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The.Hack.S01E01

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00:00As a journalist, you are consumed by two questions constantly.
00:17How to tell a story, but perhaps more crucially, why to tell a story.
00:23Imagine a country. Nice weather, let's give it a nice one. Nice weather for England anyway.
00:31Imagine the people in this country believe they are living in a democracy, believe in their own freedom.
00:39But they are being abused by a power so every day they don't know to look for it.
00:45A treacherous combination of press, the police and politicians that hide in plain sight.
00:51Imagine a country where that concealment was...
00:55Imagine a country where, where the news organisations...
00:59Shit!
01:01Imagine an older lizard...
01:03Floric nonsense.
01:05My name is Nick Davis. I'm a journalist.
01:11And this is a story that ends in seven major police investigations.
01:15Nearly forty convictions and some of the most powerful people in this country being brought to their knees.
01:21Two grand, two grand, two grand, two grand.
01:29My name is Nick Davis. I'm a journalist.
01:33Morning. I'll just check in.
01:35This all started with Stuart Kuttner.
01:37Hello.
01:38This is the most troubling story I've ever written.
01:50A story about the abuse of power and the concealment of truth.
01:54Hi. Hi. Nick Davis for the Today programme.
01:58I'm late.
02:00British journalism is sloppy and morally bankrupt.
02:10That is the claim of the journalist Nick Davies, who's written a book that shows how often newspapers use illegal messes for getting their stories.
02:18It's called Flat Earth News and Nick Davis joins us now. Good morning.
02:22Hi.
02:23You say sloppy because newspapers use press releases rather than getting their own stories and morally bankrupt because of the illegality involved.
02:33Really, the root that binds together all the different themes is that the logic of journalism has been overwhelmed by the logic of commercialism.
02:41Journalists no longer have the time or the resources to do their jobs properly. Instead, they're just passive processors of unchecked, second-hand material.
02:49Okay, but you also, you go much further in suggesting that there has been criminality involved.
02:55Sure.
02:56And that's generally accepted within the press.
02:58Okay, so principally that involves hiring private investigators.
03:01They hire private investigators to get your bank statements, your credit card statements, your itemised phone bills, your tax records, even your health records these creatures are getting.
03:11All of that is illegal.
03:12Okay, we're joined by John Mullen, who is the editor of The Independent on Sunday, and Stuart Cutner, who is managing editor of News of the World.
03:19John Mullen, do you recognise this?
03:22Well, I ploughed my way through the first half of the book, not the second half so far.
03:28And no one can deny that life in journalism is much harder than maybe it was 20, 30 years ago,
03:35but to say that journalism as a whole is a passive processor of news, I think that's erroneous.
03:42Stuart Cutner.
03:43Yes, I'll tell you what I think.
03:45I think, frankly, listening to Nick Davis, I thought he was speaking from a newsroom on another planet.
03:52It is totally unrecognisable to me. Many years in newspapers in Fleet Street, now, of course, at the News of the World.
04:00But what did he say that was so wrong?
04:03Well, he talks about, if you like, shortcuts, PR interests, commercial interests.
04:10I have to tell you, none of my News of the World journalists would recognise that at all.
04:15But what about the way these people get the stories and access to personal information?
04:20Well, if it happens, it shouldn't happen. It happened once at the News of the World.
04:27The reporter was fired. He went to prison. The editor resigned.
04:31And while Nick is talking about all this, I notice he doesn't mention the Guardian's own act of criminality
04:38when the Guardian forged the signature of a Cabinet minister.
04:41OK, I don't want to go into details of the story. I think the charge that Nick Davis...
04:45Sarah, you may not want to go into detail, but Nick makes a broad brush, sweeping attack on our profession,
04:51which I happen to believe is an honourable profession.
04:54OK. Sarah.
04:56You hear it?
05:11I wish I hadn't.
05:13You're too kind.
05:15I did say appearing on the Today programme to attack journalism wasn't exactly the most sensible idea.
05:21Listen, before I go home, I wanted to talk to you about something.
05:23Good thing was, you weren't representing the Guardian.
