Elveden - Murdoch Or King Cnut?

The latest from my regular contributor.

Noticed the upsurge in Elveden arrests and charges recently?  After a marked hiatus, it's like a dam has burst.

It started as a trickle which became a stream (Sue Akers) -

Operation Elveden began on 20 June 2011 when News International disclosed material to the Metropolitan Police Service that indicated that police officers had allegedly been receiving cash/cheque payments from journalists from the News of the World for the provision of confidential information. 

But its original 2011 terms of reference widened as the investigatory trickle built into a torrent throughout 2012 of arrests of (mainly Sun) journalists, public officials, prison and police officers.  2013 has so far seen the first Elveden conviction and imprisonment (April Casburn) and a wave of charges.  Both the number and nature of arrests are remarkable. (Hat Tip to Martin Hickman for the best lists of arrests/charges/etc).

Amongst News International arrests are royal editor(s), editor(s), sundry senior executives, managing editor(s), news editor, crime editor, executive editor, deputy editor, chief reporter, deputy news editor, defence editor, chief foreign correspondent etc.  These are not low-level roles or freelancers cutting corners.

Police arrests are also worth analysis: to date, no less than FOUR from MET Specialist Crimes & Special Operations alone, plus two senior officers from the City of London force.  The most recent (see here, Daily Mail) is a former Assistant Commissioner and thus the first (but perhaps not the last) ACPO rank arrest for suspected leaking of unauthorised information.  So police arrests are creeping up the 'food chain' too.  Little wonder that Sean O'Neill of the Times wryly commented on the subject

Down at Scotland Yard some of the command team are in the greenhouse throwing big bricks #elveden
— Sean O'Neill (@TimesCrime) March 5, 2013

Certainly Elveden is (so far) the biggest threat to parent company News Corp (see here) regarding potential corporate and US prosecutions.


And there is a detectable sense of urgency about recent News Corp manoevring - closing their phone hacking compensation scheme, frantic settling of as many civil actions as possible in a rearguard action to prevent further revelations in open court.  It's almost as if defensive embankments have crumbled and legal arguments on admissibility of key evidence (for example, email data pools) have been decided so the upstream log-jam delaying court cases has been prised wide open.

The timing of Rupert Murdoch's reported pep talk to arrested journalists is interesting too (Guardian)

It is understood the News Corporation chairman and chief executive and Sun proprietor met with the journalists on Wednesday at News International's Wapping headquarters in east London to allay concerns that their careers and futures have been left in limbo as they continue to be rebailed without knowing if they are going to be charged..... Sources say Murdoch vowed to continue to pay the arrestees' legal fees and offer whatever support was needed. However he said he could not, for legal reasons, tell them what would happen with regard to their employment if any were charged and found guilty.

Whatever the flood of recent developments, we may know more about the consequences quite quickly.

Tomorrow (Friday March 8th) is going to be a busy day for Operation Elveden at the Central Criminal Court (aka the Old Bailey)

Court No 1, sitting from 9.30am (Court Listing) 

THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE FULFORD    

Plea and Case Management    

U20130197 Alan TIERNEY    

(Surrey Police officer)

U20130198  Richard TRUNKFIELD 

(Prison Operational Support Officer at HMP Woodhill, a high security category A men's prison)

Southwark Crown Court Case    

For Preliminary Hearing    

U20130199  FLATTLEY (MET police officer)  &

WHEELER (Sun journalist)

NOT BEFORE 10:00 am    

Plea and Case Management    

U20130210 

Rebekah BROOKS (the Sun)

John KAY  (the Sun)  & 

Bettina JORDAN-BARBER  (Ministry of Defence official)

U20130201

Andy COULSON (News of the World) &

Clive GOODMAN (News of the World)

It looks increasingly like Rupert Murdoch can't play King Cnut much longer and things aren't going swimmingly.


Related Articles
Hackgate - Elveden - Murdoch's Catch 22
Hackgate - "Snakes And Ladders" At The Met
Hackgate - April Casburn's Conviction - Myths And Misconceptions
Hackgate - Varec Revisited - Dissent In The Ranks
Hackgate - Sue Akers' Swansong
Hackgate - "Newsdesk Here, Kelvin Speaking..."
Hackgate - Andre Baker - A Hackgate Footnote?

You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

Dear Surrey Police

Another article from my regular contributor.

