[Closed] News International- Brooks cleared of hacking/all charges

I was hoping to see her doing porridge. The system eh?

Yep, but Coulson guilty - that must be some consolation to see Cameron's press man heading for the cells?

How the **** has she got away with that?

MSP, we don't often agree but +1 big boneo to the legal team!!!

[quote=MSP ]How the **** has she got away with that?

its not what you did, it's who your mates are...

Well from what I've read in the press I cannot believe she's been found not guilty, so to give her the benefit of the doubt perhaps the case wasn't as strong as it appeared or was reported. I am quite surprised she and her husband haven't been found guilty of destroying evidence.

Murdoch agreed to pay all her legal costs on the grounds she was cleared, if she'd been found guilty she would have had to pay and would probably have been bankrupted.

[quote=jam bo said]MSP  » How the **** has she got away with that?

its not what you did, it's who your mates are...

The jury ?

Its not who you know, its what you know about people who you know.

Well, bugger me.

Its amazing what you can get away with if your rich and powerful.

Next issue of Private Eye will be interesting!

Eat the rich,etcetera.

Shocking!!!!

The pair of em should be doing time!

How can he have been guilty and everyone else cleared 😯

To quote private eye IMHO if that is justice i am a banana

I suspect an inquiry, in about 25 years time, finds them guilty

cameroon is apologising for employing coulson and hopefully will now resign as well.

But unlikely.

@project - Cameron is never going to resign over this, he will (possible quite rightly) say he didn't know anything about the issue when he hired him.

Cameron resigning would result in another similar tory popping up...

Even though clearly bin bags of information were removed from the NI security archives and bags removed from Brooks marital home in the days before their arrest.

Yeah, but the more you looked into the police claims about missing things, the more they fell apart - like the myriad "missing" computers, that turned out to be a list of everything that had ever hooked to the Brooks family wifi, including friends iPads, mobile phones etc.

The only thing 'proven' to have been removed seems to have been Charlie Brooks porn collection and laptop with his writing work on it, and given what had gone on, personally I can't blame him for thinking a bent copper might leak that to the press.

Edit.

Plus of course Miliband can't really say too much about News International at the moment, can he?

I laughed out loud when Brook's husbands explanation as to why he was seeing spiriting away bin bags on his flat-blocks CCTV was 'it was pron mags. I didn't want the Police to see these/embarrass my wife'.

I'd laugh but no, come on. Do you think the Police would be that bothered over smut.

Or was it smut?..

I'd laugh but no, come on. Do you think the Police would be that bothered over smut.

It's not whether the police would be bothered, but which newspaper they would sell the story to...

But faced with the possible 'this might be seen as disposing of evidence if caught etc' surely damage limitation would dictate Razzle and Mayfair are nothing..

In this day and age...its all on PC's anyway. So really, what was in those black bags?

project - Member
Its not who you know, its what you know about people who you know.

Too true.

n this day and age...its all on PC's anyway. So really, what was in those black bags?

Hard drives?

On an unrelated thought, Rolf Harris jury have been out for 4 days now, verdict must be due soon.

If only someone hacked hacked her account to get evidence.... 🙂

On an unrelated thought, Rolf Harris jury have been out for 4 days now, verdict must be due soon.

Can you tell what it is yet?

Unbelievable verdict! How could the editor not be complicit in the whole shabby affair?

On an unrelated thought, Rolf Harris jury have been out for 4 days now, verdict must be due soon.

Tie me down in a cell, sport?

What 'edge' did Coulson have over other potential candidates when Cameron appointed him? Was it this hi-tech 'black arts' approach that could have been immensely useful to the party in power?

we weren't there, the Jury were... and for me that's the end of it - what gets reported in the press (especially the bbc which has an axe to grind) and what actually happened in court are quite often two separate things.

By way of example remember the massive credit card paedophile scandal / "operation ore" in which the police announced they had identified thousands of suspects care of credit card billing data...? What didn't happen next is quite telling but it's a classic example of the police leaking evidence and trying to use the court of public opinion - the whole sorry shambles is documented rather well on wikipedia including some of the people who were named and shamed in public and have never had their reputations restored :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ore

we weren't there, the Jury were... and for me that's the end of it - what gets reported in the press (especially the bbc which has an axe to grind) and what actually happened in court are quite often two separate things.

