offence.  Another police officer (un-named for legal reasons) was given a term of 2 years.  He was told

the offence warranted a sentence of three years, but because of his early guilty plea he was reducing the sentence by a third. 

What seem at first sight to be discrepancies in sentences are explained by each individual sentence being increased or decreased for a variety of specific aggravating / mitigating factors.  These can include an early guilty plea or - as in Trunkfield's case - the extreme sensitivity of the identity of the prisoner about whom he leaked information.  There are guidelines, but Judge's discretion is exercised in applying sentence reductions.

Those charged with similar offences may well pause for thought - the only factor common to all four convictions is that emergent 'baseline' of three years.

6  Business as usual?

Midsummer '11 was a tectonic shift for the UK press.  Ably traced by News International seismographer Peter Jukes' book 'The Fall of the House of Murdoch', the 'fourteen days that ended a media dynasty' shook the fourth estate and toppled the News of the World.

On June 20th, Operation Elveden commenced - the new investigation into alleged bribery of police and public officials.  This marked a widening of the scope of alleged Hackgate offences, and was to be supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).  On 13th July, the Leveson Inquiry was announced by the Prime Minister.

Yet evidence is now emerging that that seismic 'moment' of summer '11 may not have brought malpractice to a juddering halt.  The recent resurgence of Elveden charges and convictions warrant some analysis, particularly the date ranges of alleged offences. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charging decisions have been accompanied by CPS statements (here)

made in the interests of transparency and accountability to explain the decisions reached in respect of cases arising from Operation Elveden, which is the Metropolitan Police Service investigation into allegations involving the unlawful provision of information by public officials to journalists.

• CPS Statement dated 15/05/2012  details News International-related charges for alleged offences up to July 19 2011.
• CPS Statement dated 20/03/2013, News International-related charges alleged offences up to August 2011.
• CPS Statement dated 22/01/2013, News International-related charges alleged offences up to September 2011.
• CPS Statement dated 20/11/2012, News International-related charges alleged offences up January 2012. 

These are in addition to Sue Akers' evidence to the Leveson Inquiry (paras 22-24)

• Trinity Mirror-related alleged offences up to January 2012
• Express Newspapers-related alleged offences up to February 2012

In each instance, the alleged offences took place AFTER the start fo Operation Elveden and the announcement of the Leveson Inquiry.

Hardly evidence of a cryogenic 'chilling effect' -  if proven, some might call this sheer hubris.

7  Farewell to Vos and Fulford

Judges presiding over phone hacking cases elevated to higher office - Mr Justices Vos and Fulford to become lord justices of appeal, and will not handle trials of former News International staff.

Both Vos and Fulford have made their individual marks on Hackgate, laying foundations in key civil and criminal cases for their respective successors.

Most memorable quote from Justice Vos:

They [News International] are to be treated as deliberate destroyers of evidence.

Most memorable quote about Justice Fulford:

At last members of the jury, we have a decent judge! 

8  Sun solidarity 

Sun staff show support as deputy editor appears in court

This is an interesting and thoughtful development, brought about by watching news footage of a fellow reporter's lone walk into court. It accompanies a new site, Call to Arms Now (here).  It is an informal invite to journalists to show dignified support for each other at each court appearance because "we as journalists have been sitting back watching colleagues we know and respect having their lives turned upside down for simply doing their job."  This quiet demonstration of solidarity could certainly be an opportunity to demonstrate their genuine strength of feeling.

But demonstrate that depth of feeling to who, exactly?  The Met for the dawn arrests?  CPS for the charging decisions? Courts? Hacked Off?

Or even perhaps Rupert Murdoch?

It certainly has the potential to demonstrate quiet determination to News Corporation. The Sun journalists should have no illusions about the veneer of loyalty shown them by their employer whilst it suits News Corp, or the speed at which it will disappear if it becomes inconvenient. Given the hostility towards the Management and Standards Committee (MSC), hacks seem in no mood to be hung out to dry should favoured senior executives not stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in the dock.

If I were Murdoch I would be keeping a watchful eye open for where this new-found journalist solidarity might lead.


Related Articles
Hackgate - Elveden: Murdoch Or King Cnut?
Hackgate - Elveden - Murdoch's Catch 22
Hackgate - "Snakes And Ladders" At The Met
Hackgate - April Casburn's Conviction - Myths And Misconceptions
Hackgate - Varec Revisited - Dissent In The Ranks
Hackgate - Sue Akers' Swansong
Hackgate - "Newsdesk Here, Kelvin Speaking..."

You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

Hackgate - Elveden: Murdoch Or King Cnut?

The latest from my regular contributor.

Noticed the upsurge in Elveden arrests and charges recently?  After a marked hiatus, it's like a dam has burst.

It started as a trickle which became a stream (Sue Akers) -

Operation Elveden began on 20 June 2011 when News International disclosed material to the Metropolitan Police Service that indicated that police officers had allegedly been receiving cash/cheque payments from journalists from the News of the World for the provision of confidential information. 

But its original 2011 terms of reference widened as the investigatory trickle built into a torrent throughout 2012 of arrests of (mainly Sun) journalists, public officials, prison and police officers.  2013 has so far seen the first Elveden conviction and imprisonment (April Casburn) and a wave of charges.  Both the number and nature of arrests are remarkable. (Hat Tip to Martin Hickman for the best lists of arrests/charges/etc).

Amongst News International arrests are royal editor(s), editor(s), sundry senior executives, managing editor(s), news editor, crime editor, executive editor, deputy editor, chief reporter, deputy news editor, defence editor, chief foreign correspondent etc.  These are not low-level roles or freelancers cutting corners.

Police arrests are also worth analysis: to date, no less than FOUR from MET Specialist Crimes & Special Operations alone, plus two senior officers from the City of London force.  The most recent (see here, Daily Mail) is a former Assistant Commissioner and thus the first (but perhaps not the last) ACPO rank arrest for suspected leaking of unauthorised information.  So police arrests are creeping up the 'food chain' too.  Little wonder that Sean O'Neill of the Times wryly commented on the subject

Down at Scotland Yard some of the command team are in the greenhouse throwing big bricks #elveden
— Sean O'Neill (@TimesCrime) March 5, 2013

Certainly Elveden is (so far) the biggest threat to parent company News Corp (see here) regarding potential corporate and US prosecutions.


And there is a detectable sense of urgency about recent News Corp manoevring - closing their phone hacking compensation scheme, frantic settling of as many civil actions as possible in a rearguard action to prevent further revelations in open court.  It's almost as if defensive embankments have crumbled and legal arguments on admissibility of key evidence (for example, email data pools) have been decided so the upstream log-jam delaying court cases has been prised wide open.

The timing of Rupert Murdoch's reported pep talk to arrested journalists is interesting too (Guardian)

It is understood the News Corporation chairman and chief executive and Sun proprietor met with the journalists on Wednesday at News International's Wapping headquarters in east London to allay concerns that their careers and futures have been left in limbo as they continue to be rebailed without knowing if they are going to be charged..... Sources say Murdoch vowed to continue to pay the arrestees' legal fees and offer whatever support was needed. However he said he could not, for legal reasons, tell them what would happen with regard to their employment if any were charged and found guilty.

