"There can be no doubt that Leveson, a judge, should have recommended that the judiciary put their house in order. Had the judges implemented the laws on corruption, harassment and data acquisition in the way that ordinary people had the right to expect then the Leveson Inquiry would not have been needed."
The Leveson Inquiry has reported on the behaviour of the British press. Those with any knowledge of British Law will be wondering why the police did not address the various issues before there was any need for a Public Inquiry. It turns out that the failure to address the issues lay with the judiciary, not the police. The police have spent thousands of man hours and millions of pounds pursuing outrageous behaviour by the press and their stooges only to find that judges consider such behaviour to be acceptable and hand down derisory sentences. Despite being a judge, Leveson has investigated this problem in his: An inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press: report [Leveson] but, because he is a judge he has failed to alert everyone to the problem in his profession.
The police mounted four Operations (Reproof, Glade, Motorman and Caryatid) to prosecute those who were corrupting public officials and hacking phones. All of these ended in minimal sentencing.
Why are the news media ignoring this failure of the judiciary? Had the judiciary acted correctly there would be no calls for the restriction of press freedom. Had the principle malefactors in the phone hacking, Goodman and Mulcaire, got 5 years each then Murdoch could have been prosecuted and sent down for a year for his probable involvement in these crimes. The actual sentences handed down by the judges for serious crimes by the press were largely conditional discharges or, at worst 6 months. These sentences meant that further police action was pointless even though crimes had been committed.
The press may be ignoring the failure of the judiciary because Leveson almost entirely ignores it in his summary despite devoting a large amount of space to the problem in his report. Leveson knows that these Public Inquiries are set up to legitimise Government actions. Knowing this he would hardly focus on a genuine failure of government; instead he would make his principle objective, the whitewashing of the BSkyB "takeover and merger" decision as clear as possible (do you remember this political scandal where Hunt, a pro-Murdoch politician, was put in charge of adjudicating a Murdoch takeover?). It is also the case that the last thing the press desire is the enforcement of the law around their activities.
Much of the criminal activity reported by Leveson involved the corruption of public officials. Corruption is probably the most serious crime. It is corruption that turns a nation into a hell. There can be no doubt that the judge, Leveson, should have recommended that the judiciary put their house in order. Had the judges implemented the laws on corruption, harassment and data acquisition in the way that ordinary people had the right to expect the Leveson Inquiry would not have been needed.
Those calling for yet more laws to govern us should consider whether these are any more likely to be enforced than the existing laws.
See also: Stafford NHS, Horse Meat and Banker Crime for more about weak sentencing.
A summary of the police operations, in the form of quotes from the Report, is given below:
Operation Reproof
Through an analysis of a “huge amount of evidence” the police discovered a network of companies and individuals throughout the UK, acting as investigators, who were sourcing information on demand, either directly from a person serving with the police or through a third party. In particular, the police found that a small number of police officers who had retired from the Devon and Cornwall Police had set themselves up as private investigators for the commercial market and were obtaining information from former colleagues who were still working within the police service or other agencies, such as the Department for Work and Pensions. The information was then passed through a network of individuals before it reached the ultimate customer. In most cases that ultimate customer was three or four links up the chain.
The judge who heard the case said that "the matter was not terribly serious"
"In short, DCS Middleton [the investigating officer] confirmed in evidence that a fair summary of the position was that the judge caused the CPS to ask itself, “do we want to spend all this time on a trial if the judge is of the view either (a) that the facts may not make out an offence, or (b)that if they did, it is not a terribly serious matter." The prosecution was abandoned.
Operation Glade
"To investigate (covertly) at this time the allegations against Marshall in order to
prove or disprove his involvement in the offences alleged. The parameter of the
investigation at this time will include Marshall himself, John Boyall and possibly
Stephen Whittamore. There appears to be clear evidence that Marshall is conducting illegal PNC or CRO checks on behalf of John Boyall at the request of a number of reporters. The aim of the investigation will be to gather evidence of Marshall, Boyall and Whittamore’s involvement in the misuse of the PNC or CRO systems with a view to prosecuting them for any offences disclosed or to prevent further misuse. Early consultation will take place with the CPS regarding appropriate charges should sufficient evidence be obtained.”
"In April 2005 all four defendants were given conditional discharges.... . DCI Gilmour made it clear that these sentences were a disappointment for the police."
Operation Motorman
"The evidence discovered by the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] had highlighted the unauthorised supply of information from the PNC by a civilian police employee, and the CPS charged four individuals; namely Steve Whittamore, John Boyall, Alan King and Paul Marshall with corruption offences.
