http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Metropolitan-Police-Commissioner-Sir-Paul-Stephenson-Resigns-Amid-Phone-Hacking-Inquiry/Article/201107316032138?f=rss

Rats still deserting. Met chief 'knew nothing', but that's what they all say!!

Best Sunday I have had in years..the best yet to come ..

Rebekah Brooks arrested over phone-hacking

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rebekah-brooks-arrested-over-phone-hacking-124413633.html

The Met statement read: "She was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to Section1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977 and on suspicion of
corruption allegations contrary to Section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906."

Gordon Brown last night called in police after accusing News International of 'distorting' his claim that his phone was hacked.

The move came days after allegations that The Sunday Times and The Sun accessed his bank accounts, legal file, private details and medical records of his son Fraser, who has cystic fibrosis.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2015561/Gordon-Brown-calls-police-row-deepens-Murdoch-papers.html#ixzz1SJEwVN4E

Murdoch lieutenant Hinton quits Dow Jones (52 years of service) Just James ,for the chop next..

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/murdochs-hand-man-quits-over-scandal-055227268.html

"(Reuters) - Les Hinton, the top executive of Rupert Murdoch's Dow Jones & Co, resigned on Friday after becoming a target of criticism for the phone-hacking scandal that occurred when he oversaw News Corp's British newspapers."

'James Murdoch to remain on GSK's board'

* Drugmaker says Murdoch has made strong contribution

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/15/newscorp-glaxo-idUSL6E7IF1BF20110715

Drop the girl in it why don`t you James ...nice one...

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rebekah-brooks-quits-ni-chief-executive-085922523.html

James Murdoch said: "I want to thank her for her 22 years of service to the company.

"She has been one of the outstanding editors of her generation and she can be proud

Of many accomplishments as an executive.

We support her as she takes this step to clear her name."

DON'T be complacent. Murdoch is fighting back. He has stated publicly that his BSkyB takeover is 'on hold' and NOT abandoned. BEWARE!!

http://news.aol.co.uk/main-news/story/murdoch-denounces-parliament-lies/1879838
From above link:-
"A defiant Rupert Murdoch has said that he would challenge the "total lies" issued about his News Corporation media empire in the phone hacking scandal when he appears before MPs next week.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp, he said he wanted to address "some of the things that have been said in Parliament, some of which are total lies".
He added: "We think it's important to absolutely establish our integrity in the eyes of the public... I felt that it's best just to be as transparent as possible."
Despite the massive outcry over the allegations centering on the now defunct News of the World, Mr Murdoch insisted that the damage to his company was "nothing that will not be recovered".

'Dr Evan Harris member of the Hacked off campaign'...I've heard it all!!"

Patricia Atkins

....Im sorry Patricia but ...

"Former Lib Dem MP Evan Harris, a member of the group, said:

Some people feel that anyone who has been involved in wrongdoing should face a criminal trial and other people are very keen that the truth comes out as quickly as possible, even if that means giving immunity to the people who admit to wrongdoing."

Guardian UK

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/phone-hacking-scandal-spreads-stateside-100205930.html

Phone-hacking scandal spreads stateside

By Alex Stevenson

A senior US senator has expressed concerns about phone-hacking, in a further sign that Rupert Murdoch is struggling to contain the contagion of scandal.

Jay Rockefeller IV, chairman of the Senate's commerce, science and transportation committee, warned of "severe" consequences if phone-hacking had taken place in the US.

Mr Murdoch's News Corp has substantial holdings in America, including the right-wing Fox News channel, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Po

READ MORE AT LINK ABOVE

Beckus and other would be posters:-

Here is the HuffPo link to the vaccine controversy including the Wakefield et al MMR controversy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gro-brundtland/childhood-vaccination_b_882154.html

http://oneclick.indiatimes.com/photo/05u72nadJMeBQ

Gordon Brown - Sunday Times update

"The revelations will also shift attention away from accusations of “hacking” mobile phone voicemail accounts and on to other, potentially illegal, practices known as “blagging”, getting information by trickery or deception."

"When the phone hacking scandal broke, they suspected (The Browns) that mobile telephone hacking, or illegal accessing of the child’s medical records, explained how the tabloid got the private and personal information."

1. Sunday Times implicated in highly illegal behaviour outside phone hacking.

2. Sunday Times not afraid to TARGET children with disabilities for ? Well I'm not sure but it's still hitting a new low.