Whatever the flood of recent developments, we may know more about the consequences quite quickly.

Tomorrow (Friday March 8th) is going to be a busy day for Operation Elveden at the Central Criminal Court (aka the Old Bailey)

Court No 1, sitting from 9.30am (Court Listing) 

THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE FULFORD    

Plea and Case Management    

U20130197 Alan TIERNEY    

(Surrey Police officer)

U20130198  Richard TRUNKFIELD 

(Prison Operational Support Officer at HMP Woodhill, a high security category A men's prison)

Southwark Crown Court Case    

For Preliminary Hearing    

U20130199  FLATTLEY (MET police officer)  &

WHEELER (Sun journalist)

NOT BEFORE 10:00 am    

Plea and Case Management    

U20130210 

Rebekah BROOKS (the Sun)

John KAY  (the Sun)  & 

Bettina JORDAN-BARBER  (Ministry of Defence official)

U20130201

Andy COULSON (News of the World) &

Clive GOODMAN (News of the World)

It looks increasingly like Rupert Murdoch can't play King Cnut much longer and things aren't going swimmingly.


Related Articles
Hackgate - Elveden - Murdoch's Catch 22
Hackgate - "Snakes And Ladders" At The Met
Hackgate - April Casburn's Conviction - Myths And Misconceptions
Hackgate - Varec Revisited - Dissent In The Ranks
Hackgate - Sue Akers' Swansong
Hackgate - "Newsdesk Here, Kelvin Speaking..."
Hackgate - Andre Baker - A Hackgate Footnote?

You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

One Rogue Email And The Indestructible Archive

Another new article by my regular contributor bringing some more order to the chaos of Hackgate.

Often a key Hackgate event has come to light months (even years) later.  It can be confusing - trying to see a wider view and adjusting your fuzzy chronology when fresh information appears. But each new fragment contributes to a better grasp of a bigger picture.  Tracing one aspect through the now-massive volume of material can be useful - in this instance, focusing on News International's quirky dealings with the everyday email.

26 January 2007
Goodman and Mulcaire convicted. Goodman's unfair dismissal claim against News of the World mean that batches of relevant emails are provided to News Int lawyers, Harbottle and Lewis, to inspect for evidence of illegality.  Given their narrowly-drawn remit, unsurprisingly they found none.

24 July 2008
Max Mosley won his legal action against News Group Newspapers (NGN), UK parent company of News International (News Int). One part of the defence case (ironically) was that Max Mosley had deleted emails which the News of the World alleged would have incriminated Mosley and exonerated the newspaper.  NGN were clearly suspicious that deleting emails looked guilty. 

Justice Eady demurred, saying in his Judgement (p17-18  paras 73-78) that Mosley's deletion of the emails

...seem to have been prompted, albeit with no great urgency, by the warnings he had received that he might be under surveillance by unidentified persons with the motive of trying to undermine his character or reputation in the motoring world. These came from Bernie Ecclestone in January and from Lord (John) Stevens at the end of February.

At the time (ironically), post-prison, "Glenn Mulcaire was contracted to give security advice to a private security company, Quest, whose chairman was Sir John Stevens, the former Met Police Commissioner."  (p66, Dial M for Murdoch)

8 July 2009
The Guardian reported that News International settled Gordon Taylor's civil claim: 'Murdoch papers paid £1m to gag phone-hacking victims'

9 July 2009
Assistant Commissioner John Yates (Counter Terrorism Command, Specialist Operations) undertook a day-long consideration of issues raised by the Guardian article the day before.  His conclusion was that a new investigation was not warranted.


14 July 2009At the ensuing Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee hearing, the Guardian's Nick Davies publicly provided Members with the infamous 'for Neville' 2005 email - one rogue email that challenged NGN's 'one rogue reporter' defence.


Nov 2009
News Int established an 'email deletion policy' to "eliminate in a consistent manner" emails "that could be unhelpful in the context of future litigation".



29 July 2010
Following repeated requests, a News Int Senior Executive again pressed for priority action on email deletion - "How come we still haven't done the email deletion policy discussed and approved six months ago?"


4 August 2010
The same Senior Executive asked again about email deletion, adding "everyone needs to know that everything before January 2010 will not be kept."

1 September 2010
The New York Times published a comprehensive story of the phone hacking crisis. Their article included fresh information from former News Int whistleblowers, challenging the fiction of one rogue reporter acting illegally without executives' knowledge - 'Tabloid Hack Attack on Royals, and Beyond'






2 September 2010
Metropolitan Police commence Operation Varec to investigate the New York Times article of the previous day.  Varec was undertaken by Counter-Terrorism Command in Specialist Operations.

6 September 2010
News Int were served with a letter from Sienna Miller's legal team requiring that all relevant documents and emails be preserved. In addition, her legal team demanded the preservation of all computers used by named News of the World journalists. (p 17 Admitted General Particulars of Claim)

9 Sept 2010
A News Int IT employee wrote about deleting emails the next day, "There is a senior NI management requirement to delete this data as quickly as possible..."

11 September 2010
It is alleged that "on 11 September 2010, April Casburn, being a public officer, and acting as such, without reasonable excuse or justification, wilfully misconducted herself to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public's trust in that office. This charge relates to an allegation that DCI Casburn contacted the News of the World newspaper and offered to provide information." (Crown Prosecution Service charge press statement)

It was reported by the Telegraph that this "related to information allegedly offered to the News of the World about Operation Varec", though it is not yet known if NotW accepted any offer of any inside-track Varec info. Detective Chief Inspector Casburn is a serving senior Metropolitan Police officer in Counter Terrorism Command in Specialist Operations.

Same day - 11 September 2010
All emails from News Int's email archive were deleted, up to September 30th 2004 (p17, Admitted General Particulars of Claim, as above)

October 2010
There now appeared a sense of urgency, brute force is applied - all computers used by News of the World journalists were 'taken out and smashed up' - physically destroyed and the hard drives put through a grinder. (Daily Mail)

10 November 2010
It was revealed by the Guardian that News of the World "accepted liability over allegations from Sienna Miller which included that her private emails had been opened".

17 November 2010
Bob Bird, Editor of News of the World Scotland, gives evidence at the Tommy Sheridan perjury trial -

Mr Bird told the court that the newspaper had lost 'six months' worth of emails due to a decision to archive them in Mumbai India

9 - 10 December 2010
Andy Coulson, Director of Communications at 10 Downing Street, gave his evidence at the Sheridan perjury trial.

