House of Commons - News International and Phone-hacking - Culture, Media and Sport Committee

News International and Phone-hacking - Culture, Media and Sport Committee Contents

Annex 2: Timeline of events

We have constructed a timeline of events from the evidence given to us. It is printed below and is intended to serve as a rapid point of reference. Commentary on the events outlined here forms the body of the Report.

May 2000 Rebekah Brooks (then Wade) became Editor of the News of the World.
March 2002 Teenager Milly Dowler went missing and was later found murdered.
January 2003 Rebekah Brooks became Editor of the Sun and Andy Coulson took over editorship of the News of the World.
March 2003 Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, Tom Crone and Stuart Kuttner gave evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. In evidence Rebekah Brooks said that the News of the World paid police officers.[362]
February 2005 Glenn Mulcaire, using the pseudonym Paul Williams, and Greg Miskiw, then Assistant News Editor of the News of the World, signed a contract agreeing to pay Glenn Mulcaire £7,000 on publication of a story based on information about Gordon Taylor provided by Glenn Mulcaire.[363]
June 2005 Ross Hindley sent an e-mail to Glenn Mulcaire which opened with the words "This is the transcript for Neville". "Neville" was later assumed to be Neville Thurlbeck, Chief Reporter at the News of the World.[364]
July 2005 Neville Thurlbeck knocked on a door in north west England in order to get his comments on a story.[365]
August 2006 Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman were arrested on suspicion of illegally intercepting voicemail messages.
November 2006 The time Tom Crone said that he became aware that Clive Goodman was guilty: "I think it was before he pleaded guilty, probably in November before the hearing".[366]
29 November 2006 Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire pleaded guilty.
6 December 2006 Clive Goodman was paid the first of three monthly salary payments, made after the date of his guilty plea. The three payments totalled £22,504.71.[367]
26 January 2007 Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire were convicted and jailed for hacking the phones of three members of the royal household; Glenn Mulcaire was also convicted of hacking into the voicemails of Max Clifford, Sky Andrew, Elle McPherson, Simon Hughes MP and Gordon Taylor. They were sentenced to 4 months' and 6 months' imprisonment respectively. Andy Coulson resigned from the News of the World; and Colin Myler became Editor.
5 February 2007 Les Hinton wrote to Clive Goodman terminating his employment with News Group Newspapers and offering him 12 months' base salary.[368]
6 February 2007 Clive Goodman was paid his last monthly salary. The payment was authorised by Stuart Kuttner, Managing Editor of the News of the World.[369]
8 February 2007 Clive Goodman was paid a year's salary (£90,502.08) according to the terms of his dismissal.[370]
2 March 2007 Clive Goodman wrote to Daniel Cloke appealing his dismissal and making allegations about phone-hacking at the News of the World.[371]
6 March 2007 Executive Chairman of News International, Les Hinton, gave evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and maintained that Clive Goodman acted alone.[372]
3 May 2007 Tom Crone went to Manchester to meet Mark Lewis of George Davies LLP (representing Gordon Taylor) to discuss the Gordon Taylor settlement. Their accounts of the meeting differ in several particulars.[373]
29 May 2007 The Press Complaints Commission published a report on phone-hacking which said that there was no evidence of systematic wrong-doing at the News of the World.[374] Law firm Harbottle & Lewis wrote to News International saying that they had reviewed internal e-mails taken from the accounts of News International employees and found no evidence to support the specific assertions made by Clive Goodman in the letter appealing his dismissal.[375]
July—October 2007 Clive Goodman was paid £153,000 in settlement of his employment claim.[376]
1 November 2007 In response to requests made to the Metropolitan Police, Farrer & Co (News International's solicitors) and George Davies (Gordon Taylor's solicitors) were made aware of the existence of the 'for Neville' e-mail, although they were not given a copy at that stage. Tom Crone was also informed.[377]
7 December 2007 Les Hinton ceased to be Executive Chairman of News International and was appointed Chief Executive of Dow Jones, which had recently been acquired by News Corporation.
April 2008 Farrer & Co and George Davies saw the 'for Neville' e-mail. Tom Crone was again also informed.[378]
24 May 2008 Julian Pike, Partner at Farrer & Co, acting for News International, was copied in on an e-mail disclosing a briefing that Tom Crone had provided for Colin Myler to use in a meeting with James Murdoch, due to take place on 27 May 2008. Tom Crone said that, unknown to News International, Gordon Taylor's legal team had obtained prosecution paperwork from Glenn Mulcaire's trial including the 'for Neville' e-mail. Tom Crone described the 'for Neville' e-mail as "genuine" and "fatal" to News International's defence case.[379]