"In October 2006, the then editor of the Sun, Rebekah Brooks, contacted the Browns to tell them that they had obtained details from the medical file of their four-month-old son, Fraser, which revealed that the boy was suffering from cystic fibrosis. This appears to have been a clear breach of the Data Protection Act, which would allow such a disclosure only if it was in the public interest. Friends of the Browns say the call caused them immense distress, since they were only coming to terms with the diagnosis, which had not been confirmed. The Sun published the story."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/jul/11/news-world-hacking-scandal-live

It is my sad duty to let readers know that the "Sunday Times" has just been implicated in the scandal.

"Extraordinary new allegations from The Guardian's Nick Davies on the Gordon Brown hacking. Among the details, not only were Mr Brown's Abbey National bank details accessed - a "blagger" posed as Brown six times, according to the bank - but his lawyers, Allen & Overy, were tricked into handing over details from his file. And, perhaps most shockingly, details of the medical history of their son James, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, were obtained.

In another, huge, twist, it was not the News of the World who was behind these alleged intrusions. The bank details and the legal file were apparently obtained by The Sunday Times, while it seems that James's medical records were obtained by The Sun, who then published a story about his condition."

Brings a tear to the eye......

I loved this quotation from today's UK Daily Mail (11-07-11)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013299/Rupert-Murdoch-10bn-BSkyB-takeover-delayed.html

"Privately Tory officials were blunt that the Sky deal has been politically damaging to the Prime Minister.
'We always knew we were going to have to eat a s*** sandwich over the BSkyB deal,' said one Government source. 'But we didn’t know it would turn into a three-course dinner.' "

Yes I listened to the blog that you "I think" gave a link to It said they hacked into a murdered girl's cell phone to listen to all of her friends and family trying to call her. When it filled up they emptied it so friends and family could continue to call in.

The family and friends then thought she was alive, because the phone messages had been emptied, and gave them false and cruel hope.

But I figured as Angus said someone elite and mad - made it an issue.

"Fairies" to funny!
They Better start believing in trolls.

So, Angus- as long as it is the little people that are hacked into nobody cares.

Remember this email ...cheers Nidreya, Mela

[email protected]

Independent Reviewer.

Elizabeth (AussieMum)

The founder of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute is Rupert's 102 year-old mother, Dame Elisabeth. I am sure it is a completely random fact that Deer's renewed attack against Andy Wakefield was launched on the occasion of her 100 birthday (8 February 2009), but who knows perhaps the clan were toasting the South London reporter at a family re-union?

Thanks John-You are a great 'compiler' of evidence.

I have picked out a couple of excerpts from the first two Times articles, which seem to be a virtual ADMISSION that Deer's 'investigation' was based on the confidential GP records of 11 of the Lancet children. Also these articles were published DURING the GMC trial, and declared Wakefield et al guilty, long before the verdicts were announced. It all screams unjust and illegal collusion between the GMC and Murdoch!!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683671.ece
Confidential medical documents and interviews with witnesses have established that Andrew Wakefield manipulated patients’ data, which triggered fears that the MMR triple vaccine to protect against measles, mumps and rubella was linked to the condition………..

However, our investigation, confirmed by evidence presented to the General Medical Council (GMC), reveals that: In most of the 12 cases, the children’s ailments as described in The Lancet were different from their hospital and GP records.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683643.ece
In evidence presented to the GMC, however, there has emerged potential explanations of how Wakefield was able to obtain the results he did. This evidence, combined with unprecedented access to medical records, a mass of confidential documents and cooperation from parents during an investigation by this newspaper, has shown the selective reporting and changes to findings that allowed a link between MMR and autism to be asserted.

Very good post John. What this British Watergate shows is not solely illegal and unethical media practices, it shows the Murdoch media empire tight connections with the government, key British networkers (powerbrookers combining showbiz, politics, media and big businesses) and British law enforcement establishment.

A journalist interviewed on CNN earlier last week expressed that when it is in the public best interest, these means are justified. Many people would agree I would think, that the phone hacking of celebrities, murder and war victims in search of a story is not of any public interest. But as far as protecting the vaccination programme is concerned, in the eyes of desperate governments and national health agencies, are the means justified? We can expect the cover up to be a lot harder to dismantle, but this recent media saga is of great importance and relevance to the issues affecting us today. I only hope that the wave will wash as far as possible all the dirt and lies accumulated over the years.