21 January 2011
Andy Coulson resigns from No 10 post.

26 January 2011
Operation Weeting was announced. (MET Press Statement at start of Operation Weeting)

The MPS has today (26 January) received significant new information from News International relating to allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World in 2005/06. As a result, the MPS is launching a new investigation to consider this material... The original phone hacking investigation was undertaken by the Counter Terrorism Command in Specialist Operations. However, in view of their current workload and the continuing 'Severe' threat level, it has been agreed that it is no longer appropriate to divert them or Acting Deputy Commissioner John Yates from their main duties and responsibilities. Accordingly, this new investigation will be led by Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers from the Specialist Crime Directorate.

Late January 2011

...a News International executive may have deleted millions of emails from an internal archive in an apparent attempt to obstruct Scotland Yard's inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal.

 (Guardian)

31 January 2011
A data company may have pressured News Int to admit the backed-up pre-2007 email archive still existed - "no emails had been lost en route to Mumbai or anywhere else in India" - they had been located, near Bristol.

May 2011
Former Director of Public Prosecutions, Lord MacDonald, was hired by global parent company News Corporation to re-inspect some of the Harbottle and Lewis email files - ignored since 2007.  It took him just minutes to conclude that the emails must be handed to the police.
(Qs 1056-1060 Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee)

18 July 2011
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates (Counter Terrorism Command, Specialist Operations) resigned.

The News Corp Board followed Lord MacDonald's advice and the emails were provided to the MET Police.  These emails were the kick-start for the MET to intiate Operation Elevedon, their investigation into corruption of police officers and other public officials.

Who could have predicted?  You start with one rogue email and end up with a BIG can of worms...

Related Articles
John Yates And Neil Wallis - A Mutual Understanding
Alex Marunchak - Presumed Innocent
News Corp - Diplomatic Immunity?
The Cook-Hames Surveillance : A Watched Kettle...
Alastair Morgan On The Latest Hackgate Revelations

You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

Alastair Morgan On The Latest Hackgate Revelations

In this past week it seems the Hackgate scandal has begun to make comeback, with new claims in the Independent and Evening Standard which have included allegations that the News of the World ordered Southern Investigations to carry out burglaries on their behalf, a police mole at Southern Investigations being exposed by a hacker with links to the News of the World, and other allegations relating to the blackmailing of ministers and MPs using information obtained by Southern Investigations.

This has all been of great interest to Alastair Morgan, whose brother, Daniel Morgan, set up Southern Investigations in 1984 with Jonathan Rees, and was murdered in 1987 after attempting to expose Southern Investigations' involvement in alleged police corruption.  A number of police investigations into the murder were seemingly undermined by the police's close relationship with Southern Investigations, and the latest revelations in the press are linked to the work of a police undercover operative, Derek Haslam, who was supposedly placed at Southern Investigations as part of an inquiry into Daniel Morgan's murder.  Earlier today I spoke to Alastair Morgan about the latest allegations in the press:

What do you think of this quote from Jonathan Rees' video interview in the Independent, re Daniel's murder?

I think that's one of the biggest deceptions of all time.  I don't think any of the senior MET police officers whatsoever cared less about the Morgan murder - they couldn't care less.

I never comment on anything that Mr Rees says.

Do you believe then that Operation Nigeria was just used as an excuse to get a listening probe into Southern Investigations to find out what information they were gathering about the MET and senior officers?

I believe that this was part of the Met’s motivation.

Firstly, Operation Nigeria was carried out behind our backs after a meeting between my former MP (now Lord Chris Smith of Finsbury) and the then Deputy Commissioner John Stevens. My family were not allowed to know what was going on in that inquiry. That alone creates suspicion, given the history of the case up to that time. We also know since the Leveson Inquiry that Lord Stevens (as he is now) says he was not briefed about the evidence of extensive police/media (NoW) corruption that was uncovered during that investigation, despite the fact that Bob Quick - who took over responsibility for that operation from John Yates in January 1999 - wrote a report recommending further investigation and prosecutions for his superior, Andy Hayman. Mr Quick told the Leveson Inquiry that Scotland Yard had refused to provide him with a copy of his report to help him prepare his statement for Leveson. As Deputy Commissioner, John Stevens was responsible for force discipline and, given the evidence of extensive police/media corruption uncovered, he must at the very least have not been in control of his command. The fact that he was coached for his interview for the Commissioner’s post by Neil Wallis and took on a columnist contract for NoW after he left the Met has left  a very bad taste in my mouth. 

At this time, I know of only one instance when the probe deployed in Southern Investigations was used specifically to gather evidence on Daniel’s murder. This took place at a time when police knew they were going to have to close the operation down to make arrests  in an ongoing conspiracy by Jonathan Rees and others (including a serving police officer, Austin Warnes) to plant cocaine on an innocent woman in order to discredit her in a child-custody battle.

Tom Watson MP has called for all Operation Nigeria tapes to be transcribed. What other action do you now think is needed?

This would be very much in the public interest, as would a full judicial inquiry into the police’s handling of Daniel murder.

How does this new information help your call for a full inquiry into Daniel's killing?

Much of the recently publicised allegations only amplify the deeply unhealthy relationship between the Met, NoW and Southern Investigations that became evident during the Leveson inquiry, most specifically in the evidence that NoW interfered with an investigation into Daniel’s murder in 2002, when DCS David Cook and his family were placed under surveillance by journalists from NoW. Since the collapse of the prosecution in March 2011, we have become aware that two witnesses allege that Daniel actually approached NoW with an expose of police corruption shortly before he was murdered. The most recent allegations only underline the need for a full judicial inquiry. 

With new and increasingly serious accusations against Southern Investigations being made all the time do you think it's time for there to be an inquiry in to their activities, including their possible links with the murder of your brother?  If so, what form would you like that inquiry to take?

A full judicial inquiry or a possibly panel of inquiry as in the Hillsborough disaster are the only real options, in my view.

You can read more about the Morgan family's campaign at the Justice 4 Daniel Website, as well as following the campaign on Twitter.

Related Articles
Alex Marunchak - Presumed Innocent
The Milly Dowler Hacking - Part 1: Questions Still Unanswered
Operation Tuleta - A Second Look
The Cook-Hames Surveillance : A Watched Kettle...
Hackgate for Beginners - The Murder of Daniel Morgan

You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

Recommended Arab Spring And Hackgate Articles Week Ending September 23rd

Here's a round up of some of the more interesting articles you may have missed in the past week:

Arab Spring

The past week has provided us with a interesting selection of articles about equipment and make up of the Syrian opposition, with CJ Chivers starting an excellent series of articles about the DIY weapons being used by the opposition, with part three promising details of the DIY weapons being used by Assad loyalists:

Syria’s Dark Horses, With Lathes: Makeshift Arms Production in Aleppo Governorate, Part I
Syria’s Dark Horses, With Lathes: Makeshift Arms Production in Aleppo Governorate, Part II

Louisa Loveluck examined the lethal consequences of the non-lethal aid provided by a number of countries to the Syrian opposition in What's non-lethal about aid to the Syrian opposition?, and The Rogue Adventurer blog looks at the different RPG-7 projectiles being spotted in Syria.  For my part I've put together a post examining the different types of bombs being used by the Syrian Air Force.