27 May 2008 Colin Myler met James Murdoch, or telephoned him, to discuss the Gordon Taylor settlement and possibly the 'for Neville' e-mail, although this is disputed. Colin Myler called Julian Pike afterwards to discuss the meeting.[380] Neither Colin Myler nor James Murdoch has any recollection of the conversation.
3 June 2008 The opinion of external counsel, Michael Silverleaf QC, on the level of damages that could be awarded to Gordon Taylor, arrived with Farrer & Co and News International. On that date, Farrer & Co was instructed to increase the Part 36 offer to Gordon Taylor to £350,000.[381]
7 June 2008 Colin Myler e-mailed James Murdoch with an "update on the Gordon Taylor (Professional Football Association) case", stating that "unfortunately it is as bad as we feared". James Murdoch responded to the e-mail within three minutes of receiving it.[382]
10 June 2008 Tom Crone and Colin Myler met James Murdoch to discuss the Gordon Taylor settlement, including the 'for Neville' e-mail, although James Murdoch has told the Committee that he did not see the e-mail at that stage. Tom Crone had a phone conversation with Julian Pike after the meeting in which he told Pike that James Murdoch wanted to "think through the options".[383]
12 November 2008 Tom Crone took Mark Lewis for lunch in El Vino's wine bar.[384]
8 July 2009 The Guardian published a series of articles alleging that payments in excess of £1 million were made to Gordon Taylor—and two other people involved in football—to settle legal cases that would have named other journalists involved in phone-hacking. The News of the World denied the allegations. Acting Deputy Commissioner Yates said that no further investigation was required.[385]
11 July 2009 Tom Crone allegedly told Neville Thurlbeck that he would be asked to resign as a result of the 'for Neville' e-mail. Thurlbeck met with Tom Crone and Colin Myler for approximately an hour. At the meeting he says he supplied them with evidence linking the Gordon Taylor story (and associated phone-hacking) with a "news desk executive".[386]
14 July 2009 The Committee wrote to Rebekah Brooks asking that she and Neville Thurlbeck give evidence on 21 July. The Committee took evidence from Guardian journalist Nick Davies who wrote the articles containing the allegations; he showed the Committee copies of the Glenn Mulcaire/Miskiw contract and the 'for Neville' e-mail.[387]
15 July 2009 Neville Thurlbeck says he provided Tom Crone and Colin Myler with written evidence following his meeting of 11 July 2009. He did not lose his job.[388]
17 July 2009 Rebekah Brooks wrote to the Chairman saying that she was unavailable to give evidence on 21 July; that this was not a "delaying tactic"; and that she would attend when it was "mutually convenient" to do so.
19 July 2009 Neville Thurlbeck says he called Ross Hall and taped the conversation. Thurlbeck has recently told the Committee that the call exonerated him and implicated an unnamed "news desk executive". He says he offered the tape to Tom Crone who allegedly said that he did not want it.[389]
21 July 2009 Tom Crone, Colin Myler, Andy Coulson and Stuart Kuttner gave evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee; they maintained that no one knew about phone-hacking apart from Clive Goodman.[390]
1 September 2009 Rebekah Brooks was made Chief Executive of News International.
2 September 2009 Christopher Graham, the Information Commissioner, and John Yates, then Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, gave evidence to the Committee. John Yates said the Committee that the police had not questioned Neville Thurlbeck in its original investigation because there was no proof that he was the Neville referred to in the e-mail.[391]
15 September 2009 Les Hinton gave evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and maintained that no one at the News of the World knew about phone-hacking apart from Clive Goodman.[392]
10 December 2009 The Committee wrote to Rebekah Brooks asking her to give evidence and offering her a number of dates in January 2010 to do so.
14 December 2009 Rebekah Brooks wrote to the Chairman saying that she was unavailable on all of the suggested dates and asking what the Committee would like to ask her.
15 December 2009 The Committee wrote to Rebekah Brooks outlining the broad areas on which it wanted to ask her questions.[393]
4 January 2010 Rebekah Brooks wrote to the Chairman saying that she did not see how her appearance before the Committee "can or will assist it in any way" and declined to give evidence.[394]
February—April 2010 Clive Goodman received payment of £9,631.50 in legal fees from News Group Newspapers Limited. Evidence suggests that this may have been in connection with the inquiry by this Committee.[395]
24 February 2010 The Culture, Media and Sport Committee published its Report Press standards, privacy and libel, concluding that it was "inconceivable" that no-one other than Clive Goodman knew about phone-hacking.[396]
February 2010 News Group Newspapers Limited settled a legal action with Max Clifford.
