Roll up! Rebecca Brooks and Andy Coulson in the tumbrils

[limitedperiodonly]

It's going to last six months.

At least Andy turned up with a poppy on. Nice touch. Bit early though.

[TheOneWithTheNicestSmile]

Coulson's barrister is Langdale & RB's is Laidlaw

anybody else going to find that confusing?

[BeCoolFucker]

thank you!

I'm still finding all the names confusing.

The whole Brooks/Brooks/Wade name shenanigans is a great argument for not changing your name when you marry - so people will know exactly who you are when your life is being dissected in a complicated court case.

[edam]

I wonder why the CPS haven't been held to account for claiming phone hacking was legal. During the Guardian investigations, the CPS issued a statement saying it was only illegal if you could prove someone hadn't listened to their own messages first - which would be pretty tricky. They told the Guardian to go away and stop mithering.

Much as Yates of the Yard, the man on the NI payroll, did when he was asked to look again at phone hacking and see if there might just possibly be anything in it - oddly enough, he said 'no' and kept insisting 'no'. Well yes, that's the answer you'd expect if you ask someone paid by Murdoch whether Murdoch's business was up to no good!

[BeCoolFucker]

We need a list of all these loose ends that need tying up outside of this case (cutting and pasting from above):

• CPS haven't been held to account for claiming phone hacking was legal.

- Surrey Police had knowledge of NotW interference in the Milly Dowler investigation but ignored it. Surrey Police have serious questions to answer about the competence of their investigation and their links to the NotW.

[EldritchCleavage]

CPS withdrew that advice, I think Keir Starmer weighed in (I suspect knuckles were rapped).

[edam]

NOTW part in the 'flawed' investigation of the Daniel Morgan murder case

Eldritch, yes, eventually...

[limitedperiodonly]

Andrew Gilchrist, leader of the Fire Brigades Union, had been targeted by the News of the World’s Glenn Mulcaire in 2002 when the union was in dispute with the Government, and when Brooks was editing the Sunday tabloid. “They investigated him by this method in order to try and find some story, we would suggest, that would go to his discredit.” Independent.

They did, he was a filthy love cheat. Who needed Special Branch to bring down the unions when we had the News of the World?

[AnyaKnowIt]

So week one over

[thenightsky]

what? don't they do Fridays then?

[AnyaKnowIt]

Just court reports tomorrow, jury have been sent home due back 10.00 monday morning

[Alwayscheerful]

Shamelessly marking my place, I thought the thread had been pulled.

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

Leaving my mark for tomorrow !

[TheOneWithTheNicestSmile]

I have just started going through the \link{https://twitter.com/peterjukes\Peter Jukes tweets from today} (his fund is up to £6277 now btw & doesn't end until midnight )

The details of who said & did what/when is quite hard to follow - there's a lot about Blunkett & then it moves on to Abi Titmuss & John Leslie. I think when PJ himself has time to summarise it will make more sense.

Coulson seems to be a lot more heavily involved than RB (so far)

[AnyaKnowIt]

I tried to follow today but just ended up confused.

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

Can anyone explain the craic with Callum Best ? Is he a goody or a baddy?

[TensionWheelsCoolHeels]

I haven't read in detail about Callum Best but I'm guessing he's been brought in by someone's defence? To demonstrate that some targets of phone hacking sold details of their own personal lives while also being targeted by hacking. I might be wrong but I'm guessing that his evidence is to give context (for the defence) as in some 'victims' were playing the press/media game despite being hacked. I also heard something about Brooks being hacked extensively. I struggle to muster sympathy for that in her case given her alleged (note alleged) knowledge of hacking. It's a bit different being hacked if you allegedly know about the practise and risk associated with voicemails etc. I can't imagine there were many voicemail messages left between a Brooks & Coulson during their affair

[EldritchCleavage]

Hacking is still completely illegal whether or not you have some sort of arrangement to sell stories with the victim, so I am struggling to see how that helps anyone's defence, but no doubt all will be revealed.

[TensionWheelsCoolHeels]

I agree eldritch - I suspect there is an element of trying to minimise the act of hacking (a bit of smoke and mirrors around the legality/illegality) in presenting the likes of Callum Best, hoping that this picture painted for the jury may counter/dilute the outrage over the likes of Millie Dowler et al. Makes sense when you think that no one really took issue when it was all aimed at slebs, as limited highlighted earlier in the thread. Adds a bit more context to the whole practice of hacking in the minds of those accused I imagine. Again, all guess work/supposition on my part and in no way suggests this as fact.

[sadsqueaker]

It sort of went a bit quiet, but today we find out that RB told one of Camerons friends that she knew how to hack phones at the PM's birthday dinner at Chequers in 2010.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/10475676/Hacking-trial-Rebekah-Brooks-told-me-she-knew-how-to-phone-hack-David-Camerons-friend-tells-court.html

Her defence points out that she was "relaxed" at the party - is that legalese for something?

[MadameDefarge]

Its just such lazy journalism. Re John Leslie, and quick sweep of juniors on any of the programmes he worked on would have given them the heads up on his behaviour. Allegedly.

[TensionWheelsCoolHeels]

Do you have a link to what was said about John Leslie? Can't see him mentioned in that article or BBC News.

[TensionWheelsCoolHeels]

Sorry ignore me, just re-read further back in thread.

[ParcelFancy]

Just been working my way through Peter Jukes' superb live tweeting, published in convenient form at fothom.wordpress.com/.

There's an absolutely jaw-dropping collection of evidence on 10 Dec and 11 Dec - including the oft-mentioned emails passed to Harbottle & Lewis wrt a possible employment tribunal.

Not sure what comment I'm allowed to make so just .

[hackmum]

Thanks, Parcel. I've been temporarily distracted by the Grillo Sisters' trial - haven't we all? - so haven't been paying attention.