Communications Data Bill published – Home Office
“Vital powers to help catch criminals, save lives and protect children were today outlined in the Communications Data Bill.”
Home Office, 14th June 2012
Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk
Category: interception
Met police pays damages to phone-hacking solicitor accused of lying – The Guardian
“The solicitor who spearheaded the campaign to bring Scotland Yard’s failings over phone hacking to light has accepted damages from police after false claims that he gave dishonest evidence to a parliamentary inquiry.”
The Guardian, 14th June 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Charging announcement in relation to Rebekah Brooks and others – Crown Prosecution Service
“Alison Levitt, QC, Principal Legal Advisor to the Director of Public Prosecutions oversees CPS decision making, and all potential prosecutions, in relation to the ongoing phone hacking investigations and other related matters.”
Full story
Crown Prosecution Service, 15th May 2012
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
Phone hacking: Andy Coulson wins leave to appeal over ruling on legal fees – The Guardian
“Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson has won permission to appeal against a high court ruling that News International is not liable to pay his potential legal fees over the phone-hacking scandal.”
The Guardian,
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Ofcom studies phone-hacking evidence in BSkyB ‘fit and proper’ probe – The Guardian
“Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire is facing fresh scrutiny after media regulator Ofcom said it would examine evidence of phone hacking as part of its investigation into whether BSkyB is a ‘fit and proper’ owner of a broadcasting licence. Ofcom has stepped up its investigation into News Corporation’s BSkyB stake by requesting private court documents disclosed to lawyers acting for several alleged victims of phone hacking by the News of the World. News Corp is the largest shareholder in Sky, with a 39.1% stake, and is the parent company of News of the World publisher News International.”
The Guardian, 26th April 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Ofcom to probe Sky email hacking – BBC News
“Ofcom has launched an investigation into the hacking of private email accounts by Sky News.”
BBC News, 23rd April 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Vos J incredulous as 11 firms file 50 more phone-hacking claims – The Lawyer
“Mr Justice Vos has described the number of firms clambering on board the phone-hacking juggernaut as ‘unbelievable’, as 11 firms have filed further claims on behalf of celebrities allegedly targeted by the News of the World.”
The Lawyer, 23rd April 2012
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Director of Public Prosecutions Kier Starmer admits CPS ‘faces tough decisions’ on phone hacking cases – Daily Telegraph
“Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer says each of the four files presented to the CPS on phone hacking will be considered as an individual case.”
Daily Telegraph, 18th April 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Blogger’s publication of Motorman records may have breached data protection laws, says watchdog – OUT-LAW.com
“A political blogger may have breached UK data protection laws after posting a list of journalists and the requests they allegedly made to a private detective to ‘blag’ information for stories.”
OUT-LAW.com, 11th April 2012
Source: www.out-law.com
Clarification of the ‘public interest’ defence is badly needed – The Guardian
“Sky News’s decision to approve the hacking of emails belonging to John Darwin, the once-missing, presumed-dead ‘canoe man’, can be argued to be one of those finely balanced editorial decisions. The public interest argument runs fairly straightforwardly, after all. Darwin pleaded guilty to deception in March 2008 – you will recall he went out to sea in a canoe and somehow paddled his way from the north-east to the Panama canal, suggesting he was not so dead after all. But his wife, Anne, was going to trial – a life insurance policy had been cashed in by her – and it was at that point Sky’s journalist, Gerard Tubb, was given the green light to try to access John Darwin’s email communications. As he did so, he uncovered information that made it clear that Anne Darwin was in on the plot, and having shared this with Cleveland police, the broadcaster believes it helped secure her conviction and produced a very detailed post-conviction backgrounder.”
The Guardian, 8th April 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
The Mark Duggan case shows we must change the law on evidence – The Guardian
“A legal anomaly that continues to cause injustice may be preventing an inquest into Mark Duggan’s death.”
The Guardian, 29th March 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Calls for law change to allow phone tap evidence in Duggan inquest – The Guardian
“Evidence from a police phone tap in the runup to the operation against Mark Duggan that led to his fatal shooting is at the centre of the growing dispute over his inquest. Senior Metropolitan police officers have supported calls for changes to the law to allow the Independent Police Complaints Commission to reveal sensitive surveillance information unearthed during its investigation into Duggan’s death at a public inquest.”
The Guardian, 29th March 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
IPCC urging evidence law change – BBC News
“Changes to the law are needed to ensure fuller details can be revealed in cases where people have died at the hands of officers, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has said.”
Full story
BBC News, 29th March 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Vos J threatens phone-hacking firms with group litigation order as costs spiral – The Lawyer
“High Court judge Mr Justice Vos has ordered firms involved in the wave of phone-hacking cases to find a more efficient method of working or risk their clients being forced into a group litigation order [GLO] represented by a single firm.”
The Lawyer, 19th March 2012
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Rebekah Brooks needn’t worry about her right to a fair trial – The Guardian
“Publicity from the phone-hacking inquiry doesn’t necessarily prejudice the cases of those arrested in the scandal.”
The Guardian, 18th March 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Times admits it ‘misled’ High Court over email hacking case – The Independent
“The Times misled the High Court during its attempt to name a detective as the writer of an anonymous blog, the newspaper’s then legal manager admitted yesterday.”
The Independent, 16th March 2012
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Lawyers question timing of PCC shutdown as Leveson rumbles on – Legal Week
“City media lawyers have questioned the timing of the news that the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) is to be shut down amid the ongoing Leveson inquiry into UK press standards.”
Legal Week, 9th March 2012
Source: www.legalweek.com
Ofcom steps up test of James Murdoch’s fitness to keep BSkyB role – The Guardian
“Ofcom has stepped up its investigation into whether James Murdoch is a ‘fit and proper’ person to sit on the board of BSkyB, forming a project team to examine evidence of phone hacking and corrupt payments emerging from the police and the Leveson inquiry.”
The Guardian, 8th March 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Attorney General to probe Leveson testimony – Daily Telegraph
“The Attorney General is looking into concerns that the policewoman leading the investigation into illegal newsgathering could have prejudiced any potential trials.”
Daily Telegraph, 7th March 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Charlotte Church settles NoW phone-hacking claim for £600,000 – The Guardian
“Charlotte Church and her parents have settled their phone-hacking claim against the publisher of the News of the World, News International, in an agreement worth £600,000 in damages and costs, the high court has heard.”
The Guardian, 27th February 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