1 September 2010 A New York Times article quoted an ex-News of the World reporter, Sean Hoare, who said that phone-hacking was encouraged at the paper.[397]
6 September 2010 Acting Deputy Commissioner John Yates said that the Metropolitan Police would be re-opening the investigation into phone-hacking at the News of the World.[398]
5 January 2011 News of the World suspended its Assistant Editor, Ian Edmondson.
15 January 2011 The Crown Prosecution Service announced a review of the evidence collected in the Metropolitan Police's original investigation of phone-hacking at the News of the World. The announcement was made after News International had tasked Group General Manager Will Lewis with re-examining all the documents held by Harbottle & Lewis, a firm of solicitors that—in 2007—had conducted an independent review of those documents in the context of an unfair dismissal claim being brought by Clive Goodman, the News of the World's former Royal Editor, against the company. Mr Lewis had passed the material to a different firm of solicitors, Hickman Rose, who in turn had referred it to Lord Macdonald of River Glaven, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, for an opinion. On the basis of his opinion, it was decided to refer the matter immediately to the police.
26 January 2011 The Metropolitan Police announced the re-opening of its investigation into phone-hacking.
25 February 2011 Legal actions against the News of the World, brought by actor Steve Coogan and sports commentator Andy Gray, led to Glenn Mulcaire being ordered by the High Court to reveal who commissioned him to carry out his work.
10 March 2011 Chris Bryant MP led an adjournment debate in the House of Commons on phone-hacking in which he said that, during the original investigation into Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire in 2006-07, Acting Deputy Commissioner John Yates was warned by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that the Metropolitan Police had wrongly interpreted the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).[399]
14 March 2011 Acting Deputy Commissioner John Yates wrote to the Chairman saying that he was concerned that the reputation of the Metropolitan Police, as well as his own, was being damaged by the "unfounded allegations" made during the Commons debate on 10 March and offering to appear before the Committee to give oral evidence.[400]
24 March 2011 Acting Deputy Commissioner John Yates wrote to the Chairman explaining in more detail how he had interpreted RIPA in the 2006-07 investigation and the advice he had received from the CPS.[401] John Yates gave evidence to the Committee.
1 April 2011 The Director of Public Prosecutions wrote to the Chairman giving his account of the advice given by the CPS to the Metropolitan Police in 2006-07. His account differed from that of John Yates.[402]
5 April 2011 Ian Edmondson and Neville Thurlbeck were arrested on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages.
8 April 2011 News International apologised to eight phone-hacking victims and announced that it was setting up a compensation fund.
14 April 2011 News of the World journalist James Weatherup was arrested on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages.
4 May 2011 The Committee wrote to Rebekah Brooks asking her to review the evidence given to the Committee by News International in 2009 and offering her the opportunity to give evidence.
31 May 2011 Rebekah Brooks wrote to the Chairman stating that it would not be appropriate to respond to the Committee's request in the context of the ongoing police investigation.[403]
7 June 2011 Actress Sienna Miller accepted a £100,000 settlement from the News of the World.
4 July 2011 The Guardian revealed that the police had contacted the family of Milly Dowler to tell them that her phone had been hacked after her disappearance in 2002.[404] Rebekah Brooks, who was News of the World Editor in 2002, was reported to have said that it was "inconceivable" that she knew about it.[405]
7 July 2011 In a News Corporation press statement, James Murdoch announced the closure of the News of the World and said that "the paper made statements to Parliament without being in the full possession of the facts. This was wrong".[406]
8 July 2011 Andy Coulson was arrested and questioned by police about phone-hacking and the payment of police officers. Clive Goodman was also arrested and questioned about payments to police. The Prime Minister announced that there would be a public inquiry into phone-hacking at the News of the World.
10 July 2011 The last edition of the News of the World was printed.
11 July 2011 The Secretary of State for Culture, Media, Olympics and Sport referred News Corporation's bid to take over BSkyB to the Competition Commission.[407]
12 July 2011 This Committee reopened its inquiry and the Home Affairs Committee took evidence from current and former officers in the Metropolitan Police Service; former Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke said that police faced "hostility and obstruction" when they first investigated phone-hacking at the News of the World in 2006.[408]
