Timeline of the News Corporation scandal

Last updated

The News Corporation scandal involves phone, voicemail, and computer hacking that were allegedly committed over a number of years. The scandal began in the United Kingdom, where the News International phone hacking scandal has to date resulted in the closure of the News of the World newspaper and the resignation of a number of senior members of the Metropolitan Police force.

Contents

Pre-2010

2010 - 4 July 2011

After 4 July 2011

Investigations

Related Research Articles

Rebekah Mary Brooks is a British media executive and former journalist and newspaper editor. She has been chief executive officer of News UK since 2015. She was previously CEO of News International from 2009 to 2011 and was the youngest editor of a British national newspaper at News of the World, from 2000 to 2003, and the first female editor of The Sun, from 2003 to 2009. Brooks married actor Ross Kemp in 2002. They divorced in 2009 and she married former racehorse trainer and author Charlie Brooks.

Andrew EdwardCoulson is an English journalist and political strategist.

Clive Goodman is an English journalist, former royal editor and reporter for the News of the World. He was arrested in August 2006 and jailed in January 2007 for intercepting mobile phone messages involving members of the Royal household.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">News International phone hacking scandal</span> Media scandal

The News International phone hacking scandal was a controversy involving the now-defunct News of the World and other British newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch. Employees of the newspaper engaged in phone hacking, police bribery, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of stories.

Glenn Michael Mulcaire is an English private investigator and former non-league footballer. He was closely involved in the News International phone hacking scandal, and was imprisoned for six months in 2007 for his role in phone hacking and given a six-month suspended sentence at the hacking trial of 2013–14.

Ian Edmondson is a British tabloid journalist. He was the news editor at the News of the World. Edmondson was arrested by the Metropolitan Police in April 2011 during the Operation Weeting phone-hacking investigation.

Operation Weeting was a British police investigation that commenced on 26 January 2011, under the Specialist Crime Directorate of the Metropolitan Police Service into allegations of phone hacking in the News of the World phone hacking affair. The operation was conducted alongside Operation Elveden, an investigation into allegations of inappropriate payments to the police by those involved with phone hacking, and Operation Tuleta, an investigation into alleged computer hacking for the News of the World. All three operations are led by Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, Head of Organised Crime & Criminal Networks within the Specialist Crime Directorate.

The News of the World royal phone hacking scandal was a scandal which developed in 2005 to 2007 around the interception of voicemail relating to the British royal family by a private investigator working for a News of the World journalist. It formed a prelude to the wider News International phone hacking scandal which developed in 2009 and exploded in 2011, when it became clear that the phone hacking had taken place on a much wider scale. Early indications of this in the police investigation were not followed through, and the failures of the police investigation would go on to form part of the wider scandal in 2011.

The News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations followed the revelations in 2005 of voicemail interception on behalf of News of the World. Despite wider evidence of wrongdoing, the News of the World royal phone hacking scandal appeared resolved with the 2007 conviction of the News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman and the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, and the resignation of editor Andy Coulson. However, a series of civil legal cases and investigations by newspapers, parliament and the police ultimately saw evidence of "industrial scale" phone hacking, leading to the closure of the News of the World on 10 July 2011. However, the affair did not end there, developing into the News Corporation ethics scandal as wrongdoing beyond the News of the World and beyond phone hacking came to light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leveson Inquiry</span> 2011 judicial public inquiry into the British press

The Leveson Inquiry was a judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal, chaired by Lord Justice Leveson, who was appointed in July 2011. A series of public hearings were held throughout 2011 and 2012. The Inquiry published the Leveson Report in November 2012, which reviewed the general culture and ethics of the British media, and made recommendations for a new, independent, body to replace the existing Press Complaints Commission, which would have to be recognised by the state through new laws. Prime Minister David Cameron, under whose direction the inquiry had been established, said that he welcomed many of the findings, but declined to enact the requisite legislation. Part 2 of the inquiry was to be delayed until after criminal prosecutions regarding events at the News of the World, but the Conservative Party's 2017 manifesto stated that the second part of the inquiry would be dropped entirely, and this was confirmed by Culture Secretary Matt Hancock in a statement to the House of Commons on 1 March 2018.

The news media phone hacking scandal is a controversy over illegal acquisition of confidential information by news media organizations that reportedly occurred in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia between 1995 and 2011. This article includes reference lists for various topics relating to that scandal.

This article provides a narrative beginning in 1999 of investigations by the Metropolitan Police Service (Met) of Greater London into the illegal acquisition of confidential information by agents in collaboration with the news media that is commonly referred to as the phone hacking scandal. The article discusses seven phases of investigations by the Met and several investigations of the Met itself, including critiques and responses regarding the Met's performance. Separate articles provide an overview of the scandal and a comprehensive set of reference lists with detailed background information.

Phone hacking by news organizations became the subject of scandals that raised concerns about illegal acquisition of confidential information by news media organizations in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia between 1995 and 2012. The scandal had been simmering since 2002 but broke wide open in July 2011 with the disclosure that a murdered teenage girl's mobile phone had been hacked by a newspaper looking for a story. The scandals involved multiple organizations, and include the News of the World royal phone hacking scandal, the News International phone hacking scandal, the 2011 News Corporation scandals, and the Metropolitan Police role in the News International phone hacking scandal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media coverage in conjunction with the news media phone hacking scandal</span>

This is a chronological list of key newspaper articles that made significant new public disclosures about the illegal acquisition of confidential information by news media companies.

<i>R v Coulson, Brooks and others</i>

R v Coulson, Brooks and others was a trial at the Old Bailey in London, England, arising from the News International phone hacking scandal.