19 incidents were covered by the indictment, 12 in respect of Criminal Record Office offences and seven in relation to vehicle checks from the PNC. Two of the accused pleaded guilty to the corruption charges. On 6 April 2005, the Crown amended the indictment to include two offences under the DPA. Mr Whittamore and Mr Boyall pleaded guilty to offences under s55 of the DPA.36
On 15 April 2005, His Honour Judge Samuels QC, sitting at Blackfriars Crown Court, sentenced the four defendants. HHJ Samuels QC stated that: “the vice of the primary conspiracy was to make known to the press information which on any view ought to have been confidential, and was bound at its lowest to cause immense embarrassment to members of the public who required the state to maintain confidentiality in their affairs”. However, the judge considered himself circumscribed by two factors. First, Paul Marshall had already been given a conditional discharge at an earlier trial in respect of unrelated offences, his mitigation being that he was seriously ill; in the court’s view, Mr Marshall could not now be given a higher sentence for a less serious offence, and his co-defendants could not be treated less leniently either. Second, the personal circumstances of each of the defendants (as argued before the judge) meant that the court considered that it could not impose a fine. Consequently, each defendant received a conditional discharge."
Operation Caryatid
"In December 2005, the Royal Household reported to the Royalty Protection Department of the MPS that it was concerned that the voicemail messages of Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton and Helen Asprey, respectively the private and personal secretaries to Princes William and Harry, were the subject of unlawful interception. Information had been appearing in the press, in particular in the column of Clive Goodman, the Royal editor at the NoTW, which suggested
knowledge of the content of voicemail messages left on their mobile phones."
"On 8 August 2006, the police arrested Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire and searched over 13 premises and vehicles, including their home addresses. Attempts were also made to search the offices of NI in Wapping although to minimise the risk of encountering journalistic material, the CPS had advised that the search of those premises should be confined to Mr Goodman’s desk and the finance offices"
"“Having reviewed the material seized at the address searches it is clear that there is a wealth of sensitive documents relating to hundreds of individuals including Royal Household, Members of Parliament, Sports stars, Military Police, Celebrities and journalists. There is also a number of electronic media seized including cassette tapes, microtapes and computers ..."
“It is clear from the documents Recovered from the searches conducted that
Mulcaire has been engaged in sustained (years) period of research on behalf of News International, this assumption is based on the fact that News International have for a number of years paid substantial cash payments to his bank accounts."
The investigations showed that the phone hacking had gone well beyond the royal family:
" unredacted names include: Maria, Charlotte and James Church; Max Clifford; Ashley Cole; Stephen J. Coogan; Cornelia Crisan; George Galloway; Ryan Giggs; James Hewitt; Ulrika Jonsson; Jude Law; Sadie Frost; Elle McPherson; Mark Oaten and Brian Paddick."
On 26 January 2007, Mr Justice Gross sentenced Mr Goodman and Mr Mulcaire to four and six months’ imprisonment respectively.
These minimal sentences meant that the police discontinued the operation - any prosecutions would have received lower sentences or been conditionally discharged.
The key point in all these Operations is that the judiciary, by handing out minimal sentences, gave the green light to illegal activity by the press. The judges concluded that nobody cared about Milly Dowler's phone being hacked.
Stafford NHS, Horse Meat and Banker Crime
29/11/2012
 |
| Last issue of News of the World |
The police mounted four Operations (Reproof, Glade, Motorman and Caryatid) to prosecute those who were corrupting public officials and hacking phones. All of these ended in minimal sentencing.
Why are the news media ignoring this failure of the judiciary? Had the judiciary acted correctly there would be no calls for the restriction of press freedom. Had the principle malefactors in the phone hacking, Goodman and Mulcaire, got 5 years each then Murdoch could have been prosecuted and sent down for a year for his probable involvement in these crimes. The actual sentences handed down by the judges for serious crimes by the press were largely conditional discharges or, at worst 6 months. These sentences meant that further police action was pointless even though crimes had been committed.
The press may be ignoring the failure of the judiciary because Leveson almost entirely ignores it in his summary despite devoting a large amount of space to the problem in his report. Leveson knows that these Public Inquiries are set up to legitimise Government actions. Knowing this he would hardly focus on a genuine failure of government; instead he would make his principle objective, the whitewashing of the BSkyB "takeover and merger" decision as clear as possible (do you remember this political scandal where Hunt, a pro-Murdoch politician, was put in charge of adjudicating a Murdoch takeover?). It is also the case that the last thing the press desire is the enforcement of the law around their activities.
Much of the criminal activity reported by Leveson involved the corruption of public officials. Corruption is probably the most serious crime. It is corruption that turns a nation into a hell. There can be no doubt that the judge, Leveson, should have recommended that the judiciary put their house in order. Had the judges implemented the laws on corruption, harassment and data acquisition in the way that ordinary people had the right to expect the Leveson Inquiry would not have been needed.
Those calling for yet more laws to govern us should consider whether these are any more likely to be enforced than the existing laws.
See also: Stafford NHS, Horse Meat and Banker Crime for more about weak sentencing.
A summary of the police operations, in the form of quotes from the Report, is given below:
Operation Reproof
Through an analysis of a “huge amount of evidence” the police discovered a network of companies and individuals throughout the UK, acting as investigators, who were sourcing information on demand, either directly from a person serving with the police or through a third party. In particular, the police found that a small number of police officers who had retired from the Devon and Cornwall Police had set themselves up as private investigators for the commercial market and were obtaining information from former colleagues who were still working within the police service or other agencies, such as the Department for Work and Pensions. The information was then passed through a network of individuals before it reached the ultimate customer. In most cases that ultimate customer was three or four links up the chain.