I think it was more likely reasonable doubt. Where was the evidence to convict her? Could a conviction be secured that she was guilty beyond reasonable doubt?

'especially the bbc which has an axe to grind'. The people on here who work at the beeb (on the IT front as well as in other areas) suggest that their colleagues are obsessed with impartiality. Mmmmm. What bikes you got Rob?

we weren't there, the Jury were... and for me that's the end of it

By way of an example Birmingham 6, Jill Dando killer etc.

Still not getting how he knew but she did not..she was his boss and they were intimate...like they would never have spoken about it.
That is hard to swallow tbh.

Exactly, hence why I was laughing when I heard the verdict.

There would have been SOME sort of paperwork trail. How do you square off bribes and payments without authorisation/your boss knowing and agreeing.

If I were bribing someone then I wouldn't write it in a book or send a memo about it.

Coulson as editor of the NoW was aware of and personally involved in the hacking, it seems hard to believe that Brooks wasn't at least aware if not involved during her time but it seems the evidence wasn't there to convict her.

I wonder whether Mr Coulson might have anything further to say to the police now about his predecessor.

There would have been SOME sort of paperwork trail. How do you square off bribes and payments without authorisation/your boss knowing and agreeing.

its not what you did, it's who [s]your mates are[/s] you did it with...

That is hard to swallow

There was a paper trail and indeed a contract but the issue was whether Brooks had personal knowledge of it.

hora - Member
I laughed out loud when Brook's husbands explanation as to why he was seeing spiriting away bin bags on his flat-blocks CCTV was 'it was pron mags. I didn't want the Police to see these/embarrass my wife'.

I'd laugh but no, come on. Do you think the Police would be that bothered over smut.

Or was it smut?..

A good way to get away with a whopper is to admit to a lesser offence as a diversion. In this case something embarrassing but not illegal.

If he didn't hide them under a hedge, it wasn't pron.

This is from the Graun and it makes me realise just how loathsome people can become when they are trying to 'go places'.

[url= http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/24/-sp-rebekah-brooks-profile-news-international-rupert-murdoch- ]Guardian profile of Brooks[/url]

I think the Guardian might also be trying to give her some of her own medicine - the likes of News International were never shy of raking up old dirt (even when acquitted) to help create an impression of someone.

Sadly, though, I think the Guardian will fall short - they won't have the stomach to try to rake up some details of an inherited condition that a relative of hers suffers from as her lot did with Gordon Brown.

She will probably make some kind of comeback as a social/political pundit.

I won't forget for one moment what she is, though - and hopefully nor will a significant amount of people, who will strive to make it difficult for her.

we weren't there, the Jury were

This is true, but when I hear that Rebekah Brooks, one of the most senior former editors in the world's most powerful newspaper empire (we're not talking teaboy at the local rag here) claim that she didn't know hacking was illegal I don't believe her - despite not being in court I'm convinced she's lying.

I've known since I was a child that interfering with people's mail was illegal, there is absolutely no reason to assume that electronic/telephonic mail might be any different.

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26337845 ]Rebekah Brooks 'did not know hacking was illegal'[/url]

The question is why would she need to lie under oath in court if she was innocent ?

All smells like Pittenween harbour at low tide

Agree with E_L, the "I didn't know" defence is resting credibility to the extreme.

In a few years the real story of this whole sorry mess will come out. Shame and expensive judicial process couldn't do that (or did it?)

Anything that has the words "TONY BLAIR" attached to it was always going to come fine. That guy is as corrupt as they come and she stuck to him like shit to a blanket as she knew she could use him to get away with murder if needs be.

[img] [/img]

It really is a strange feeling being simultaneously amazed and then utterly unsurprised a millisecond later.

Amazed: How the bloody hell did you get away with that?

Followed by:

Oh, that's right, you know him, him, him and her don't you?

Things like this just make the world a sadder, more cynical place as these people just walk between the raindrops.