Two studies of the beliefs and motivations of the Syrian opposition are worth taking a look at, first the Institute for the Study of War published an excellent detailed report on Jihadists in Syria, which was followed by The International Republican Institute's survey into the attitudes of opposition members and activists, which pointed to more moderate views among the Syrian oppositions.

One article that caught my eye on Libya was Reuters piece on the attitudes of staff at a hospital towards the Ansar al-Sharia militia, blamed for the violence at the US consulate in Benghazi, but regarded by the staff as protectors of the hospital, Militants or no, Islamist fighters praised at Benghazi hospital.

Hackgate

With the latest accusations levied by the Independent and Evening Standard and promises of more to come it appears the Hackgate scandal might be returning with even worse revelations in the offing.  The BBC put together this helpful chart showing the current arrests by the various Hackgate related police operations, with Slate asking Why Hasn’t Eric Holder Charged News Corp. With Foreign Corrupt Practices?.

More trouble for News Corp was hinted about the Socialist Worker Online asking Did News International order burglary of Hillsborough campaigner’s home?, while Tom Watson MP wrote Rupert Murdoch a letter asking questions about the latest allegations.  Finally, a audio recording of a conversation between Derek Haslem and Ian Hurst was posted online where it's claimed that Southern Investigations blackmailed MPs, Ministers, and the Home Secretary with a suggestion of collusion with Alex Marunchak of the News of the World.


You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

SOCA, The Met, And The ICO - Joined Up Thinking?

Another post from a regular contributor

So, there's plenty happening with Hackgate.  Lord Justice Leveson has started to send out Section 13 letters, a couple of ex-Times employees have been arrested regarding Nightjack, Tom Crone has been arrested, and the Wapping Weeting defendants are due to plead at Southwark on September 26th.  In Scotland, Operation Rubicon's investigations have now led to the Sheridan Trial Trio being detained, arrested and charged. 

But meanwhile, there are low profile developments gathering pace (or should that be PACE...) involving the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). 

As the Leveson Inquiry starts to wind down for now, the focus for inquisitorial scrutiny will start to shift back where it was before - the Select Committees of Parliament.  The work of Tom Watson et al of the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee was crucial to unpicking allegations of News International's phone-hacking.  It was ably augmented by the Home Affairs Select Committee looking at Metropoltan Police Service (MET) handling of Hackgate and communications data interception. The Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) issued its rigorous Report in July 2011, 'Unauthorised Tapping Into or Hacking of Mobile Communications'. 

HASC scrutiny of related issues has though continued - it launched an inquiry into 'private investigators' and held evidence hearings in the spring of 2012.  Aside from issues of regulation, licensing and so on, HASC heard three pieces of evidence of real interest to Hackgate watchers.

• An unrepentant Julian Pike of Farrer & Co was asked again about News International's use of a private investigator in surveillance of Mark Lewis and Charlotte Harris, lawyers acting for phone-hacking victims.
• an unexpected bombshell when (under parliamentary privilege) a witness alleged collusion and corruption of MET officers by a leading private investigator and security industry firm.
• an opportunity to re-visit OPERATION MOTORMAN with the Information Commissioner (ICO).

The HASC Report 2012, 'Private Investigators' is published here.  Deep in the written evidence is a brief supplementary submission (April 2012, p123) from the ICO which repays reading. It seems - perhaps belatedly - there might actually be some cooperation and coordination in investigatory strategy going on.  Whilst the ICO have not prosecuted any private investigators or 'enquiry agents' for the past two years, it says

We have however been engaged in one long-running and complex investigation which we expect to be able to bring to court imminently.

There is little nugget too:

The ICO is also working with other regulators and law enforcement bodies... the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) have agreed to share some of the evidence obtained in Operation Millipede with the ICO.

 It continues,

Similarly the Metropolitan Police have agreed to share some of the evidence relating to private investigators that they uncover during aspects of the Operation Wheeting investigation into phone-hacking at the News of the World. This information will be collated and used within the (ICO) investigations department to inform and support proactive investigations into rogue elements within the private investigator community.

Joined-up thinking at last by key investigation agencies and (maybe) some signs of a common determination to pursue evidence that has been gathering cobwebs too long.

And that's an intriguing turn of phrase from the ICO - "rogue elements".  One might wonder if it has anything to do with the confidential 2008 SOCA Intelligence Report called 'Private Investigators: The Rogue Element of the Private Investigation Industry and Others Unlawfully Trading in Personal Data'.

Completed by SOCA in Jan 2008, the eight page report was designated 'Restricted' until it was slipped into the public domain in early 2012.  (Hat-tip to Keith Vaz MP for noticing it on SOCA's web site.) It summarises findings about "harms inflicted to the UK by private investigators" from five un-named police investigations, up to and including 2007 when Clive GOODMAN and Glenn MULCAIRE were convicted.  Criminal activities include "unlawfully acquiring data, interception of communications, corruption, and perverting the course of justice."  It is also pointed out that many private investigators have been previously employed in law enforcement or the armed forces: "Such individuals bring with them the skills and specialist knowledge accrued during their previous careers."  Corrupt practices identified also include "accessing their own or associates' recorded convictions; attempting to discover the location of witnesses".

You can read it here.


The five anonymised investigations up to the Intelligence Report cut-off date of September 2007 could conceivably include Operation REPROOF, Operation MOTORMAN and Operation GLADE - these all relate to Hackgate.  Spoilt for choice, perhaps SOCA also included the (as-yet unconnected to Hackgate)  Operation BARBATUS.

Should SOCA consider writing a Volume 2 beyond that cut-off date, the familiar modus operandi might point to several current police Hackgate operations, and perhaps Operation ABELARD II.

Not forgetting there's that rather interesting OPERATION MILLIPEDE - the prime example of a 'Jack-in-Box' investigation.  The one that it is just so difficult to keep the lid on.

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You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

Unlucky For Some - Section 13

A new piece from a regular contributor.

Today's Independent reports that Lord Justice Leveson has started sending out his requisite Section 13 letters.  These notification letters must be sent to any who may be criticised in the Inquiry's final report. (Don't get me started on the arguments about what legally constitutes 'a person'....)

Rule 13 provides:

The Chairman may send a warning letter to any person:
a. he considers maybe, or who has been, subject to criticism in the inquiry proceedings;
or
b. about whom criticism may be inferred from evidence that has been given during the inquiry proceedings;
or
c. who may be subject to criticism in the report, or any interim report.

The timely mail shot allows those in receipt of a Section 13 warning letter to raise objections, factual inaccuracies and so on. No doubt their legal advisors will be busy formulating responses.  But the defensive strategies to Section 13 warnings started long before letters starting dropping onto expectant doormats.

For example, way back in October '11, anticipation of severe criticism loomed large in the unsuccessful Surrey Police application  (pp1-16) for Core Participant status for Module 1 - before the Inquiry had even started to take any witness evidence.