References

  1. "Trail of hacking and deceit under nose of Tory PR chief"
  2. "House of Commons - Unauthorised tapping into or hacking of mobile communications - Home Affairs Committee".
  3. Evans, Rob; Davies, Nick (9 March 2010). "Max Clifford drops News of the World phone hacking action in £1m deal". The Guardian. London.
  4. Greenslade, Roy (18 January 2011). "News of the World feigns shock at new twist in the phone-hacking saga". The Guardian. London.
  5. Robinson, James (5 January 2011). "News of the World suspends assistant editor over phone-hacking claims". The Guardian. London.
  6. PA (9 February 2011). "New angle in phone hacking probe" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  7. 1 2 The Guardian: Phone hacking: NoW journalists arrested. April 5, 2011.
  8. The Telegraph: Phone hacking scandal: senior News of the World reporter James Weatherup arrested. April 14, 2011.
  9. Robinson, James (21 June 2011). "Andy Gray settles phone-hacking case". The Guardian. London.
  10. Davies, Nick; Hill, Amelia (5 July 2011). "Missing Milly Dowler's voicemail was hacked by News of the World". The Guardian. London.
  11. Robinson, James; Gabbatt, Adam; Laville, Sandra; Davies, Nick; Hill, Amelia; Conlan, Tara (5 July 2011). "Rebekah Brooks: 'It's inconceivable I knew of Milly Dowler phone hacking'". The Guardian. London.
  12. Deans, Jason; Robinson, James (7 July 2011). "Phone hacking: Royal British Legion drops NoW as campaign partner". The Guardian. London.
  13. Sparrow, Andrew; Batty, David (6 July 2011). "News of the World phone hacking – Wednesday 6 July 2011". The Guardian. London.
  14. "News of the World to close amid hacking scandal". BBC News. 7 July 2011.
  15. CNN: Brooks, Coulson charged over alleged payments to officials. November 6, 2012.
  16. The Independent: Andy Coulson and ex-royal reporter Clive Goodman arrested. July 8, 2011.
  17. Davies, Nick; Leigh, David (11 July 2011). "News International papers targeted Gordon Brown". The Guardian. London.
  18. "News Corp withdraws bid for BSkyB". BBC News. 13 July 2011.
  19. Morgan, Tom (14 July 2011). "Andy Coulson's deputy Neil Wallis arrested" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21.
  20. Martinson, Jane; Watt, Nicholas (16 July 2011). "Rupert Murdoch's bloody Friday as Rebekah Brooks and Les Hinton quit". The Guardian. London.
  21. "Rebekah Brooks arrested by hacking police". BBC News. 17 July 2011.
  22. Phone hacking: Theresa May announces more inquiries The Guardian.
  23. "Rupert Murdoch attacked at Parliament, appears unharmed". Los Angeles Times. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  24. Watt, Nicholas (22 July 2011). "James Murdoch stands by evidence he gave Commons committee". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  25. Watt, Nicholas (21 July 2011). "Matt Nixson, former News of the World executive, sacked from the Sun". The Guardian. London.
  26. NBC News
  27. "UK regulator begins probe into BSkyB's status". Financial Times. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  28. "BLP partner launches phone-hacking claim against NoW". The Lawyer. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  29. "BLP partner files claim against News of the World for phone-hacking". Legal Week. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  30. Wright, Oliver (27 July 2011). "Murdochs were given secret defence briefings" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  31. O'Carroll, Lisa; Watt, Nicholas (29 July 2011). "Glenn Mulcaire 'acted under instructions' over voicemails". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  32. "Phone hacking: Glenn Mulcaire says he acted 'on the instructions of others'". London: The Telegraph. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  33. Hill, Amelia (2 August 2011). "Phone-hacking scandal: NoW exec Stuart Kuttner bailed after arrest". The Guardian. London.
  34. "Phone hacking: former News of the World news editor Greg Miskiw arrested". The Daily Telegraph. London. 10 August 2011.
  35. Robinson, James (10 August 2011). "Met PR man Dick Fedorcio put on leave". The Guardian. London.
  36. Robinson, James (16 August 2011). "Phone hacking scandal (Media),News of the World,Clive Goodman,Andy Coulson (Media),News International,News Corporation (Media),UK news,Metropolitan police,Press intrusion (Media)". The Guardian. London.
  37. "Phone hacking: Reports of James Desborough arrest". BBC News. 18 August 2011.
  38. Morgan, Tom; Davis, Margaret (18 August 2011). "Glenn Mulcaire suing News International" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21.
  39. Otterman, Sharon (29 August 2011). "State Education Contract Canceled With News Corp. Subsidiary Wireless Generation". The New York Times.
  40. McSmith, Andy (31 August 2011). "Former NOTW managing editor Stuart Kuttner is re-arrested" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21.
  41. James Robinson (2 September 2011). "Phone-hacking scandal: reporter linked to the 'for Neville' email arrested". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  42. "Leveson Inquiry - Hearings". 5 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2012-05-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  43. Robinson, James; O'Carroll, Lisa (7 September 2011). "Phone hacking: Raoul Simons of the Times arrested". The Guardian. London.
  44. "Australia to investigate media after UK phone-hacking scandal". The Guardian. London. 13 September 2011.
  45. Cassell Bryan-Low and Paul Sonne (14 September 2011). "James Murdoch, Les Hinton Asked to Reappear Before U.K. Committee". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  46. "Leveson Inquiry - Terms of Reference". 5 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2012-03-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  47. O'Carroll, Lisa; Halliday, Josh; Robinson, James (10 November 2011). "Phone hacking: James Murdoch questioned by MPs - Thursday 10 November". The Guardian. London.
  48. O'Carroll, Lisa; Halliday, Josh (21 November 2011). "Leveson inquiry: Hugh Grant and the Dowlers give evidence". The Guardian. London.
  49. "NewsCorp payout".
  50. "Murdoch recording".

See also