I'm just wondering how the poor victims feel following this judgement.
Knowing she walks around free as a bird.
Coulson will be in "nice" prison for his own safety.

Whereas he should be in the same cell as Levi Bellfield rather than being allowed to do a Jeffrey Archer.

Ed speaks:

This taints David Cameron's government because we now know that he put his relationship with Rupert Murdoch ahead of doing the right thing

Jesus wept the blokes a tit!

[img] [/img]

To be honest I'm not surprised

Jesus wept the blokes a tit!

The bloke might be a tit but unlike your party leader he has stood up to Rupert Murdoch. He called for News International chief Rebekah Brooks to be sacked, demanded a judge led inquiry into NI's behaviour, and after Cameron conceded used the Leveson Inquiry to denounce Murdoch.

[url= http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/jul/16/rupert-murdoch-ed-miliband-phone-hacking ]Rupert Murdoch's empire must be dismantled – Ed Miliband[/url]

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18412172 ]Leveson Inquiry: Murdoch too powerful - Ed Miliband[/url]

So while Ed Miliband might well be a tit your man Cameron is an even bigger tit. Jesus wept.

BTW Z-11 how come you use a picture of Ed Miliband holding a copy of the Sun to taunt him when three politicians that you admire were photographed holding the same copy of the Sun ?

[img] [/img]

Is it OK for Cameron, Johnson, and Farage, to hold a copy of the Sun ?

If it is how about explaining why it is ?

And if it isn't, how about explaining why they haven't apologized for doing so like Ed Miliband ? Don't they care ?

Edit ...Beaten to it by ernie

I laughed out loud when Brook's husbands explanation as to why he was seeing spiriting away bin bags on his flat-blocks CCTV was 'it was pron mags. I didn't want the Police to see these/embarrass my wife'.
I'd laugh but no, come on. Do you think the Police would be that bothered over smut.
Or was it smut?..

Hedge porn doesn't get there by magic....

ninfan - Member

Ed speaks:

This taints David Cameron's government because we now know that he put his relationship with Rupert Murdoch ahead of doing the right thing

Z-11, I've just discovered that you deliberately cropped Ed Miliband's quote, presumably so it would be seen in a different context to the one Miliband intended. Here is the full unedited sentence up to the full stop :

This taints David Cameron’s government because we now know that he put his relationship with Rupert Murdoch ahead of doing the right thing when it came to Andy Coulson.

You claim that Miliband is a tit Z-11 and yet you still have to resort to deliberately editing his quotes, so that people can't see the full intended context, to make your point 😀

You should get a job working for a tabloid. Or perhaps as David Cameron's director of communications ?

Gobsmacked that she got away with (and her husband). But we shouldn't really be surprised, bessie mates with Cameron, Osborne, Murdoch, Morgan, Blair etc etc

I wonder what the hundreds of phone hacking victims while she was editor are thinking ?

that she was massively incompetent at her job and its true that she really had no idea what was going on at all...who could think otherwise?

Is it OK for Cameron, Johnson, and Farage, to hold a copy of the Sun ?

I havent seen Cameron, Johnson or Farage lining up to slag off Rupert Murdoch or News International - Miliband has been, thats why he's a hypocrite.

I don't understand your context complaint - would you prefer it if it said "This taints Ed Milibands opposition because we now know that he put his relationship with Rupert Murdoch ahead of doing the right thing when it came to advertising the newspaper empire he supposedly despises "

It's not whether the police would be bothered, but which newspaper they would sell the story to...

Interesting. The other day, you were adamant that it was perfectly acceptable for the police to have information on someone like Jenny Jones on a database of 'potential nutters' ( 😆 ) , yet now you're suggesting that they might not be a right and proper agency to be entrusted with confidential information. Which sort of proves what I and others were saying, ironicaly.

But we shouldn't really be surprised, bessie mates with Cameron, Osborne, Murdoch, Morgan, Blair etc etc

I'm not surprised at all. Scum stick together to help each other out. What is surprising, is that we let them get away with it.

Miliband has been, thats why he's a Hyopcrite

Yuo're spot on ther ethough. Miliband is a ****.

