The purpose of this site is for information and a record of Gerry McCann's Blog Archives. As most people will appreciate GM deleted all past blogs from the official website. Hopefully this Archive will be helpful to anyone who is interested in Justice for Madeleine Beth McCann. Many Thanks, Pamalam

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Leveson Inquiry: as it happened November 15

HOMEPAGE NEWS REPORTS INDEX LEVESON IMAGES NOV 23rd 2011 NEWS NOVEMBER 2011
Original Source: TELEGRAPH: TUESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2011
By Sarah Rainey 6:00PM GMT 15 Nov 2011
 

  Rolling coverage after the second day of the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics and the News of the World phone hacking scandal at the Royal Courts of Justice. 

Image 1 of 6The parents of Milly Dowler and Madeleine McCann will be called to give evidence Photo: PA

 

• Leveson Inquiry: live

• News Int lawyer: 'phone hacking was wrong, it was shameful'

 • Phone hacking 'may have continued after 2007', NI admits

 • Daily Mail lawyer: Steve Whittamore not asked to act illegally

 • Calls for PCC to be 'beefed up' instead of legal regulation

 • 28 NI journalists named in Glenn Mulcaire's notebook

 • More than 50 core partipants, including Milly Dowler's family  

 

Latest

 

18.00 We're bringing our live coverage of today's Leveson Inquiry hearing to a close. 

Join us at 10am tomorrow morning, when we'll hear from the NUJ's Michelle Stanistreet, Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger and victims' lawyer David Sherborne QC.

 

For our full coverage and stories from today's proceedings, visit our Leveson Inquiry and phone hacking archives. 

Some of the celebrities who are due to give evidence over the coming weeks

 

17.55 The evidence section of the Leveson Inquiry website is still blank - but over the next few days we can expect statements to be uploaded from seven key witnesses:

 

• Anonymous witness HJK

 • Harry Potter author JK Rowling

 • Christopher Jefferies, landlord of Joanna Yeates

• Sheryl Gascoigne, wife of footballer Paul Gascoigne

 • Football manager Gary Flitcroft

 • Commercial lawyer Graham Shear

• Margaret Watson, mother of stabbing victim Diane

 

17.46 The Guardian's Media Monkey column comments on the brevity of James Dingemans QC's evidence for Express newspapers today.

 

It claims proprietor Richard Desmond is giving the inquiry the "silent treatment":

 

Desmond's Express and Star titles flounced out of the Press Complaints Commission at the start of the year, an absence that is seen as catastrophic for the industry's self-regulatory regime as it finds itself in the spotlight during Leveson. And there was no sign of Desmond – or anyone from his company Northern & Shell – at the Society of Editors conference either.

 

 

 

Richard Desmond, the owner of Express Newspapers, has opted out of the PCC

 

17.34 News that former journalist and Cabinet minister Lord Fowler has told the House of Lords that he's worried a press campaign is seeking to "deny the importance" of the Leveson Inquiry.

 

He said continued pleas for self-regulation were ignoring the important role of the inquiry:

 

It is the past failure of the press to take action that had led to this independent inquiry in the first place.

 

And isn't its importance underlined furthermore by the mounting evidence that the phone-hacking scandal extends beyond the News of the World to other newspapers as well?

 

Baroness Rawlings, speaking for the Government, said she wasn't aware of an anti-inquiry campaign.

 

17.00 Here is a quick round-up of the main points to come out of today's proceedings:

 

• Rhodri Davies QC, lawyer for News International, apologised to hacking victims, admitting the practice was "shameful" and "wrong"

 • He said NI disputed that the names of 28 NI journalists were found in the notebooks of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. Davies said the group was only aware of five

 • He asked for the numbers read out by Robert Jay QC to be re-checked

 • Davies said he "could not guarantee" that phone hacking stopped at NotW in 2007, after the prosecution of royal reporter Clive Goodman

 • Jonathan Caplan QC, acting for Associated Newspapers, said Operation Motorman uncovered no evidence that journalists at the Daily Mail asked private investigator Steve Whittamore to do anything illegal