The judge who heard the case said that "the matter was not terribly serious"
"In short, DCS Middleton [the investigating officer] confirmed in evidence that a fair summary of the position was that the judge caused the CPS to ask itself, “do we want to spend all this time on a trial if the judge is of the view either (a) that the facts may not make out an offence, or (b)that if they did, it is not a terribly serious matter." The prosecution was abandoned.
Operation Glade
"To investigate (covertly) at this time the allegations against Marshall in order to
prove or disprove his involvement in the offences alleged. The parameter of the
investigation at this time will include Marshall himself, John Boyall and possibly
Stephen Whittamore. There appears to be clear evidence that Marshall is conducting illegal PNC or CRO checks on behalf of John Boyall at the request of a number of reporters. The aim of the investigation will be to gather evidence of Marshall, Boyall and Whittamore’s involvement in the misuse of the PNC or CRO systems with a view to prosecuting them for any offences disclosed or to prevent further misuse. Early consultation will take place with the CPS regarding appropriate charges should sufficient evidence be obtained.”
"In April 2005 all four defendants were given conditional discharges.... . DCI Gilmour made it clear that these sentences were a disappointment for the police."
Operation Motorman
"The evidence discovered by the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] had highlighted the unauthorised supply of information from the PNC by a civilian police employee, and the CPS charged four individuals; namely Steve Whittamore, John Boyall, Alan King and Paul Marshall with corruption offences.
19 incidents were covered by the indictment, 12 in respect of Criminal Record Office offences and seven in relation to vehicle checks from the PNC. Two of the accused pleaded guilty to the corruption charges. On 6 April 2005, the Crown amended the indictment to include two offences under the DPA. Mr Whittamore and Mr Boyall pleaded guilty to offences under s55 of the DPA.36
On 15 April 2005, His Honour Judge Samuels QC, sitting at Blackfriars Crown Court, sentenced the four defendants. HHJ Samuels QC stated that: “the vice of the primary conspiracy was to make known to the press information which on any view ought to have been confidential, and was bound at its lowest to cause immense embarrassment to members of the public who required the state to maintain confidentiality in their affairs”. However, the judge considered himself circumscribed by two factors. First, Paul Marshall had already been given a conditional discharge at an earlier trial in respect of unrelated offences, his mitigation being that he was seriously ill; in the court’s view, Mr Marshall could not now be given a higher sentence for a less serious offence, and his co-defendants could not be treated less leniently either. Second, the personal circumstances of each of the defendants (as argued before the judge) meant that the court considered that it could not impose a fine. Consequently, each defendant received a conditional discharge."
Operation Caryatid
"In December 2005, the Royal Household reported to the Royalty Protection Department of the MPS that it was concerned that the voicemail messages of Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton and Helen Asprey, respectively the private and personal secretaries to Princes William and Harry, were the subject of unlawful interception. Information had been appearing in the press, in particular in the column of Clive Goodman, the Royal editor at the NoTW, which suggested
knowledge of the content of voicemail messages left on their mobile phones."
"On 8 August 2006, the police arrested Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire and searched over 13 premises and vehicles, including their home addresses. Attempts were also made to search the offices of NI in Wapping although to minimise the risk of encountering journalistic material, the CPS had advised that the search of those premises should be confined to Mr Goodman’s desk and the finance offices"
"“Having reviewed the material seized at the address searches it is clear that there is a wealth of sensitive documents relating to hundreds of individuals including Royal Household, Members of Parliament, Sports stars, Military Police, Celebrities and journalists. There is also a number of electronic media seized including cassette tapes, microtapes and computers ..."
“It is clear from the documents Recovered from the searches conducted that
Mulcaire has been engaged in sustained (years) period of research on behalf of News International, this assumption is based on the fact that News International have for a number of years paid substantial cash payments to his bank accounts."
The investigations showed that the phone hacking had gone well beyond the royal family:
" unredacted names include: Maria, Charlotte and James Church; Max Clifford; Ashley Cole; Stephen J. Coogan; Cornelia Crisan; George Galloway; Ryan Giggs; James Hewitt; Ulrika Jonsson; Jude Law; Sadie Frost; Elle McPherson; Mark Oaten and Brian Paddick."
On 26 January 2007, Mr Justice Gross sentenced Mr Goodman and Mr Mulcaire to four and six months’ imprisonment respectively.
These minimal sentences meant that the police discontinued the operation - any prosecutions would have received lower sentences or been conditionally discharged.
The key point in all these Operations is that the judiciary, by handing out minimal sentences, gave the green light to illegal activity by the press. The judges concluded that nobody cared about Milly Dowler's phone being hacked.
Stafford NHS, Horse Meat and Banker Crime
29/11/2012
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