I havent seen Cameron, Johnson or Farage lining up to slag off Rupert Murdoch or News International

Well that must come as a great relief to you.

I don't understand your context complaint

No of course you don't.

I wonder if Milly Dowler's parents will be invited to the Brooks/Clarksons scot-free party?

it is quite depressing to see them walk.
but I wonder on the competence of the cps/police/prosecution team.

as with the endless failed high profile cases, something seems to be very wrong with our justice system

Well that must come as a great relief to you.

Well, whats your point?

Three politicians that openly court news international and Murdoch, because they are influential in swinging votes, hold copies of newspaper that they openly court.

The other one spends half his time slagging off Murdoch and NI, and the other half sucking up to them!

Well, whats your point?

It is your point that is in question. You appear to be impressed by the fact that you [i]"havent seen Cameron, Johnson or Farage lining up to slag off Rupert Murdoch or News International"[/i] Presumably you would have been happy if Miliband hadn't too.

You haven't explained why Miliband is "a hypocrite". Holding a copy of the Sun does not make him a hypocrite unless of course he's called for all News International titles to be boycotted, which he hasn't.

He's claimed that Rupert Murdoch as the most powerful media baron in the world has too much power, few people would disagree with that. That's not the same as urging people not to read News International titles. By your logic Miliband would be "a hypocrite" if he gave the Times or Sky News an interview, which is obviously ludicrous.

Posing with a copy of the Sun was a stupid stunt that Miliband should not have done because many people find the Sun offensive, but he has apologized for that and it certainly doesn't make him "a hypocrite". In contrast 3 politicians that as a right-wing Tory you admire, Cameron, Johnson, and Farage, did exactly the same thing and haven't apologized.

And finally you knew exactly what you were doing when cut off the end of Miliband's sentence - you were taking Miliband's quote out of context.

Holding a copy of the Sun doesn't make him a hypocrite

Maybe not, but he is a ****ing idiot.

he has apologized for that

Did he really not think it would be a bad idea? Is he really that dense? Or is it part of a plot within Labour to get rid of him?

he has apologized for that

Well, if an apology makes everything OK, that means Cameron's off the hook over Coulson then, perfect 😆

yeah coz milliband looking goofier than ever with a copy of the scum

.....is just the same as the prime minister letting an obviously dodgy hack into the heart of government, defending him in the face of ever mounting evidence of shadiness and even making sure he wasnt properly vetted coz he was a mate of gideons.....

Well I'm guessing that any evidence went away (probably in those bags) but it's hard to prove beyond doubt whats in some bags that don't exist anymore. They were probably full of pictures of schrodingers cat.

So really she did very well at covering her tracks to the point that there was not enough evidence to convict where as Coulson got left with the smoking gun and receipt for the lot.

On the other point there is no need to crop photos to make milliband look like a tit. He can do that all by himself.

Better not read about Damien Mcbride being back in the Labour fold again then Kimbers...

Did he really not think it would be a bad idea?

Well obviously no, otherwise he wouldn't have done it. Presumably he thought that he was showing his support for England in the World Cup, as other politicians/party leaders were, was the right thing to do.

I'm happy that he should be criticized for doing so but I don't think it makes him any worse than Cameron who did exactly the same thing.

Z-11 thinks it's fine that Cameron, Johnson, and Farage, should pose with a newspaper despised by many, specially in Liverpool, but not for Miliband to do so.

And unbelievably he tries to lecture us about "hypocrisy" 🙂

Definitely would though.

jambourgie - Member
Definitely would though.

Much as I respect the right of everyone to have a private life and not to have irrelevant personal information, pictures and videos splashed across the media in this case if you do manage to get a few intimate moments with Andy Coulson please video it and upload to the internet 😉

DOH

Newsnight had the front page of the Sun - "Great Day for Red Tops" - interesting how they focused on Brook's acquital rather than the fact that the Coulson as NoW editor was found guilty.

Were you expecting the impartial truth from them then?

Page 3 is nice today

If I were bribing someone then I wouldn't write it in a book or send a memo about it.

I'm no expert, but the thing about illegal payments tends to be that they are rarely the outcome of formal projects. Pretty sure there's no ISO standards for them.