by Tom Watson
Part of me wants to scoff at the idiocy of the people who are paid staggering amounts of money to represent the interests of Rupert Murdoch. My God they’ve let him down. Then I think of the parents of the Soham kids and remember why the campaign cannot stop. And I think of my own children. My gentle, beautiful boy, frightened by the nasty man at the door during the Damian McBride affair. And I remember my sense of helplessness, when I couldn’t keep him, his mum and sister safe, even in our home. It took me to the brink – but that’s another story.
In the autumn of the media patriarch, Mr Murdoch’s love of his own children is the one touching piece of a drama, played out over years and decades, that has pulverised careers, relationships and lives.
I’ve read with a sense of sympathy how Mr Murdoch’s daughter has been financially endowed after her TV company was purchased by News Corp. James Murdoch, schooled at Harvard but not in life, shipped off to New York before the court at the palace of Wapping disintegrates. This is a father getting his house in order before time takes its inevitable toll on one of the most remarkable figures of the last half century. It’s touching. It’s sad. I admire him for it, but it doesn’t take away the scandal.
Those cowards who work for Murdoch owe him too. They’ve lived high on the hog in the good times. Their judgement day is round the corner. If they cared for the old fella, they’d own up now before the whole operation sinks in shame.
News International’s approach to a saga of mass criminality is one of dumb insolence. Denial in the face of the facts may work on the Sun comment pages, but not in a court or law – or in a Parliamentary inquiry.
I didn’t look for this inquiry. Two days after my election to the culture, media and sport select committee, Nick Davies broke the phone hacking story in the Guardian. Back then, News International claimed that the Guardian had “substantially and likely deliberately misled the British public”.
The chairman of the DCMS committee, John Whittingdale, bravely re-opened the hacking inquiry. I’d joined the committee to have a quieter Parliamentary life; phone hacking landed in my lap. News International’s lawyers tried to remove me from the committee. Their reason? I was suing the Sun for libel and therefore had a financial interest. Like I said, dumb insolence doesn’t work in Westminster.
Since taking on this campaign, I’ve met the people who have had their lives turned inside out by illegal invasions of privacy. They’ve told me of their depression, sleepless nights and fear. They’ve told me of lost friends and loved ones. I’ve seen grown men well up in tears as they’ve realised the extent of the intrusion into their personal lives. They’ve shared their thoughts of suicide. I’ve seen the anger when victims realise it wasn’t just them that were targeted – but their children and loved ones. I wonder how Rupert Murdoch would feel if his daughter was put through that?
Yesterday, the politician with most influence over the Metropolitan police tried to make light of the inquiry. Boris Johnson, writing in the Telegraph, said
“Like a bunch of crazed lottery winners, they are now gathering around the News International cash register, waving and jabbing at the gold-ticket police letters confirming that they are victims of unlawful surveillance techniques”.
I wonder if Mr Johnson was aware of the alleged hacking of the family of the children murdered at Soham when he made those fatuous remarks? He might like to withdraw them. We know that Milly Dowler’s family were targets for a previous investigator hired by News of the World.
Those hacking victims in the courts? Most of them are millionaires. Do you think it’s about the money to them? They want justice. They want the facts. They want to force Rupert Murdoch to see what’s been done in his name. They want him to say sorry, and mean it. They want him to put the matter right – for the victims who haven’t the financial clout, nor current knowledge, to stand up for themselves in the courts.
As Wapping really starts to leak – like a rusted, rotten sieve – I hope those bullies are getting a flavour of the misery they have casually meted out to people over many years. Even now, as the chaos envelops the bunker, they still don’t get it.
It’s unbelievable how many NI insiders are seeking me out to tell me their stories. The acolytes are slipping away, hanging their heads, keeping quiet when they used to speak out. I’d like to think they’re a little ashamed, but that’s probably too much to expect.
I understand that in the deepest bunker at fortress Wapping, the secret team of investigators is compiling a database. As they sift through the “newly discovered” evidence, their alarm grows by the day. Each time a significant fact is found it is added to the database. Day by day, byte by byte, the true picture emerges. It’s a slow process – there’s a lot of data to sift.