 • Caplan urged journalists to "give evidence openly", without fear or retribution or speaking out against editors

 • He said the group was against statutory regulation of the press but admitted the PCC needs to be "beefed up"

 • Lord Justice Leveson will hear evidence from 21 witnesses next week, including celebrities Hugh Grant and JK Rowling

• The inquiry will also hear from Alistair Campbell and former Information Commissioner Richard Thomas next month 

 

Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair's former communications chief, will give evidence

 

16.30 Lots of reaction to next week's star-studded witness box at the Leveson Inquiry.

 

Open Democracy writer Niki Seth-Smith reminds us of the context in which the inquiry is taking place. She tweets:

 

First public meeting of new media reform committee this Thursday, feeding into #Leveson.

 

She is talking about the campaign group set up in the wake of the hacking allegations, comprising of advocacy groups aiming to protect the public interest during the inquiry.

 

Just today the group launched an appeal to members of the public to ensure their voices are heard by Lord Justice Leveson.

 

16.13 The Guardian's Lisa O'Carroll asks:

 

Will paps show up at Leveson next week to snap 21 celebs inc JK Rowling, Hugh Grant, Sienna Miller, Steve Coogan?  

 

Comedia Steve Coogan will give oral evidence at the inquiry

 

15.52 There was a slight disruption before the end of proceedings as someone tried to ask a question but was ignored. Lord Justice Leveson tells the man to submit a statement if he wants to speak.

 

Ross Hawkins of the BBC tweets:

 

#leveson silences individual in court room who tries to speak but isn't core participant

 

15.48 The inquiry has ended for the day. Stay with us for continued comment and analysis.

 

15.47 Robert Jay QC gives a quick run-down of tomorrow's evidence:

 

• Michelle Stanistreet, the NUJ general secretary, will speak for an hour at 10am

 • Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, at 11am

 • David Sherborne QC, acting for the victims, at 11.45am

 

15.46 Jonathan Caplan QC, acting for Associated Newspapers, is speaking now.

 

He raises concerns that he has not seen eight of the witness statements to be given next week, saying he is concerned that they may make allegations against newspaper publishers:

 

That may involve us making inquiries of our own journalists. The sooner we can have that evidence, the better.

 

Lord Justice Leveson says the inquiry team will try its best to make witness statements available. "Balance is all," he adds.

 

15.41 Robert Jay QC says the next few months will proceed with "common sense and sensitivity" to the various witnesses.

 

Lord Justice Leveson says he does not want each day of the inquiry to last too long, nor end too early. 

 

Lord Justice Leveson has told the inquiry the evidence will be heard efficiently

 

15.39 The first 21 witness statements will be finished by 5pm on 28 November, Jay says, after which other lists of witnesses will be finalised with dates and times.

 

Each witness statement will last a maximum of an hour, with slightly longer for Max Mosley and Hugh Grant.

 

Richard Thomas, the former Information Commissioner, will appear on December 1. The court will also hear from journalist and political aide Alistair Campbell.

 

15.35 Ben Fenton of the FT tweets:

 

At this rate, #leveson will all be over by Christmas. NB WWI, about which similar predictions were made, lasted 4 years, 3 months, 7 days.

 

15.32 Some of the 'celebrity' witness statements will be posted to the inquiry website soon, Jay says.

 

He tells the court F1 boss Max Mosley has made a 450-page statement, including various court judgments on his privacy case and the original NotW article which made the claims.

 

He says next week's witnesses will be ordinary members of the public. The inquiry will look at 21 cases, all slightly different from each other. 

 

Former F1 boss Max Mosley speaks to the media after his privacy case

 

15.28 Robert Jay QC, counsel for the inquiry, is speaking now.

 

He runs through the various witnesses who will appear before Lord Justice Leveson, and how their written statements are being uploaded to the inquiry system.

 

The court will soon hear from anonymous witness HJK, JK Rowling, Christopher Jefferies, Sheryl Gascoigne, Gary Flitcroft, Graham Shear and Margaret Watson, Jay says.