Dear Surrey Police,
There are eight senior, Deputy and Chief Constables in England currently under investigation.  Count them - EIGHT - for a variety of allegations: using undue influence, corruption, misuse of public funds, gross misconduct, even lying to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Well okay,  I grant you, one is appealing being sacked for gross misconduct, the first since 1977.

True, that has attracted press coverage.  But only because of its rarity value.  We're much more used to senior officers being allowed to quietly retire on full pension to avoid disciplinary action - like this one, or these.

Sometimes though, you get things right. You did interview Jimmy Savile about alleged sexual offences.  And when you decided there was enough evidence, you were prepared to follow that up with a referral to Crown Prosecution Service.  Sadly, the CPS decided insufficient evidence so no charge could be brought. There were others though who didn't voice their suspicions and have attracted criticism for their inaction - such as this tweet:

No, sorry, Janet. Sorry Esther. I don't buy it. If you knew and you did nothing, you're part of the problem you condemn.
— Louis Barfe (@LFBarfe) October 4, 2012

So credit where it's due - you did investigate.

Because who doesn't loathe such hateful crimes against children, doubly victimised by crass abuse of power and smothered by walls of silence?  Who would not feel like weeping for their powerlessness?  Unless it were Milly Dowler and you knew about that phone hacking.

And you knew.  It's not even in dispute.  The News of the World "admitted to Surrey Police in April 2002... (it) had unlawfully accessed Milly Dowler's voicemail messages."  News International has conceded that to victims taking civil action.  It is the main foundation of the criminal prosecutions too, of course - conspiracy unlawfully to intercept communications.  Those charged in relation to Milly Dowler are Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, Stuart Kuttner, Greg Miskiw, Glenn Mulcaire and Neville Thurlbeck.  Are you seriously hoping no-one will notice?  Do you really think no-one will wonder who in Surrey Police was told?  Can you honestly believe nobody will ask why nothing was done to prevent phone hacking continuing? The next victims after Milly herself were her family - and maybe you could have prevented it.

Granted, you did invite the Independent Police Complaints Commission to investigate.

And that's the last we heard of that.  Doubtless the IPCC will kick the can further down the road, and we'll be told it can't report till the News of the World prosecutions conclude - when might that be? 2014? 2015?  But why?  By that time, we will have guessed that no charges will be made.  And we will definitely have clocked if anyone were to be allowed to quietly retire with a full pension and avoid disciplinary action.

No, sorry, Surrey.  Sorry IPCC.   I don't buy it. If you knew and you did nothing, you're part of the problem you condemn.

There are Questions Still Unanswered, and continuing Discrepancies and Delays.

The Leveson Inquiry has acted like a searchlight. Regardless of its outcomes, it's served the public well, giving the opportunity to watch the process.  Whatever its Report recommends, the open scrutiny is necessary if the battered and bruised public confidence in policing is ever to start healing.  Two Prime Ministers spelled out the 'Dowler Test'.  David Cameron said,  "... bear in mind who we're doing this for, why we're here in the first place, and that's the real test. If the families like the Dowlers feel this has really changed the way they would have been treated, we would have done our job properly."

Gordon Brown said

...the question (is) that the Dowlers put to us: how can we defend the privacy of a family who at their moment of greatest grief and at a time when they're at their most vulnerable have their privacy invaded by the press in a way that splits the family apart and makes everybody in that family suspicious of each other, and particularly so since it's been done by unlawful means, which include telephone tapping.... I think Lord Justice Leveson put it: 'who will guard the guardians?' was a question which he wanted to address. I will say: who will defend the defenceless?

Who guards the guardians?  We do.  All of us.  The private citizens, public servants, our MPs, the bloggers, investigative journalists, the armchair Leveson viewers, Hacked Off and the pissed off - asking our questions and putting your integrity under our spotlight.

And we are watching what you do next.

Yours Faithfully,

Mr Reg Contributor

c/o Brown Moses

Related Articles
Hackgate - The John Boyall Files
One Rogue Email And The Indestructible Archive 
John Yates And Neil Wallis - A Mutual Understanding
Alex Marunchak - Presumed Innocent
News Corp - Diplomatic Immunity?
The Cook-Hames Surveillance : A Watched Kettle...
Alastair Morgan On The Latest Hackgate Revelations

You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com