13 July 2011 The Prime Minister announced a public inquiry that would be judge-led and published its terms of reference; he also announced a second inquiry into press standards and regulation.[409] News Corporation withdrew its bid for BSkyB.[410] Legal Manager Tom Crone left News International.
14 July 2011 Former News of the World Executive Editor Neil Wallis was arrested. Rebekah Brooks agreed to give evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.[411] James and Rupert Murdoch were summoned to do so, and subsequently agreed to attend.[412]
15 July 2011 Rebekah Brooks resigned as Chief Executive of News International; a few hours later Les Hinton resigned as Chief Executive of Dow Jones. Rupert Murdoch apologised to the Dowler family.[413]
16 July 2011 Many British newspapers carried a full apology from Rupert Murdoch.[414]
17 July 2011 Rebekah Brooks was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and on suspicion of corruption. Sir Paul Stephenson resigned as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.[415]
19 July 2011 Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks gave evidence to the Committee.[416]
21 July 2011 Colin Myler and Tom Crone issued a statement to the press in which they disputed James Murdoch's claim that he was unaware of the 'for Neville' e-mail at the time of the payout to Gordon Taylor.[417]
22 July 2011 James Murdoch made a statement in which he stood by his oral evidence to the Committee.[418]
28 July 2011 It was reported in the press that Sara Payne had been told that there was a possibility that her voicemail had been illegally accessed.[419]
29 July 2011 The Committee published written evidence from Harbottle and Lewis, James Murdoch, Jonathan Chapman and correspondence between Trinity Mirror and Louise Mensch.[420] It wrote seeking further evidence from James Murdoch, Rebekah Brooks, Tom Crone, Colin Myler, Jonathan Chapman and Harbottle & Lewis.[421]
16 August 2011 The Committee published written evidence from James Murdoch, Rebekah Brooks, Jonathan Chapman, Colin Myler, Tom Crone, Harbottle & Lewis, the Press Complaints Commission, Mark Lewis (Taylor Hampton) and John Turnbull (Linklaters).[422] It wrote seeking further evidence from Stuart Kuttner, Les Hinton, Julian Pike (Farrer & Co), Burton Copeland, Andy Coulson, Daniel Cloke, Rebekah Brooks and Lawrence Abramson (Harbottle & Lewis).[423] It agreed that it would invite Daniel Cloke, Jonathan Chapman, Colin Myler and Tom Crone to give evidence on 6 September.
22 August 2011 Robert Peston (BBC) broke a story in which he claimed that Andy Coulson had continued to be paid by News International several months after his contract there had ended and at the same time that he had been employed by the Conservative Party.[424] This appeared to contradict evidence given by Andy Coulson on 21 July 2009 and by James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks on 19 July 2011.[425]
26 August 2011 The Guardian revealed that, under the terms of a court order, Glenn Mulcaire had disclosed to Steve Coogan's lawyers the names of the individuals at News International who had instructed him to carry out phone-hacking. The lawyers were unable to publish those names for confidentiality reasons.[426]
6 September 2011 Daniel Cloke, Jonathan Chapman, Colin Myler and Tom Crone gave oral evidence to the Committee.[427] The Committee published written evidence from Daniel Cloke, Stuart Kuttner, Farrer & Co, Lawrence Abramson, BCL Burton Copeland, Les Hinton, Andy Coulson, Linklaters, Rebekah Brooks and Saunders Law.[428]
13 September 2011 The Committee published written evidence from Rebekah Brooks and Linklaters.[429] It invited Les Hinton, Farrer & Co and Mark Lewis (Taylor Hampton) to give oral evidence.
19 October 2011 Julian Pike of Farrer & Co and Mark Lewis of Taylor Hampton gave oral evidence. Julian Pike's account suggested that James Murdoch may have been briefed about the 'for Neville' e-mail before the meeting of 10 June 2008.[430] The Committee published further written evidence from James Murdoch.[431]
24 October 2011 Les Hinton gave oral evidence by video link from New York.
1 November 2011 The Committee published further written evidence from Colin Myler, Michael Silverleaf QC, Farrer & Co and Mark Lewis.[432]
8 November 2011 The Committee published further written evidence from Tom Crone.[433]
10 November 2011 James Murdoch gave further oral evidence.
14 November 2011 Roy Greenslade, a media commentator, claimed that members of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee were put under surveillance by the News of the World for a period of between three and ten days in 2009.[434]
16 November 2011 Neville Thurlbeck published his account of the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World and, in doing so, protested his innocence.[435]
7 December 2011 The Committee published written evidence from Colin Myler, Neville Thurlbeck, James Murdoch, Rebekah Brooks and Tom Crone.
13 December 2011 The Committee published written evidence from James Murdoch and the News Corporation Management and Standards Committee.
14 December 2011 The Committee published written evidence from Tom Crone.
Events during 2012 are described in the latter part of Chapter 4 of this Report.