In May, the Metropolitan Police Service (MET) submitted "that all individual criticism of any sort is outside Part 1 and inconsistent with the Terms of Reference" - Part 1 being the evidence-taking, up to Leveson's Final Report.  The MET submission was unsuccessful for the legal reasons given by Leveson in his Application of Rule 13 of the Inquiry Rules 2006 in Relation to the Metropolitan Police Service.

Another example of a preemptive strike was that of the Closing Submission of Module 3 Core Participant, Rebekah Brooks.  Fearful lest other's evidence to Leveson (including the MET's Deputy Assistant Commissioer Sue Akers) might have generated a negative impression, Rebekah warned

... the Inquiry should be mindful of the fact that her character and credibility will be a very significant issue in her trial (or trials), and that any conclusions affecting either are therefore likely to be significantly prejudicial to her case,.. she should not be made the subject of direct criticism.

Lord Justice Leveson however had already anticipated the debate on Section 13:

...it is very important that any Inquiry does not prejudice either the police investigation or any potential prosecution to such extent as thwarts the investigation or renders a prosecution so unfair as to constitute an abuse of process. That does not mean that there can be no mention of any person under investigation...

He also countered:

As a matter of fairness, as I have sought to protect the names of those who have been arrested from being linked with specific allegations of criminal conduct, so I have not thought it right to allow those who have not been arrested to be named as guilty of crime, even where I anticipate no prospect of a criminal investigation

Viz-a-viz his Report, Leveson also pointed out that:

... much more relevant than anything I say will be the underlying evidence which has been presented to the Inquiry; that will be available for any criminal trial

As will the evidence given to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, Privacy and Media Intrusion 2003, Self-Regualtion of the Press 2007, Press Standards, Privacy and Libel 2010, Home Affairs Select Committee,  Unauthorised Tapping Into or Hacking of Mobile Communications 2011 and Culture, Media and Sport, News International and Phone Hacking 2012.

All of these have been widely reported nationally and internationally, so (like pictures of Prince Harry's bum) there is little chance that 'collective amnesia' can be induced on such a wide scale that all such evidence could be conveniently forgotten.

Lord Justice Leveson is obliged to support his considerations in his Section 13 letters with EVIDENCE - evidence given to his Inquiry, which has so carefully avoided prejudicing criminal proceedings.

No doubt that is exactly what he will do.  Unluckily for some...

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You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

A Battle Royal - Murdoch vs Monarchy

From a regular contributor:

In the Battle of Harry's Bum, defiance of Leveson's 'chilling effect' in defence of freedom of speech is a mere distraction.  Whilst it may allow a public tussle for the high moral ground - with megaphones brandished in addition to pitchforks - one of its objectives may be to set up Lord Justice Leveson as a sitting target. Polarised debate simply allows the agenda to be hijacked and seen only as 'champions of freedom of expression' v 'authoritarian hand of the state'.

But from another perspective this skirmish has less to do with Leveson and more to do with targeting the Royal family itself - however that is dressed up.  Lest it be forgotten, it was News International that hacked Harry's phone. And it would be a mistake to think that act had one sole motivation because it had several layers.  At one level was a reporter's need for a scoop, at the next level there was an overbearing, over-competitive editorial culture. Add to that, News International's corporate profit-driven motives, plus, at the top level, a motivation to please a proprietor well known for his hatred of class deference, the British Establishment, and blue-blood, inherited privilege.

The predictable Establishment response to Goodman's actions was to circle the wagons of Royal protection.  Arguably, the Metropolitan Police Service (MET) has had a patchy history in that respect. They have been dogged by scandals from Southern Investigations being overheard discussing a story of a Palace fire-arms officer, through News of the World's Sophie Wessex sting, 'Harry's drug shame' story, to the arrest of a female senior Royal Protection officer by Operation ELVEDON. 

The MET response to the Royal household' suspicions of phone hacking needed to be seen to be decisive - and diplomatic.  So a decision was made which would have unforeseen consequences for monarchy, MET and Murdoch.

An investigative strategy was chosen which would give the Royal princes deferential and preferential treatment over all other victims. The prime motivator was to prevent any Royal having to appear as a witness in court, and avoidance of any charges which might reveal the content of any voicemails which might cause embarassment. Rather than data protection, computer misuse or conspiracy offences, a very narrow interpretation of RIPA dictated investigation parameters. 

Naturally, the Crown - the CROWN - Prosecution Service agreed.  With voicemail content 'out of court', proving illegal process was top priority.  The whole impetus for investigation, resources and prosecution had to be zeroed in on technical data. Employees in the Royal household complied with a covert sting, mobile service providers were enlisted to provide technical assistance  - anything to spare Royal blushes.  Of course, News of the World counsel would have used any princely court appearance to their advantage.  Yet, it could be argued that the princes were denied the opportunity to stand up in court and face down a tabloid.  That might have had more of a chilling effect on press 'dark arts' than any judicial inquiry.

The determination to keep the phone hacking prosecutions so tightly drawn rebounded. As the scandal grew wider, the MET response narrowed. Only four categories of thousands in the Mulcaire notebooks were deemed important enough to notify - police, security, senior politicians and of course, Royal.  Royal priority and privilege therefore enabled victims such as the Dowler family, parents of the murdered Soham girls, 7/7 bombings, service personnel killed on active duty in Afghanistan to be overlooked.  They simply weren't as important as protecting Royal from embarassment.  The whole point was to filter out 'extraneous matters'.

John Yates later argued that it just hadn't occurred to the MET that there could have been another category of phone hack targets - victims of crime. Though, debatably, you are only going to find what you go looking for.  The princes themselves were spared a court appearance, spared publicising of their private lives, and spared the opportunity to be treated by the MET as any other victim of phone hacking. In the event, not even the Royal employees had to give evidence in court as Goodman and Mulcaire both pleaded guilty.

And all because Murdoch capos were behaving too as adjuncts to a dynasty above the law.  No doubt Royal household and MET exchanged self-congratulatory sentiments after the convictions - perhaps shook hands, job well done, case closed.  News International retreated behind their 'one rogue reporter' fiction.

House of Windsor, House of Murdoch - neither could possibly have predicted the ensuing combat zone which has led to Harry's arse on the front page of The Sun.

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You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

The Milly Dowler Hacking - Part 3: A Short Postscript

The Leveson Inquiry web site is currently doing a summer document dump.  This comprises three categories of documents - additional Legal Submissions, further 'Taken as Read ' material, and Exhibits to previously published witness statements.  The latter are scattered throughout the alphabetical witness evidence listings.

There are several interesting documents in the newly published Exhibits - hat-tip to Tom Watson MP for pointing to Andy Coulson's Severance/Compromise Agreement with News International here - it's worth reading.

But it was another Exhibit caught my attention....

When Bob QUICK gave his evidence to the Leveson Inquiry, he outlined a review he undertook when he was Chief Constable of SURREY Police. He was asked by the MET to look at the Cash-for Honours scandal (Operation Ribble).  Specifically, there were high-level leaks from the investigation to newspapers.  The then Commissioner of the MET, Sir Paul Stephenson, was very concerned that the leaks were coming from Acting Assistant Commissioner John YATES.

