Examination of Witness (Question Numbers
2100-2105)
MR MARK
LEWIS
2 SEPTEMBER 2009
Q2100 Janet Anderson: You referred
earlier to a copy of a contract signed by Greg Miskiw offering
Glenn Mulcaire, under the pseudonym of Paul Williams, £7,000
for the delivery of a Gordon Taylor story. This was referred to
in the course of the case against Goodman and Mulcaire, but the
prosecution, although they made reference to this contract, did
not make a link to instances of phone-tapping. The prosecution
apparently said that this merely showed there was a relationship
between Miskiw and Mulcaire. Do you think the prosecution should
have shown this was evidence of phone-tapping?
Mr Lewis: I heard what the police
had to say earlier and I find it astonishing that, when they fall
back on resources, for the length of time it took me to deal with
it they could not have done that, because it was quite obvious
where the story had come from; it quite clearly had come from
phone-hacking, it was all documented, it was very easy to get.
I got it from the police. I was reading their document.
Q2101 Janet Anderson: So the only
way that Mulcaire could have delivered the Gordon Taylor story
that Greg Miskiw wanted was through phone-tapping, in your view?
Mr Lewis: I think it incredibly
unlikely to have been obtained any other way, because it was not
a true story, it was a misunderstanding of a message which had
been left on the phone, so how you would misunderstand a message
left on a phone in any other way is completely beyond me.
Q2102 Janet Anderson: So they would
have had to have heard the message?
Mr Lewis: In order to misunderstand
it, they would have had to hear it.
Q2103 Paul Farrelly: I asked this
question of the Information Commissioner and his investigator:
clearly Gordon Taylor was the target for the News of the World
and they were relying on Glenn Mulcaire to come up with the goods.
I might imagine the News of the World was using other investigators,
including Stephen Whittamore and Motorman, to target people to
see what they could come up with as well. Was that the case from
the Motorman files? Did Gordon Taylor's name come up in the Motorman
files?
Mr Lewis: I cannot answer that.
I cannot remember the specific information. In a sense, what the
police said to me outside court when we got the papers was that
there was enough information to hang the News of the World,
and as a civil lawyer I had done my job, I had got the evidence
I needed, and then the negotiations started.
Q2104 Paul Farrelly: We have seen
the pleadings before the judge when the sentencing occurred on
26 January 2007, what we do not have are the reports from the
probation officers and the statements in mitigation in full. I
do not know whether you have seen that as part of your researches,
but there seems to be the implication in both Mulcaire's and Goodman's
statements in mitigation that they were just one of quite a few
people doing this and it was just commonplace and "right"—I
think that is one word which has been used. Without the benefit
of seeing those—
Mr Lewis: I did not have the benefit
of seeing those but the inferential case which was put forward
on behalf of Mr Taylor was that this practice was endemic within
the News of the World and the desire to get stories. It
might well have been the fact that Mr Goodman was the scapegoat
for the News of the World and that perhaps is a matter
for someone other than me to surmise, but quite clearly Mr Goodman
was not interested in Mr Taylor. Why would he be? He was the royal
correspondent.
Q2105 Adam Price: The whole story
so far is an extraordinary set of circumstances. We have had Clive
Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire being paid off after they came out
of prison, and we do not know whether there is a confidentiality
clause somewhere in those agreements but I suspect there is. The
News of the World tried to get two members of this Committee
thrown off and now they are trying to gag one of the key lawyers.
It sounds like corporate stabbings in there. What is going to
be your next step? Are you going to continue undaunted? Are you
going to represent any other clients in relation to this case?
Mr Lewis: I was always taught
as a lawyer—and this sounds very pompous—to be absolutely
fearless of the executive and fearless of any organisation, whether
it be News of the World, whether Mr Murdoch himself or
anybody; they are not going to frighten me. Actually I see it
as rather flattering if somebody threatens me with an injunction.
I had wanted to give the answer before, when the question was,
have you heard of this before, "Oh yes, it happens to me
all the time", but unfortunately I could not give you that
answer! I would like to be as good a lawyer as I can be so nobody
wants me to act against them.
Chairman: I think that is all we have
for you. Thank you very much.
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