362 Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Fifth Report of Session 2002-03, Privacy and media intrusion, HC458-II, Ev 112 Back

363 Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Second Report of Session 2009-10, Pressstandards, privacy and libel, HC 362-I, para 408 Back

364 Press standards, privacy and libel, para 412 Back

365 Press standards, privacy and libel, para 417 Back

366 Press standards, privacy and libel, Ev 176 Back

367 Ev 254 Back

368 Ev 202, para 5c Back

369 Ev 254 Back

370 Ev 254 Back

371 Ev 202 Back

372 Culture, Media and Sport Committee Seventh Report of Session 2006-07, Self-regulation of the press, HC 375, Ev 34 Back

373 See the transcript from 19 October 2011, Ev 236 and Ev 253 Back

374 Press Complaints Commission, Report on subterfuge and newsgathering, 2007 Back

375 Press standards, privacy and libel, para 435 Back

376 Ev 222 Back

377 Ev 225 Back

378 Ev 225 Back

379 Ev 239 (attachments) Back

380 Ev 239 (attachments) Back

381 Ev 239 (attachments) Back

382 Ev 271 Back

383 Ev 239 (attachments) Back

385 "Murdoch papers paid £1m to gag phone-hacking victims", Guardian Online,8 July 2009;"No Inquiries. No charges. No evidence", News of the World, 12 July 2009; "Statement by Assistant Commissioner Yates", Metropolitan Police Service Press Release, 9 July 2009 Back