QUICK's Report to Stephenson made more than a dozen suggestions, including that YATES should allow his mobile phone and landline billing records to be scrutinised, scoured for calls to newspaper contact numbers, and timings cross-checked against press stories emanating from leaks.  YATES cold response to QUICK's recommendation was to refuse, saying  "he was ’very well (or too well) connected’. When I questioned this remark he emphasised "No Bob - I am VERY well connected".   (p9)

The full (though redacted) report from Bob QUICK to Stephenson is now available - Exhibit BQ2 here.

This was in late 2006, the exact same time of the well-publicised trial and conviction of Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire. How one 'rogue reporter' from the News of the World had hacked mobile phones for stories made headline news and TV coverage.  Ironic then that one of Bob QUICK's other recommendations to Stephenson was that all phone calls between YATES and the press should be monitored and recorded.  QUICK added that

Surpol (SURREY POLICE) is researching the legality of recording options and I will report on these imminently.

Doubly ironic is that QUICK was seemimgly unaware that he had been  impeded by YATES' cold refusal PLUS the force of which he was Chief Constable.  QUICK was relying on legal research from SURREY POLICE - who had known for more than four years that News of the World had illegally hacked and recorded the voicemail of Milly Dowler.

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You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

The Milly Dowler Hacking - Part 2: Discrepancies And Delays

Part 1 provided contexts up until just after Milly Dowler's disappearance.  Part 2 looks at when evidence and suspicions of NotW hackings could - perhaps should - have been unearthed.

May 02  Seven weeks after her disappearance, Bob and Sally Dowler were stalked by NotW whilst they quietly re-traced missing Milly's last known steps. Their 'grief walk' became a major story in NotW, with surveillance photo.  Sally told her police Family Liaison Officer that NotW could only have found out their plans from their phone conversation or a police source.

SURREY Police therefore had an opportunity to connect their knowledge of NotW phone hacking and suspicions that it was still continuing, with Milly's parents as targeted victims.  Adjoining force, Sussex Police, were requested to start a review of the SURREY Dowler enquiry. It is not known if SURREY's knowledge of NotW hacking was disclosed to Sussex officers.  Another missed opportunity.

16th July 02  A major discrepancy here.  According to a SURREY Police statement in 2012 (page 13), this date was when NotW met with SURREY Police detectives Craig DENHOLM and Stuart GIBSON of the Miller Dowler investigation team.  This contradicts The Independent's report  (also cited in Part 1) that two face-to-face meetings had taken place weeks before, in April. The July 16th timing is debatable however as Stuart GIBSON had already been replaced on the Dowler investigation in late June.

Aug 02  The Soham murders, Cambridgeshire.  In 2011, the victims' parents were informed by police that their phone numbers had been found in Glenn MULCAIRE's notebooks.

Sept 02  Milly Dowler's body found.

Nov 02  Devon and Cornwall Police's Operation REPROOF planned with ICO their first raid on suspect premises.  As per good practice REPROOF informed, liaised with and secured necessary support from the relevant geographical constabulary - SURREY Police.  REPROOF and ICO then raided the business premises (Guildford, SURREY) and home (Caterham, SURREY) of John BOYALL. As a result of material seized, ICO commenced OPERATION MOTORMAN, their investigation into widespread data offences.

Mar 03  Raid on Steve WHITTAMORE's Hampshire home and the business premises of 'JJ Services' , registered address Sutton, SURREY - on the SURREY/MET border. Evidence was found of illegal access to the Police National Computer (PNC) and two other suspects were investigated - one was a civilian worker at a MET police station. The other, retired MET officer Alan King, had his private investigator premises in London searched and his home in Coulsdon, SURREY.

Apr 03  OPERATION MOTORMAN investigators briefed MET officers on their evidence that PNC information had been accessed by WHITTAMORE associates.  The MET then started preliminary investigations, prior to establishing their own formal Operation GLADE.  Also in April 03, Bob QUICK left the MET for his new appointment as Deputy Chief Constable of SURREY Police.

May 03  ICO investigators gave the MET further detailed update presentations on OPERATION MOTORMAN and evidence uncovered for use in Operation GLADE. The unsorted MOTORMAN Files continued to be organised and compiled into an electronic database.

Aug 03  OPERATION GLADE officially commenced - this MET investigation was restricted to only some of the PNC offences uncovered by MOTORMAN.

2003 - 04 Controversially, OPERATION MOTORMAN refrained from interviewing any journalists.  OPERATION GLADE interviewed only seven journalists; none were prosecuted.  More missed opportunities.

Oct 04  Bob QUICK promoted to Chief Constable, SURREY Police.

Apr 05 OPERATION GLADE investigation concluded in convictions of John BOYALL, Steve WHITTAMORE, ex-MET officer Alan King and MET civilian worker Paul Marshall after guilty pleas.  Via prosecutions preparations, copies of the MOTORMAN Files remained in the possession of the MET and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The ICO retained their own MOTORMAN database and the original hard copy evidence.

Just a few weeks later, members of the royal household began to suspect their phone messages were being intercepted by NotW.  Their suspicions were raised with MET Counter-Terrorism/Royalty Protection - the command headed by Andy HAYMAN. Dec 05 the resultant covert investigation started - OPERATION CARYATID.

Apparently, the MET failed to make any connection between CARYATID and the MOTORMAN or GLADE investigations, despite NotW featuring so largely in all three operations.

8 Aug 06  OPERATION CARYATID raided the London home and attempted to raid the NotW Wapping office of royal correspondent Clive GOODMAN. Simultaneously, Glenn MULCAIRE was also arrested and a large quantitiy of material seized from his London home and from business premises in Sutton, SURREY.

CARYATID established extremely narrow parameters solely to inform 4 priority categories of people named in MULCAIRE's notebooks and defined as victims - royal, politicians, police and national security.  Even so not all were informed, including Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.  MULCAIRE's information gathered about the Dowler family was undiscovered in his notebooks, and stored by the MET in bin bags.  Yet another opportunity missed.

Nov 06  GOODMAN and MULCAIRE convicted.

2007  Gordon Taylor negotiations on his settlement with NotW.  His lawyer, Mark Lewis, gained a crucial court decision ordering diclosure of all relevant material held by:
MET (from MULCAIRE and OPERATION CARYATID)
CPS Crown Prosecution Service (limited material from OPERATION CARYATID)
ICO (from OPERATION MOTORMAN)

It seems that all evidence of the Dowler hackings was still left overlooked in this disclosure search process.

Mar 08  Bob QUICK left SURREY Police for new post at the MET as Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations (Counter-Terrorism, Cabinet and Royal Protection).  It is not apparent if he was briefed on OPERATION CARYATID and its implications for royal, national security and senior politicians' protection. And if not, why not.

Apr 08  Craig DENHOLM left SURREY Police for his new post as MET Commander working directly with Assistant Commissioner John YATES.