 

He says he also has evidence from Steve Coogan, Ian Hurst, Charlotte Church, Anne Diamond, Hugh Grant and Jane Winter. The inquiry is still waiting for statements from Sienna Miller and Mark Lewis. 

 

Charlotte Church has submitted written evidence to the Leveson Inquiry

 

15.24 It looks like Dingemans has finished his statement. Tangible disappointment in Court 73 that this is all he will say orally.

 

He concludes by asking Lord Justice Leveson to look at press regulation around the world, including in India:

 

There is at least something to be gained from looking around the world at legal regulation

 

15.23 Telegraph reporter Martin Evans tweets:

 

Mr Justice #Leveson questions the effectiveness of a system which is entirely voluntary. Express papers have opted out of PCC

 

15.21 Dingemans starts with some legal argument, asking the inquiry to think about civil and criminal law affecting the media, particularly in the internet age.

 

Lord Justice Leveson says he wants lawyers to suggest things he should be looking at after the evidence is heard, including regulation and whether the law on the press is "fit for purpose". 

 

James Dingemans QC is speaking on behalf of the Daily Express and Daily Star

 

15.15 The inquiry has resumed.

 

James Robinson, media correspondent at The Guardian, tweets:

 

Express owner Northern & Shell is up before #leveson in a minute. He'll say Express didn't hack but will Judge mention its shameful McCann coverage?

 

15.05 Just 10 minutes to go now until the afternoon's session opens. The lawyers have taken their seats in Court 73.

 

James Dingemans QC will speak first, on behalf of Northern and Shell Ltd, the publishers of Express newspapers, which include the Daily Express and Daily Star.

 

While we wait, blogger Sunny Hundal has written a blog post criticising the Daily Express's weather-predicting skills.

 

He points out that on October 8, the paper's front page headline read: "-20C to hit us in weeks" and on November 2: "Big Siberian freeze to hit Britain". But, just 10 days later, the paper reported: "November to be warmest in 363 years".

 

14.42 Andrew Pugh, writing in the Press Gazette, has taken a closer look at Jonathan Caplan QC's claims that the 1,218 requests it made to private investigator Steve Whittamore were legal.

 

Here's his reminder of what Operation Motorman found:

 

Private investigator Steve Whittamore was given a two-year conditional discharge in 2005 after he was found guilty of obtaining and disclosing information under the Data Protection Act by the Met’s Operation Motorman.

 

A subsequent report by the Information Commissioner found the majority of requests – both legal and illegal – were from journalists, with the Daily Mail topping the list with 952 entries from 85 journalists and the Mail on Sunday in third place with 266 requests from 33 journalists.

 

 

Jonathan Caplan QC said there was no evidence of illegal requests by Mail staff

 

14.31 A full video of this morning's submissions has been posted on the inquiry website.

 

14.19 A YouGov survey on trust in the media has found that 58% of the British public have lost trust in newspapers.

 

The poll, carried out by American broadcaster PBS, revealed that three in four people in the UK think media outlets "sometimes or frequently lie to their audiences".

 

Over half say the content of the UK press has been dumbed down recently, while 17% say they will be less likely to consult newspapers - instead turning to websites, TV and radio - for their current affairs news in 2012. 

 

 

Just 38% of people surveyed by PBS said they trusted British newspapers

 

14.00 The Leveson Inquiry will resume in just over an hour.

 

A reminder that you can watch a live stream of the proceedings from Court 73 at the RCJ.

 

13.36 Lord Justice Leveson has set out a list of key questions he is hoping to address in Part One of his inquiry. They are divided into three sections:

 

• Culture, practices and ethics: How do newsrooms operate? Do commercial pressures have an impact? What is the role of reader loyalty and newspaper competition? What is the impact of 24-hour news on journalism? What happens when a printed story turns out to be false? How are ethics taught among journalists?

 

• Standards: Should the press be subject to additional standards? What do journalists think of the Editors' Code of Practice? Would regulation - like that imposed on broadcasters - really have a chilling effect on free speech?