386 Ev 260 Back

387 Press standards, privacy and libel, Volume II, Ev 276 Back

388 Ev 260 Back

389 Ev 260 Back

390 Press standards, privacy and libel, Volume II, Ev 304-339 Back

391 Press standards, privacy and libel, Volume II, Ev 359 Back

392 Press standards, privacy and libel, Volume II, Ev 386 Back

393 Press standards, privacy and libel, Volume II, Ev 482 Back

394 Press standards, privacy and libel, Volume II, Ev 482 Back

395 Ev 254 Back

396 Press standards, privacy and libel, para 440 Back

397 'Tabloid hack attack on royals, and beyond', New York Times, 1 September 2010 Back

398 'Met Police to re-examine News of the World hacking case', BBC News Online, 6 September 2010 Back

399 HC Deb, 10 March 2011, col 1170 Back

400 Ev 159 Back

401 Ev 159 Back

402 Ev 161 Back

403 Ev 166 Back

404 'Missing Milly Dowler's voicemail was hacked by News of the World', Guardian online, 4 July 2011 Back

405 'Rebekah Brooks: 'it's inconceivable I knew of Milly Dowler phone hacking", The Guardian, 5 July 2011 Back

406 News International Announces Last Issue of News of the World; News Corp press release, 07 July 2011 Back

407 HC Deb, 11 July 2011, col 39 Back

408 Home Affairs Committee, Thirteenth Report of Session 2010-12, unauthorised tapping in to or hacking of mobile communications, HC 907, Ev 54 Back

409 HC Deb, 13 July 2011, col 311 Back

410 'News Corporation Withdraws Proposed Offer for British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC', News Corporation press release, 13 July 2011 Back

411 Ev 167 Back

412 Ev 168 Back

413 'Rupert Murdoch says sorry to Dowler family over phone hacking', BBC News Online, 15 July 2011 Back

414 'Rupert Murdoch says sorry in newspaper adverts', BBC News Online, 16 July 2011 Back

415 'Statement from the Commissioner', Metropolitan Police Service press release, 17 July 2011 Back

416 Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Uncorrected transcript of oral evidence, 19 July 2011, HC 903-ii Back

417 'James Murdoch evidence questioned by former executives', BBC News Online, 22 July 2011 Back

418 Ev 169 Back

419 'News of the World targeted the phone of Sarah Payne's mother', The Guardian, 28 July 2011 Back

420 Ev 170, Ev 169, Ev 171, Ev 169 and Ev 170 Back

421 Ev 188, Ev 190, Ev 197, Ev 198, Ev 201 and Ev 219 Back

422 Ev 172, Ev 190, Ev 197, Ev 199, Ev 202 and Ev 221 Back

423 Ev 222, Ev 224, Ev 225, Ev 227, Ev 228, Ev 229, Ev 230 Back

424 'Coulson got hundreds of thousands of pounds from News International', BBC News Online, 22 August 2011 Back

425 Press standards, privacy and libel, Volume II, Ev 335-6, Q268 and Q574 Back

426 'Glenn Mulcaire names News of the World staff behind phone hacking', The Guardian, 26 August 2011 Back

427 Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Uncorrected transcript of oral evidence, 6 September 2011, HC 903-iii Back

428 Ev 223, Ev 225, Ev 227, Ev 228, Ev 229, Ev 230, Ev 231 and Ev 234 Back

429 Ev 222 and Ev 234 Back

431 Ev 236 Back

432 Ev 236, Ev 237, Ev 255 and Ev 259 Back

433 Ev 253 Back

434 See, for example, http://news.sky.com/home/politics/article/16110021 Back

435 www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=48263 Back

© Parliamentary copyright 2012
Prepared 1 May 2012