June 09  Craig DENHOLM left MET and returned to SURREY Police for promotion to Deputy Chief Constable.

July 09  John YATES did his one-day assessment to decide that re-examining OPERATION CARYATID unused evidence was unnecessary.  Questions are still unanswered as to whether or not DENHOLM informed YATES what he knew, and his '02 meetings with NotW when they had admitted Milly Dowler's mobile phone was hacked.  And if not, why not.

Also in July, the CPS undertook its short, parallel consideration of its limited CARYATID material and supportively agreed with YATES that no re-investigation was justified.

The Dowler evidence in bin bags of MULCAIRE material continued to be overlooked.

Aug 09  YATES instructed CARYATID material to be collated and (for the first time) entered into a searchable database.  This work took months

2010  Civil litigations, Select Committee evidence and other revelations increasingly rendered NotW's 'one rogue reporter' defence untenable.

Jan 2011 MET announced the start of the OPERATION WEETING investigation into phone-hacking.

Apr 2011  Sally and Bob Dowler are finally informed by OPERATION WEETING that their (and their murdered daughter's) phone mesages had been intercepted. 

Apr 2012  The Culture, Media & Sports Select Committee reported that John YATES "told us that the eventual number of additional victims who were contacted as a result of the supposedly more vigorous investigation in 2009 was just eight." (para 259)

Inexplicably - and unforgivably - this was more than nine years after SURREY Police knew of the Milly Dowler phone hacking.

There may yet be legal repercussions for SURREY.  They are mentioned twice in court rulings of the 'Mobile Telephone Voicemail Interception Litigation'.  The Generic Particulars of Claim (the agreed basis for all current and future litigation) states that NotW journalists  "had admitted to Surrey Police in April 2002 that the First Defendant (News Group Newspapers) had unlawfully accessed Milly Dowler's voicemail messages."

Plus, Mr Justice Vos has adressed another ruling to the MET on processes for disclosures to claimants.  Vos ordered the Met to disclose to claimants relevant documents, computer data and other material - including that of

the Respondent (The Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis), the First Defendant (News Group Newspapers),  Clive Goodman and the Surrey Police.

Grouped together in this way, they look a motley crew...

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You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

The Milly Dowler Hacking - Part 1: Questions Still Unanswered

Here's the first part of a re-examination of the Milly Dowler phone hacking from a regular contributor.  Part 1 looks at the background to Dowler hackings and highlights some early warning signs, particularly in the interplay between the Metropolitan Police Service and Surrey Police.  Part 2 considers points at which specific evidence of the Dowler family as victims of News of the World 'dark arts' practices remained overlooked for almost a decade.

1999  Operation Nigeria - This was a Metropolitan Police Service (MET) covert operation (into the murder of Daniel Morgan) which bugged the premises of a private investigator, Jonathan Rees, in Thornton Heath, SURREY.  It eavesdropped on evidence of corrupt practices by private investigators, MET police officers and journalists. Three private investigators implicated were John GUNNING, John BOYALL and Glenn MULCAIRE (more on these below). 

Subsequently, two MET officer associates of Rees were convicted in a long-term operation into police corruption in South East London - one of the investigating officers was then Detective Superintendent John YATES. Simultaneously, and also investigating MET corruption allegations, the Head of MET Professional Standards Department was Andy HAYMAN. When YATES moved on to a different post, he was replaced by Bob QUICK.

In 2000, Bob QUICK wrote a report on the increasing dangers of journalists corrupting police officers, with suspect private investigators often acting as brokers. QUICK's report was submitted to the Head of the MET Professional Standards Department, Andy HAYMAN (see page 5 of Quick's Leveson statement).

This context demonstrates how, from 1999 onwards, key senior officers at the MET were aware of the potential for a corrupt nexus of private investigators, police and newspaper journalists. Self-evidently, YATES, HAYMAN and QUICK were sensitised to these kinds of corrupt 'dark arts' - the modus operandi was already on their radar.

Jan 02  Operation REPROOF commenced.  It was a Devon and Cornwall investigation into illicit data access by corrupt officers, procured by suspect private investigators nationwide - including John BOYALL (implicated in Operation Nigeria). 

Feb-Mar 02 Operation REPROOF contacted the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) re perceived data offences; the catalyst for initiating Operation MOTORMAN.

Devon and Cornwall Police also informed several constabularies of evidence pointing to potential corruption in their respective forces. One force - in addition to the MET - informed of suspected corrupt officers was SURREY Police.

21st Mar 02  Milly Dowler disappears from Walton-on Thames, SURREY.  The following timeline (where *asterisked*) is based on that given to the Leveson Inquiry
* 25th Mar 02  SURREY Police apply legal authority to "preserve" Milly Dowler's mobile phone voicemail messages.  There is no evidence that her voicemail was acessed by the News of the World (NotW) prior to this.
*  10.57  Milly's PIN number was re-set by Mercury, thus dis-enabling Milly's own PIN.
*  15.19  Mercury re-set the PIN again - no explanation has been given for this anomaly as to why this second Mercury re-set was necessary.  A first download of Milly's voicemails messages was undertaken.

Here there is a disturbing discrepancy.  Instead of enlisting technical assistance from Mercury, SURREY Police say they engaged a specialist forensic phone data company to do the download but this attempt was unsuccessful.  The un-named company deny undertaking any such work (pp9-10).

This contradiction has yet to be resolved, as are the questions of why a private company was decided on, which company exactly, and on whose recommendation.

Late Mar/ early Apr 02 News of the World (NotW) commission private investigator Steve WHITTAMORE to obtain personal information about the Dowler family. The tasking can be found in the Operation MOTORMAN Blue Book.

A NotW journalist, Sarah Arnold, sought the home address of the Dowlers and relevant ex-directory (XD) telephone numbers. The XD number procurement was subcontracted by Whittamore to John GUNNING (implicated in Operation Nigeria).

*  12th Apr 02  A female from NotW telephoned an employment agency in the West Mercia region, purporting to be Milly Dowler's mother.

*  13th Apr 02  The employment agency was 'beseiged' by NotW reporters.  NotW phoned SURREY Police several times that day, asking to speak urgently to the Milly Dowler investigation team.  SURREY Police telephoned NotW back and were informed by NotW that they had obtained Milly's mobile phone number and PIN from her school friends.

An either/or scenario needs considering here. Did NotW use Milly's original PIN - obtained from her friends - to access voicemails between (at the earliest) 24th March and (at the latest) 26th March when that PIN was re-set? If so, NotW then waited until 12th April to inform Surrey Police.

Or, did NotW acess her voicemails post-26th March, ie AFTER the two PIN re-sets?  How was this possible and who did the hacking?

Or BOTH?

*  17th Apr 02 Surrey Police do a second download of voicemail messages

*  20th Apr 02 NotW email SURREY Police and offer their recordings of Milly's voicemails. Later the same day, NotW phoned SURREY Police and played back Milly's voicemails over the phone.