 

• Public interest: What is the proper role played by the press in a democratic society? Is it ever in the public interest for journalists to do things that are otherwise unethical? Who should be responsible for making these decisions? 

 

Lord Justice Leveson (centre) and his panel of six advisers

 

13.14 Here is the full text of Robert Jay QC's 71-page opening statement from yesterday's hearing:

 

Leveson Inquiry Opening Speech

 

 

13.10 Francesca Unsworth, the head of newsgathering at the BBC, has warned that the Leveson Inquiry represents the most serious examination of media regulation and ethics journalists have ever experienced.

 

Speaking at the Society of Editors conference, she said:

 

It is clear we are no longer drinking in that last chance saloon we have referred to at this conference. The bar's been shut and the keys handed over to a judge.

 

Never has the nexus between law and journalism been more sharply illustrated.

 

13.04 Elsewhere in media news, Cheryl Cole's brother Garry Tweedy has been awarded damages in settlement of his libel claim over allegations that he was a convicted criminal.

 

Mr Tweedy sued Heat magazine and the Daily Star newspaper over untrue suggestions that he had spent time in prison.

 

Today he was awarded an undisclosed sum and legal costs as the case was settled outside court.

 

 

 

Cheryl Cole's brother Garry Tweedy has been awarded damages for libel

 

12.59 Our video team have sent this clip of Jonathan Caplan QC telling the Leveson Inquiry that journalists should avoid anonymity when giving evidence: 

 

 

12.50 Michelle Stanistreet, the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has invited reporters to submit their own views on press standards to the Leveson Inquiry.

 

She said:

 

It is vital that the newspaper bosses are not allowed to dominate this inquiry and that the concerns, experiences and views of ordinary working journalists are placed firmly at its heart.

 

Her words follow the NUJ being granted "core participant" status in the inquiry, along with a number of newspaper groups, victims of phone hacking and the Met Police. A full list of core participants can be found here.

 

 

 

Ulrika Jonsson is named as a 'core participant' after alleged hacking by the NotW

 

12.40 James Dingemans QC will speak at 3.15pm on behalf of Express newspapers.

 

According to his online profile, Mr Dingemans is both a deputy High Court judge and head of his chambers, 3 Hare Court, where he practises constitutional law, civil liberties and human rights litigation.

 

He has acted in various public inquiries, including the Hutton Inquiry in 2003, the inquest into the Potters Bar rail crash and the independent review into allegations of misconduct by Fifa officials during England's failed World Cup bid.

 

Mr Dingemans went to Mansfield College, Oxford, and has 24 years' experience at the Bar. 

 

 

Express newspapers' QC James Dingemans acted in the Potters Bar rail crash inquest

 

12.38 The Guardian has got hold of a copy of Robert Jay QC's opening speech, containing those crucial claims about the number of News International staff named in Glenn Mulcaire's notebook.

 

Here's a link to the full text of the counsel's opening remarks.

 

12.30 In case you missed it, here is a clip of Rhodri Davies QC apologising to the victims of phone hacking:

 

  

12.12 Here's a quick round up of this morning's proceedings.

 

Rhodri Davies QC, acting for News International, opened by apologising to the victims of phone hacking done by or on behalf of News of the World journalists. He said phone hacking was "wrong", "shameful" and "should never have happened".

 

Mr Davies queried submissions by Robert Jay QC yesterday that 28 News International journalists were named in the notebooks of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire - he said NI thought it was only five. He asked for the numbers to be re-checked.

 

He also admitted that phone hacking may have continuedafter the 2007 prosecutions of NotW royal reporter Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire.

 

Next up was Jonathan Caplan QC, acting for Associated Newspapers. He urged Lord Justice Leveson not to compare phone hacking with Operation Motorman, in which the names of more than 300 journalists - many from the Daily Mail - were found in files belonging to private investigator Steve Whittamore.

 

He said there was no evidence journalists ever asked Whittamore to do anything illegal, and none of his tasks were "fishing expeditions" for the newspaper.

 

Mr Caplan also turned to the issue of press regulation, admitted the PCC needed to be "beefed up", but saying Associated Newspapers was not in favour of statutory regulation.