Nidreya, Mela reported:-
'UK PCC caught red handed employing dirty tricks to help suppress the medicine for autism, amongst other things.'

Yes, the PCC commission is packed with editors and they all have a vested interest in 'looking after their own'. This is also true of COPE, the body responsible for publication ethics. Fiona Godlee, editor of the BMJ, has chaired COPE in the past, and is very 'cosy' with the present 'chair'.

My husband's complaint to COPE about Brian Deer's recent, outrageous series of articles on the theme 'Secrets of the MMR scare', just got a response which referred him back to the BMJ Editor, (so presumably editors can publish whatever they like ethical or nor according to COPE)!! His complaint to the PCC was dealt with sympathetically by the person initially assessing it, but the Commission members collectively refused to even look at it!!

The PCC is SUPPOSED to have a majority of 'lay' persons over editors, but in practice it seems the editors have the upper hand in terms of what is actually investigated. In the UK, quite a few editors and ex editors have come forward to defend the PCC, after the Prime Minister and the Leader of the main opposition party both proposed scrapping it. These editors' arguments mostly bang on about 'freedom of the press' etc.

In truth, there is very little press 'freedom' anyway in the UK. Fear of litigation and overwhelming 'establishment' pressure to 'push' what amounts to political and big business propaganda onto a largely uninformed public, ensures we only get told what THEY want us to hear.

Beckus- there is also the matter of this notorious Guardian Blog by Brian Deer, following his BMJ articles Jan 2011.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2011/jan/12/andrew-wakefield-fraud-mmr-autism

PS. I posted the original comment on the Telegraph thread under Peter Oborne's article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8626421/Phone-hacking-David-Cameron-is-not-out-of-the-sewer-yet.html#dsq-content (page 28)

It's still there, along with a few favourable comments. You have to ask what the Guardian is so afraid of.

A brilliant analysis:-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8626421/Phone-hacking-David-Cameron-is-not-out-of-the-sewer-yet.html

Phone hacking: David Cameron is not out of the sewer yet
Poor judgment lies at the heart of Prime Minister David Cameron's crisis over the Murdoch empire.

cmo -here's the web!!
http://www.adventuresinautism.com/images/WakefieldWitchhunt.jpg

Great stuff John! I agree this sort of corrupt behavior is not just limited to the News of the World, but I suspect, is endemic throughout our 'system'. Politicians, pharma and the media - all scratching each other's backs - inextricably inter-dependent. Following this saga is going to be an interesting and illuminating experience.

There were three in the bed [or 4 or 5?]
And the little one said -
Roll over! Roll over!
So they all rolled over and one fell out......

Ohhh, I get it, I think?
Phone hacking and privacy invasion.
It does or could or can later lead to
"Now tell us again, Brain Dearrrrr, how did you get accesss to 12 vaccine injured, stomach huting, sick --kids' medical records?"

Sorry I am so slow!

John Stone says:-
'It looks as if the monster at the heart of British establishment is in its death-throws although no doubt many of the political trimmers will survive.'

Brian Deer wrote in his Guardian Blog 12-01-11:-

'Because 13 years passed before I slayed the MMR monster. And although a single, severed hand may yet come crawling across the floor, for science and public safety, 13 years is still too long.'

It seems the monster is still very much intact and was only sleeping Brian!! Better hide!!

GH

I have just explained above why "Wakefield bashing" is patently not irrelevant to the big picture although not perhaps the focus of attention at the moment. Moreover, the sinister and symbiotic relationship between Murdoch and the British establishment goes well beyond the winning and losing of elections: it is to do with making and breaking individuals with News International perpetually calling the shots: there was a brilliant explanation of it this morning by Nick Davies, which I posted earlier:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2011/jul/07/news-of-the-world-phone-hacking-nick-davies-rupert-murdoch-video

It looks if the monster at the heart of British establishment is in its death-throws although no doubt many of the political trimmers will survive.

Pass the sick bag! Evan Harris is calling for an immediate inquiry and Tony Blair has announced that he is disgusted.

Post script:
And that someone is probably more evil and will squash our rights, way of life and freedoms more than Murdoch.

