Hacking scandal deplored
from the Committee today biffs News International over the Royal voicemail hacking scandal, has some stern things to say about the treatment of the McCanns, deplores the growth of "super injunctions" which gag the press from mentioning some issue or allegation and even from reporting the existence of the gag, and calls for action to clamp down on so-called "Libel Tourism".
On the McCanns, the report condemns "an inexcusable lowering of press standards" and says a lack of official information about the fate of missing Madeleine was no excuse for the inaccurate, defamatory reporting of her 2007 disappearance.
The committee spent a long time examining the allegations raised by The Guardian in July 2009 that the News of the World's parent company had paid over £1m in damages and costs to settle three civil actions relating to phone hacking.
They conclude that the number of victims of illegal hacking will probably never be known, not least because of the silence of former Royal Editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire and what they witheringly describe as the "collective amnesia" at the newspaper. But they believe it is certainly more than the 'handful', cited by both the newspaper and the police.
The Committee says it is "inconceivable" that the hacking was only committed by one rogue reporter.
But it saw no evidence that the then News of the World Editor Andy Coulson (now David Cameron's media supremo - and, critics of the committee allege, the target of a political witch-hunt) knew his journalists were illegally hacking into the voicemail accounts of, among others, members of the Royal family. But the MPs say he was right to take responsibility and resign.
Their report adds that News International, the parent company, failed to carry out a full and rigorous inquiry, as it assured the Committee and the Press Complaints Commission it had.
And it comments that the pay-offs made to Messrs Goodman and Mulcaire, as well as the civil settlements with some of those hacked into, "invite the conclusion that silence was effectively bought".
The report criticises the Metropolitan Police for failing to investigate suggestions that illegal hacking and "blagging" of personal data were widespread at News International.
And it criticises the "obfuscation" of the News International high command: "We strongly condemn this behaviour which reinforces the widely-held impression that the press generally regard themselves as unaccountable and that News International in particular has sought to conceal the truth about what really occurred."
But interestingly the committee didn't think it worthwhile to use their powers to compel reluctant witnesses to appear - calculating that they would not be prepared to say anything useful.
Chairman John Whittingdale and several Committee members went out of their way to deny any political overtones to their findings about Mr Coulson - although, as a couple of journalists pointed out at a press conference on the report, some of the committee's proceedings were definitely leaked to the Guardian.
Even so, today's edition of the Sun (another paper from the News International stable) dismisses the report as "shameful", politically biased and "worthless". It accuses the committee of "colluding with the Guardian, giving it leaks and tip-offs".
There's much, much more on press self-regulation, reform of the libel laws and the right to privacy (with the committee advising against new legislation). Plenty for the media and the public to ponder.
I'm Mark D'Arcy and I'll be writing about what goes on in the chambers and committee rooms at Westminster.
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