 

  

Rhodri Davies QC, giving evidence for News International at the Leveson Inquiry

 

11.45 Journalist Joan Smith has written a piece for Channel 4 News entitled 'Why I'm giving evidence at the Leveson inquiry'.

 

She will appear in the witness box next week after being contacted by detectives from Operation Weeting to explain that her personal details were found in a notebook owned by Glenn Mulcaire.

 

Smith says she "could hardly believe her eyes", given that she was writing for The Times at the time:

 

Not long before our details began to appear in Mulcaire's notes, I wrote a column for The Times about press intrusion into private life... Little did I know that my own privacy was about to be invaded by a newspaper owned by the very same proprietor. I hope Lord Leveson's inquiry will look at the buccaneering newsroom culture that allowed such extraordinary things to happen.

 

 

 

Metropolitan Police officers from Operation Weeting investigate phone hacking

 

11.35 The inquiry reopens. But the court hears that there will be a long break until 3.15pm, when we will hear from the counsel for Northern and Shell, publishers of the Express newspapers.

 

Stay tuned in the meantime as we bring you comment and reaction.

 

11.29 Journalist Judith Townend has written a piece on the Leveson Inquiry for the International Forum for Responsible Media blog.

 

In Leveson: Public Inquiry by tweet, she warns against following tweets alone for an accurate representation of the inquiry proceedings, but adds:

 

Monday marked 'a minor landmark for open justice', claimed blogging barrister Adam Wagner, on the UK Human Rights blog. 'For the first time, a public inquiry is being shown live over the internet.'

 

The Inquiry’s website includes information about the People involved; Hearings; Evidence; Rulings; Key Documents; Events; and Attending the Hearings...The site’s clear navigation and the Inquiry’s proactive and fast release of documents help both legal transparency and public involvement.

 

 

 

Lord Justice Leveson has allowed journalists to tweet from the hearing

 

11.17 Jonathan Caplan QC ends his evidence. Lord Justice Leveson calls a short break.

 

11.16 Caplan turns to the PCC and future press regulation:

 

Of course the PCC can be made more effective. We strongly advocate that it does not need to be replaced; it needs to be, and is capable of being, beefed up.

 

Mr Dacre [Paul Dacre, editor-in-chief of the Daily Mail] has alrady suggested at one of your seminars that improvements could be made by creating an industry ombudsman who could work with the committee and investigate in serious cases, with the power to impose sanctions and costs orders.

 

It is unacceptable that any newspaper owner should be allowed to opt out of self-regulation.

 

 

 

Paul Dacre, editor-in-chief of the Daily Mail, speaking at an inquiry seminar

 

11.12 Jonathan Caplan QC continues, saying he does not agree with witness anonymity:

 

If journalists have important evidence to give, we would encourage them to give evidence as openly as possible. We remain keen to explore alternative avenues for meeting any concerns which may be expressed by any potential witnesses.

 

Lord Justice Leveson admits that anonymous evidence would carry "far less weight" but says he will deal with the issue on a case-by-case basis.

 

11.08 Martin Evans tweets Caplan's words from Court 73. He is talking about the Mail's position on press misbehaviour:

 

"It does not bribe police officers and in particular condemns the shameful practice of hacking the mobile phones of the victims of crime."

 

11.04 Back to Operation Motorman, the 2003 investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office into allegations of offences under the Data Protection Act by the British press.

 

Police seized files from private investigator Steve Whittamore, which named 305 journalists seeking information, and invoices and payment slips which identified leading media groups.

 

Caplan is keen to distance Motorman from hacking - he says the information Whittamore obtained for Associated Newspapers could have been found legally. He also notes that there is no evidence journalists ever asked him to do anything illegal, and none of his tasks were "fishing expeditions".

 

 

 

Steve Whittamore worked with The Daily Mail, Operation Motorman found

 

10.57 Caplan defends journalism in general:

 

We are anxious that the allegations of phone hacking should not be allowed to besmirch the profession as a whole. The Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday are commercially successful, we submit, precisely because they connect with their readership and their values.