So the latest gesture of regret will not end the barrage of questions, indeed it creates new ones:
Why are News International offering compensation to Mulcaire’s victims from 2004 onwards when you we know he was first paid by the company in 1998?
What measures are they taking to investigate work of other private investigators employed by other newspapers in the News International group?
Why has Rupert Murdoch not asked the police to include the audio tapes from the Jonathan Rees case in their inquiry?
Who employed Jonathan Rees when he came out of prison in 2005? How much was he paid? What did he do?
If the newspaper reports that the payments to Gordon Taylor were in the region of half a million pounds are accurate, why do News International want to pay a maximum of a fifth less to the other victims?
If they want to cooperate fully with the police inquiry, will News International offer to open up the court files in the Taylor case for the Metropolitan police to study?
I can’t help thinking that News International felt that Friday’s admittance of guilt would mark the end of the phone hacking saga. There’s an axiom in politics that you can delegate power but not responsibility. The top brass in Wapping have been immune to this rule for many years. It’s something they find hard to accept. Yet accept it they must. They’re in a mess and one of them needs to take responsibility.
If the chief executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks, had any respect for herself and her benefactor, she would offer her resignation to Rupert Murdoch this week. Go now. Take responsibility. Just this once.
Tom Watson is Labour MP for West Bromwich East.
Tags: phone hacking, Rebekah Brooks, Rupert Murdoch, Tom Watson
Thank you Tom for refusing to give up. So sorry that your own children were placed in fear by this regime. Getting justice for those families and individuals involved in this practice now looks more than possible. Keep going!
Thank you Tom for refusing to give up. So sorry that your own children were placed in fear by this regime. Getting justice for those families and individuals involved in this practice now looks more than possible. Keep going!
I would like to know what was done with the information.
Apart from the dubious newsworthiness of the whole disgraceful escapade, was there any political capital gained from the hacking of our politicians?
Who was given the information and how was it used?
I think mainly of John Prescott here.
I’ve met the people who have had their lives turned inside out by illegal invasions of privacy. They’ve told me of their depression, sleepless nights and fear. They’ve told me of lost friends and loved ones. I’ve seen grown men well up in tears as they’ve realised the extent of the intrusion into their personal lives. They’ve shared their thoughts of suicide. I’ve seen the anger when victims realise it wasn’t just them that were targeted – but their children and loved ones.
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Oh for goodness sake. We have soldiers on the front line in Afghanistan – a real front line, not a public sector ‘front’ line – risking limb and life every day and showing tremendous courage. Meanwhile back in Blighty we get,
‘Boo hoo hoo someone’s hacked my Iphone’.
Time for them (if they exist) to ‘move on’.
And time for the TUCLabour Party to move on. The police are doing their job, leave them to it. The real world really doesn’t share your obsession with Rupert Murdoch.
Is it stil shadenfreude when the victims are entirely deserving of their boot-on-the-other-foot suffering?
Iain Ker: “And time for the TUCLabour Party to move on. The police are doing their job, leave them to it. The real world really doesn’t share your obsession with Rupert Murdoch.”
Oh man, that’s the funniest thing I’ve read all day, though I’ve not been over to the Mail’s comments section yet admittedly.
The police have done a fantastic job so far haven’t they? Their thorough investigation back in 2006 really nailed it.
Go Tom, and don’t let up till they drop.
The police have done a fantastic job so far haven’t they? Their thorough investigation back in 2006 really nailed it.
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Ah yes, if only they’d devoted more resources to, ‘Boo hoo hoo someone’s hacked my Iphone’.
And it’s nice to see the ‘Daily Mail’ heckle being dragged out again – where would the great wits of the pretrendy left be without it.
Dumbstruck I suppose.
Great wits? I mean has anyone ever been to a Mark Thomas gig no me neither.
“iain ker”
Unfortunately you have completely missed the point, the whole point and nothing but the point. but then again if you read certain sections of our beloved media you wouldn’t know – would you?