*  23rd Apr 02  Detective Constable John Lyndon of SURREY Police logged his suspicions that NotW had been hacking Milly Dowler's mobile phone voicemails.

There is at this point an important discrepancy regarding meetings between NotW and SURREY Police.  As reported in The Independent, senior news staff of NotW met twice in April 02 with SURREY Police investigating officers, Craig DENHOLM and Stuart Gibson.

In these meetings, NotW made no secret of the fact that they had caused Milly's mobile phone to be hacked.

The Independent's report also states that minutes of one of the meetings exist still in the un-used Milly Dowler evidence files.  There is no mention of these April meetings in the SURREY Police timeline evidenced to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in 2012, nor in MET evidence given to the Leveson Inquiry in May 2012.

Mid-April 02 seems to be when SURREY Police knew definitively that Milly Dowler's voicemails had been hacked by, or at the behest of, NotW.  Arguably, this is the critical point at which action to stop NotW dubious practices could have been taken.

So, hacking of Milly's mobile was known to SURREY Police. In addition, Steve WHITTAMORE's files contained evidence of NotW's procurement of the numbers of Milly Dowler family's phones - awaiting discovery by Operation MOTORMAN.

Tomorrow, part 2 tracks the subsequent actions, inactions and missed opprtunities which conspired to keep the Dowler family ignorant of NotW wrongdoing...

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You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

Operation Tuleta - A Second Look

From a regular contributor:

Things seem to be gearing up for Operation TULETA - the least high-profile Metropolitan Police Service (MET) investigation of the three ongoing as a consequence of the hacking scandal.  The first to start, in Jan '11, was Operation WEETING into phone hacking. It was quickly followed by Operation ELVEDON, looking at newspapers' role in bribery and corruption of police and other public officials.

Operation TULETA was set up later to investigate allegations of computer hacking, interception of emails, stolen phone data etc by journalists, private invetigators and others.  Given MP Tom Watson's view that computer hacking may well turn out to dwarf the scale of phone hacking, it's worth having a closer look at TULETA - what's already in the public domain and what may be to come. A new document dump on the Leveson Inquiry web site last Friday may hold some clues.

Sienna Miller was the first to allege email hacking in her claim against News International and Glenn Mulcaire.  There are more civil litigations for email hacking in the pipeline.  On 19th October 2011, Mark Lewis gave evidence to the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee.  Paul Farrelly MP asked him (Q1275)

are you aware of any other accessing of information that may have been illegal apart from phone hacking? Is phone hacking the tip of an iceberg? 
...What about computer hacking or reading people’s e-mails?

Mark Lewis: "It seems that voice mail interception or phone hacking is old hat and that the thing to do now with the inquiry agents is to obtain information by way of e-mails. As I understand the technology, one plants a Trojan in someone’s computer by sending them an e-mail that looks innocuous, which then pinches all the e-mails sent out or received and sends them to someone else. I am pursuing a claim. Mr Justice Ross has ruled that it is not going to be part of the voice mail interception claims for a former member of military intelligence, who was subject to, shall we say, a Trojan plant. We know that. That is also subject to a police investigation, so I suppose we have to be very careful, but there is a civil claim for that."

Pressed to clarify by Louies Mensch if this involved only News International titles Lewis added, "in respect of the information that the police are obtaining about another inquiry agent in respect of computer hacking, his clients were from other newspapers."

Some of the impetus for TULETA sprang from the related Operation KALMYK (into allegations of Northern Ireland security force personnel having emails hacked), see Ian Hurst's evidence to Leveson, and Operation MILLIPEDE (which resulted in four convictions).

In essence, computer hacking and email interception via Trojan have been rumoured for years, as has collusion of journalists.  News of the World's Alex MARUNCHAK has been implicated in at least two allegations. Firstly - as far back as 2002 - the surveillance of Dave Cook and Jacqui Hames, both serving police officers. It is alleged that their emails were hacked in an attempt to 'sort out' and derail Dave Cook who was heading the fourth investigation into the murder of Daniel Morgan.
Northern Ireland

Secondly, Ian Hurst's hacked emails relating Northern Ireland intelligence were allegedly faxed to MARUNCHAK at the News of the World offices in Dublin.

The Northern Ireland connection is particularly sinister.  Amongst others, Sir Hugh Orde has been informed by TULETA that his emails may have been hacked when he was Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, as has Peter Hain when he was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain added that "the police confirmed to me they had not eliminated any news organisation from their investigation."

Scotland

Strathclyde Police are investigating (Operation RUBICON) whether Tommy Sheridan's lawyer and a key witness in the Sheridan perjury trial had their emails hacked. Both hard copies and electronic copies of the emails are alleged to have been circulated which name and implicate senior news staff at the News of the World Scotland.

Stolen laptop and phones

Amongst the large Leveson 'taken as read' document dump is a revealing witness statement by Claire Ward, former Member of Parliament.  It makes fascinating reading as she details her treatment by journalists when she was a younger, newly-elected MP - she details alleged harassment, pressurising phone calls, suspected phone interception, and stress-inducing inaccurate press stories. In one instance, she describes a tense phone conversation with Rebekah Wade.  Most startling however (and possibly of interest to TULETA) is that her laptop computer was stolen from a guarded room in Manchester Town Hall in 2001.  She believes it may have been stolen with the possible involvement of the national press. Claire Ward is convinced that her laptop was deliberately targeted as it contained a substantial number of documents relating to Keith Vaz MP.

More recently, TULETA is investigating the possibility that mobile phones may have been stolen to order.  According to Sue Akers,

In April 2012, ...Operation Tuleta officers discovered instances where staff at NI titles appear to have been in possession of material downloaded or otherwise obtained from stolen mobile telephones. It appears from some of the documentation, which is dated around late 2010, that one mobile telephone had been examined with a view to breaking its security code so that the contents could be downloaded by experts (whose identities are unknown to Operation Tuleta at present) in different parts of the country... A significant and important line of enquiry is identifying the experts used...
One mobile telephone theft took place in Manchester and another in South West London.

In addition, TULETA is doing forensic analyses of computer hardware, phones and data "previously seized as evidence in other enquiries." 

There have been a spate of mobile phone and laptop thefts from within the Houses of Parliament, including a laptop theft from Keith Vaz - Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee.

It is however possible that these thefts are coincidental and entirely unconnected to TULETA issues.

The first TULETA arrest was that of a private investigator and several journalists have also been arrested.  The latest was that of an unnmamed 55yr old man in Cardiff - not known to be a journalist.  He was arrested 'on suspicion of committing offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.'

Currently, TULETA  is investigating 101 separate allegations of data intrusion, plus other related matters.  The MET will soon be returning to News Corporation's Management Standards Committee with more requests for relevant documents.  Developments in OPERATION TULETA will no doubt help establish if this is (as both Paul Farrelly and Sue Akers both put it) 'the tip of the iceberg'.

Time will tell.

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Hackgate for Beginners
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Hackgate - Major Upcoming Events


You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com