 

Even in the middle market, newspapers at times need to be gossipy and sensational if they are to attract the readership.

 

 

 

Jonathan Caplan QC gives evidence for Associated Newspapers

 

10.52 Martin Evans tweets:

 

The #Leveson inquiry is of fundamental importance not just to journalists but also to our democratic way of life, Mr Caplan says.

 

10.47 Another history lesson for Lord Justice Leveson. Caplan says:

 

This is, as you know, the fourth commission on the press since the Second World War. That potted history demonstrates that concerns about press standards and concerns about the kind of stories that the press wrote are nothing new. But on each occasion, statutory regulation has been seen as a step too far.

 

10.42 Jonathan Caplan QC is now giving evidence on behalf of Associated Newspapers, which publishes the Daily Mail, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and Metro.

 

His junior counsel is called Sarah Palin; obviously not the American Republican politician.

 

 

 

Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, who withdrew from the US Presidential race

 

10.40 Davies rounds up his evidence:

 

Our plea is for the press not to be over-regulated; it is not for it to be above the law... We will not hide from the worst that has gone in the past, but we hope to help plot a course that will allow a free and vigourous press to flourish in the future.

 

10.38 In response to Davies' comments about the need to control bloggers, Guido Fawkes tweets:

 

Being a professional blogger is like being a journalist except with better job security. #Leveson

 

10.32 Rhodri Davies QC points some of the NotW's triumphs, such as the recent cricket match-fixing scandal. He says:

 

Tragically the News of the World managed to plumb both the depths and the heights. There are many other examples of investigative journalism from thalidomide to MPs' expenses, but despite those triumphs, perhaps the question we should ask is that question posed by the editor of the Times, James Harding, in his submissions to this committee - which is not 'why did the press know so much?' but 'why did it know so little?'

 

 

 

The MPs' expenses scandal was one of the triumphs of investigative journalism

 

10.30 Davies points to the "constitutional principle" that the press should be free from government regulation.

 

Lord Justice Leveson is not happy about being taken back to the media world of 1643. He puts Davies back on track:

 

I'd be very keen to widen the debate from the binary discussion - staturory regulation: bad, self-regulation: good - to understanding what is meant by 'statutory regulation' and whether everybody is talking about the same thing.

 

10.25 Telegraph reporter Martin Evans tweets from the courtroom:

 

Mr Davies says: "The PCC can be improved, it is not perfect but the alternatives are not perfect either."

 

10.20 Davies is being candid about phone hacking at News International:

 

I am not going to give any guarantees that there was no phone hacking by or on behalf of the News of the World after 2007.

 

Nonetheless it does look as though lessons were learnt when Mr Goodman and Mr Mulcaire went to jail. If phone hacking continued after that, it was not, as Mr Jay suggested, the 'thriving cottage industry' that existed beforehand.

 

 

 

Clive Goodman, the former NotW royal reporter, was jailed in 2007

 

10.17 Davies is telling the hearing about measures News International took in the wake of the phone hacking scandal, including appointing Linklaters to carry out an internal investigation.

 

He continues:

 

The position of News International is that is supports the principle of self-regulation for the press. It accepts that the PPC can be improved, it is not perfect.

 

The press is not above the law. Like all other citizens it is constrained by both the civil and the criminal law of the land, and over the last 15 years or so the law has developed to provide protection in areas where there are concerns over press behaviour.

 

10.10 He says the company also disputes Robert Jay QC's revelations that the Sun newspaper may also have been involved in hacking.

 

The issue concerns material that is not in the public domain, so it cannot be discussed at the inquiry, he says.