Could phonehacking of Cabinet Ministers telephones be considered a treasonable offence? Should Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson suffer the same fate of Bradley Manning and be flung into the Tower of London and the keys conveniently lost?
Wonderful!
BUT….. Fraud has become a legitimate business model. When Nick Leason bankrupted Barings he was chased like a dog across the world. These days similar types such as Murdoch who really are moral black holes say they are sorry and that is enough in their eyes, or their moral values are flexible in as much how money you demand from them. Honestly the fact that NI is still operating is to me sickening even if only ONE case of hacking was proven.
Ian- fascinating comment- I presume that means you wouldn’t mind if we put a bug on your phone!
Its not just public sector people- loads in the private sector have had their phones bugged and just so you know- the army are in the public sector. You really don’t have a brain do you.
Good post Tom- can I ask a question- if Murdoch et al have been concealing stuff even if they did not commit the crime, is there a perjury or perversion of the course of justice prosecution available?
Fraud has become a legitimate business model. When Nick Leason bankrupted Barings he was chased like a dog across the world. These days similar types such as Murdoch who really are moral black holes say they are sorry and that is enough in their eyes, or their moral values are flexible in as much how money you demand from them.
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Ooh nice libel. And a libel published by Labour Uncut.
Hope y’all have got good lawyers. You may need them. But it is such a clear libel that should Murdoch choose to bring a libel case against you, there’s not a lawyer in the country would try and defend the case.
Anyway, libels aside, let me get this right – Murdoch is a ‘moral black hole’ because… he has media which promulgates *gasp* right wing views and *swoon* makes profits (and employs people).
You really must try and ‘move on’.
Ian- fascinating comment- I presume that means you wouldn’t mind if we put a bug on your phone!
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Glad your fascinated.
(Their phones weren’t ‘bugged’ by the way)
Would I be mildly ticked off/ not bothered if someone hacked into my voice mailbox? About right.
Would I have ‘depression, sleepless nights and fear’ three years after the event? Nah.
And be honest (at least with yourself) it’s not really about voice mails is it – it’s about the horrible baby-eater. Look out he’s behind you.
Ian
So to sum up – you are more bothered about other people being bothered, about being hacked, to bother making a comment on here about being not bothered?
Rob,
I see comedy’s not really your forte.
But keep going – I like a trier.
Ian – there’s nothing worse than using soldiers names in vain to defend moral bankruptcy, if they’re defending our civil liberties then they are defending our right to privacy and the law of our land that says it is a crime. The stranglehold NI has had on modern British politics needs to come out and be broken once and for all.
Nothing to hide, nothing to fear.
Wasn’t that your parties comments about ID cards, massive child databases (on which your childrens details wouldn’t be held), ubiquitous DNA database again MPs and their associates not included, phone hacking by the police (oh yes, because you can’t change a default passowrd and someone uses it means this wasn’t hacking).
It’s alright for the state, under your control, to know everything about us. Though, for some reason, your life is to be kept private especially when you and other MPs either steal or allow your mates to steal.
The only way to actually find out what the state and its minions are upto is to break the law so good on the papers.
All this faux outrage from Labour’s loyal footsoldiers is risible. The Labour party set out to hack into the whole of British society, using spurious anti-terror legislation to force telecoms companies and ISP’s to collate all e-mail, phone and text records and log them into the biggest database seen outside the Stasi’s HQ, to be held for years. They put up a public interest/security defence in the face of grave public anxiety. And how many of their appartchiks in town halls across the country have used anti-terror legislation to hack into e-mails and use covert surveillance teams of catch out a few citizens breaking the most mundane of by-laws. Protest all you want, Watson, but your party is guilty of far more heinous crimes against the public.
Dear All,
Have you forgotten or lost sight of the fact that whatever the political affiliation of the paper or its owner, that the action of the team involved interfered with the investigation of the murder of a child. Please get a sense of perspective here. I don’t care how powerful these people are, whomsoever is responsible should be locked up. This school yard political banter diminishes you all in the face of the Dowler family’s loss and the suffering of that little girl.