Labour opposition leader Ed Milliband, was on BBC TV this morning demanding the disbanding of the UK Press Complaints Commission. The PCC, who recently refused to investigate my husband's complaint about Deer's BMJ articles, on very spurious grounds, failed to admonish the NotW editors after the original phone hacking allegations resulted in the jailing of several private investigators, who worked for the newspaper.

The PPC are NOW making 'hand wringing' statements saying they were 'lied to' by Editor Andy Coulson and other senior persons, but the truth is that the PCC is mostly funded by the owners of Newspapers and other publications and the commission is plainly packed with persons whose interests, (and instructions), are plainly more about protecting editors than exposing their wrongdoing.

Ofcom, which deals with media complains, was also noticeably 'silent and invisible' over the NotW phone hacking. My complaint to Ofcom regarding a very hostile and unfair Andrew Wakefield interview on ITV's Lorraine programme, was simply dismissed as giving viewers a chance to 'make up their own minds'. Ofcom could have declared their opposition to the Murdoch BSkyB takeover on the grounds that, the criminal phone hacking involved a prominent Murdoch publication. This should have resulted in the Murdochs being declared 'unfit persons' to be in charge of such a huge proposed media empire.

In the UK, questions are now being asked about Prime Minister David Cameron's choice of friends. Andy Coulson, editor of NotW at the time of the phone hacking, was until very recently Cameron's communications chief. He was forced to resign following the phone hacking revelations. The Cameron's regularly dined with Rebekah Brooks, Chief Executive of News International, and her husband, and then there was THAT reported lunch with James Murdoch, possibly one of many. The Camerons are also friendly with PR King Matthew Freud and his wife Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert.

There is no question of Mr Cameron attempting to conceal these relationships from the public, but in view of all the criminal revelations involving a Murdoch publication, there are already questions being asked about whether these friendships in any way influenced Mr Cameron's judgement regarding the way his Government handled the proposed Murdoch BSkyB takeover.

Beckus

For years no action from the police, data protection, the Royal Free Hospital, the British Medical Association....

Superb overview of the affair:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2011/jul/07/news-of-the-world-phone-hacking-nick-davies-rupert-murdoch-video

I wonder if Deer is feeling less job security or perhaps less legal security at this point?

Why are the British Police only looking at hacked voicemail accounts on cellphones? Much more was going on.

BBC TV's flagship Panorama documentary programme exposed the facts that:

1) there was more going on including email hacking and

2) this was not limited to the News of the World but was going on throughout News International - part of its culture.

Answer: they were doing nothing much about ANY of it until former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott kicked up a stink over the voicemail hacking and kept on kicking.

You can view the Panorama programmes and details here:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zn7hk

And when it came to getting evidence why the British police did not immediately go and get the News International email records which will have a treasure trove of details in their own emails of what the editors, journalists, executives [no doubt the Murdochs too] and others were doing when all of this was going on.

This was only looked into recently because John Prescott was still stink kicking.

Clearly, Rupert Murdoch and his son no doubt have a goodly deal of dirt on people in control and influence in the UK - its "if we go down you go with us" time.

David Cameron values Murdoch's support, doesn't he? And though the British government is flat broke and laying off thousands of public employees, Cameron recently managed to come up with a huge pot of money to buy vaccines for the Third World, which would be immensely profitable for GlaxoSmithKline, of which Murdoch is a director, correct? In any case, Doctors Without Borders says that African public health systems are so corrupt and inefficient that the vaccines will probably sit in warehouses and never get to the people for whom they were intended. Well, it will be fascinating to see how this scandal plays out.

Australia

It is interesting watching this "train wreck" unfold and "damage control" must be in overdrive.

I wonder though, who will come out unscathed?

The last of "News of the World" will be printed on Sunday, but what will replace it?

There will be a lot of well paid lawyers defending the newspaper. Evidence will be skewed, evidence will be inadmissible, witnesses will be silenced-sound familiar!

Elizabeth-AussieMum and very sceptical (I hope I am wrong!)

The papers are also saying that Andy Coulsen, former News of the World editor and until a few months ago David cameron's press secretary will be arrested tomorrow (or today as it is here).

One card falls and the whole pack will fall just like Robert Maxwell.....good riddance to the Murdoch's lets hope Deer goes to as an accomplice when the criminal investigation starts .

Happy Days are here again...

Thanks John for the links as it is unfolding amazing.