 

Ben Fenton of the FT tweets:

 

NI challenges claim that The Sun hacked Jude Law, but Davies says can't say more because confidential. Wants discussion with Jay. #Leveson

 

10.08 Davies says News International would like to have a few of the numbers stated yesterday re-checked.

 

Here's a reminder of some of those figures:

 

2,266: Number of times Glenn Mulcaire was allegedly tasked with carrying out private investigations

 28: Number of legible corner names in his notebooks

 4: Number of journalists who apparently account for 2,143 of the taskings

 586: Number of voicemails, intended for 64 different people, intercepted by Mulcaire between 2001 and 2009

 

 

 

Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire worked for the News of the World

 

10.07 Rhodri Davies QC turns to yesterday's revelations about Glenn Mulcare's notebook:

 

Yesterday's statement has occasioned some surprise on our side. We do not have all the notebooks, but we knew that there were five legible corner names which could be correlated with News of the World reporters' names, those being Mr Goodman's name and A to D.

 

Our understanding is that it certainly does not add up to 27.

 

10.05 A reassuring reminder about yesterday's "trojan horse" computer virus scare. Channel 4's Andy Davies tweets:

 

#Leveson says Trojan virus scare may have only constituted a corrupt file

 

10.02 Today's hearing has started.

 

First up is Rhodri Davies QC, a barrister from One Essex Court acting for News International. He opens with the following:

 

In public, I should repeat on behalf of News International the apologies which have been made to all those whose phones were hacked by or at the behest of staff working at the News of the World. That phone hacking was wrong; it was shameful; it should never have happened. News International apologises for it unreservedly. Nothing which is said on its behalf during this inquiry is intended to detract from it in any way.

 

Crucially, he adds:

 

We accept that phone hacking at the News of the World was not the work of a single rogue reporter.

 

 

 

Lord Justice Leveson is hearing from a lawyer for News of the World

 

09.44 The phone hacking news has crossed the Atlantic once again, making a piece in today's New York Times about the "bombshell revelations" at yesterday's Leveson Inquiry.

 

Sarah Lyall writes that although the Sun and the Mirror were mentioned, their "potential malfeasance appears to have paled beside that of The News of The World". She says:

 

The inquiry, led by Lord Justice Leveson, is one of three started since The Guardian newspaper disclosed in July that The News of the World had illegally hacked into the phone of a murdered teenager, Milly Dowler, in 2002, while she was missing but before her body had been found.

 

The disclosure caused a wave of revulsion and led, ultimately, to the closing of The News of the World, the resignation of top officials at News International and the Metropolitan Police Service, the withdrawal of News Corporation’s $12 billion bid to acquire the satellite company British Sky Broadcasting, and the dissolution of the close ties between News Corporation and the British political establishment.

 

 

 

The American press focuses on Ruper Murdoch's crumbling media empire

 

09.30 Ross Hawkins, the BBC's political correspondent, points out a ruling on the inquiry website showing that Lord Justice Leveson will be willing to accept anonymous evidence.

 

He tweets:

 

#leveson up from 10. Ruling (not new but now on wsite) confirms journos have asked to give evidence anonymously to contradict editors

 

Here's the full text of that ruling:

 

Anonymous Witnesses Ruling

 

 

09.27 Thais Portilho-Shrimpton, coordinator of the Hacked Off campaign, gives an indication of what to expect at today's hearing. She tweets:

 

Another day, another #Leveson Inquiry hearing. Opening speeches by Associated Newspapers, NI, Telegraph, and Express and Star.

 

 

 

A lawyer for News International will give evidence today

 

09.25 The inquiry has provided a full list of 51 victims, many of whom will be called to give oral evidence to Lord Justice Leveson and his panel of six advisers.

 

The wide-ranging group includes MPs, celebrities and other public figures.

 

Some of the best-known names are:

 

• Gerry and Kate McCann (parents of missing toddler Madeleine)

 • Bob and Gemma Dowler (parents of murdered schoolgirl Milly)

 • Former F1 boss Max Mosley

 • Footballer Paul Gascoigne

 • Actors Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller

 • Publicist Max Clifford

• Presenters Ulrika Jonsson and Abi Titmuss

 • Author JK Rowling

 • Singer Charlotte Church  

 

 

Abi Titmuss may be called to give evidence to the inquiry

 

09.20 Today's hearing is due to start at 10am.

 

You can watch proceedings live on the inquiry website, which also has videos of previous hearings.

 

A full transcript of what's said in court is expected to go online shortly. We'll let you know when it does.

 

09.18 We have compiled a Twitter list of journalists, campaigners and MPs to follow during the Leveson Inquiry.

 

Today our reporter Martin Evans will be tweeting and reporting live from the Royal Courts of Justice.

 

Follow him on Twitter @evansma for live updates from Court 73.

 

09.15 James Kirkup, the Telegraph's deputy political editor, was at the Leveson Inquiry yesterday.

 

Here is his report in this morning's paper: Sun and Mirror journalists dragged into phone hacking scandal.

 

 

 

09.12 Some of the revelations to come out of yesterday's hearing are dominating this morning's papers.

 

The Guardian splashes on Robert Jay QC's evidence that 28 News International staff were named in the notebooks of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.

 

The paper devotes a double-page spread to yesterday's hearing, including a 'hacking in numbers' section which reminds us 5,795 potential hacking targets have been named to date.

 

Sketchwriter Amelia Hill takes a comic look at the interruption of proceedings by the alleged "trojan horse" virus found by David Sherborne QC on his computer. She also reminds us that Bob Dowler, the father of Milly, was at the hearing:

 

But the calm, dignified presence of Bob Dowler - whose daughter, Milly, would not be 23 years old had she not disappeared on 21 March 2002, her remains to be found six months later - silently cut through the suppressed tension and bustle that accompanied the first day of the Leveson inquiry.

 

An imposing figure, Dowler's presence quietly held the room to account, reminding the assembled throng why they were here.

 

 

 

The family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler

 

Leveson also appears on the front page of The Independent under the imposing headine: 'The Press on Trial'. Another double-page spread and an accompanying sketch by Simon Carr detail the main points of yesterday's hearing.

 

In The Times, the focus is on the allegations that hacking may extend to journalists at The Sun and Trinity Mirror Group, while the Daily Mail leads on Robert Jay QC's description of phone hacking as "a cottage industry".

 

09.10 Here is a quick round-up of the main points to come out of yesterday's proceedings:

 

• Robert Jay QC said phone hacking was a "thriving cottage industry" at News International

 • He said the names of 28 NI journalists were found in the notebooks of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who carried out over 2,000 covert activities for just four reporters

 • The names of Sun and Daily Mirror journalists were also found in Mulcaire's notebooks, Jay said

 • Tougher press regulation may be needed, Jay said, adding that the PCC "needs more teeth"

 • The Leveson Inquiry will not be confined to phone hacking but will look at all aspects of media ethics

 • Witnesses, including 'fake sheikh' Mazher Mahmood, and core participants will start giving evidence next Monday

 • Newspapers were warned not to target witnesses, particularly journalists who speak out about employers

 • Lord Justice Leveson said the main aim of the inquiry is to find out "who guards the guardians?"

 • Neil Garnham QC, acting for the Met Police, said the force would assist the inquiry to ensure a "healthy relationship" between police and the press in future

 

 

 

The inquiry takes place in Court 73 at the Royal Courts of Justice, London

 

09.05 Lord Justice Leveson, the man behind the inquiry, will hear a second day of evidence from leading counsel Robert Jay QC.

 

The next three months will see witness statements from a group of newspaper proprietors, editors, journalists and "core participants", many of whom are alleged victims of phone hacking and other press misbehaviour.

 

Among the witnesses, due to appear from next week, are Hugh Grant, JK Rowling and Christopher Jefferies.

 

Today's submissions are expected to come from Jonathan Caplan QC, acting for Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers, a lawyer for News International and The Daily Telegraph.

 

 

 

Lord Justice Leveson prosecuted serial killer Rose West in 1995

 

09.00 Welcome to our rolling coverage of the second day of the Leveson Inquiry, live from the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

 

The public inquiry into journalistic ethics was launched in the wake of the phone hacking scandal that engulfed News International in July and August.

 

For full coverage of the events leading up to the inquiry, visit our Leveson Inquiry and phone hacking archives. 

Leveson Inquiry: as it happened November 16
Leveson Inquiry: as it happened November 15
Leveson Inquiry: as it happened November 14

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