05:25You were talking about your book.
05:27My book?
05:28Well, Kuttner did have a good go at trying to besmirch us through you.
05:32I want out.
05:36Do you know anything about baking competitions?
05:39No.
05:40I want to know how many people cheat at baking competitions.
05:43A round number.
05:45Exactly the sort of thing the Guardian should be investigating.
05:48I don't mean out altogether.
05:49I'd like to go to Brussels.
05:51Investigate a whole new horizon.
05:52Something well-paid.
05:53Naturally.
05:54That will allow me to commute.
05:55The kids are old enough now to be able to...
05:56I need you here.
06:01Sadiq Khan.
06:03Bugged.
06:04Forty-year convention.
06:05Breached.
06:06And why?
06:07Keep the Americans happy.
06:08Needs a good journalist.
06:10I'm knackered.
06:11Nobody likes me.
06:12Oh, come on.
06:13I like you.
06:14Some of the time.
06:16And I'm sure there are a few others who all...
06:19Please.
06:20Self-pity's not a redeeming quality.
06:23We'll talk tomorrow.
06:24I'm freelance.
06:25Precisely.
06:26I don't need to talk to you tomorrow.
06:28You're freelance with more or less a sole employer.
06:31I'd say you should talk to me tomorrow.
06:34We've all been roasted by Stuart bloody Kuttner.
06:37Bye.
06:43Let me explain.
06:46Alan is, um...
06:48Well, we grew up together.
06:50In journalism, that is.
06:51And he is always understood.
06:53Sorry.
06:54Yep.
06:55Nick Davis.
06:56Who's this?
06:57My name is...
06:59Redacted.
07:00Sorry.
07:01We'll call him Mr. Apollo because, um...
07:03Well, actually, because he is...
07:05Doesn't matter.
07:06How did you get this number?
07:08Listen.
07:09Kuttner made a mistake.
07:10Well, I know.
07:11It's several.
07:12The chief amongst them appearing on the Today programme.
07:14He said it happened once.
07:16It happened once.
07:18It happened once.
07:19It happened once.
07:20The news of the world.
07:21The reporter was fired.
07:22He went to prison.
07:23The editor resigned.
07:25You're talking about phone hacking.
07:27Nick, your book only scratched the surface.
07:29We have to meet.
07:30Face to face.
07:31Somewhere absolutely discreet.
07:33I think you'll like what I have.
07:36Where and when?
07:38In the beginning, it was next to nothing.
07:40Two men were arrested for hacking phones in 2006.
07:44A private investigator, Glen Mulcair.
07:46And the Royal Editor of the News of the World Clive Goodman.
07:50The sentences they received were short.
07:52The attention they got limited.
07:54But the crime was unusual.
07:56They had discovered they could access other people's voicemail messages.
08:01And they spent months eavesdropping on three of Prince William's staff at Clarence House.
08:07How?
08:08They didn't say.
08:09Why?
08:10For the discovery of private information.
08:15It was the start of the next six years of my life.
08:18To be clear, I've never told anyone who Mr. Apollo is.
08:36So, some guesses have been made.
08:41Bad guess.
08:48No.
08:51No.
08:52No, sorry, it's not you...
08:56Okay.
08:59Oh, come on.
09:09Hi.
09:11Sure.
09:15Wow, this is nice.
09:20Nice choice of room.
09:23Just to check, is the guardian paying?
09:25Because if so, I'd implore you to stay away from that minibar.
09:28Mulcair, in the trial, he said he'd hacked other...
09:31Five non-royals. I remember, yes.
09:34L. McPherson,
09:36Sky Andrew, Max Clifford.
09:40He's a liar.
09:41Kuttner's a liar.
09:43And one of the five is suing them.
09:47Which one?
09:49Well, that five is just the tip of the iceberg.
09:53Hacking phones at the News of the World has been endemic.
09:57Endemic?
09:59They pick up their leads by intercepting voicemails.
10:03And only then do they get photographs and quotes
10:05so as to lay a false trail,
10:07to pretend they found the story through legitimate means.
10:10They've hacked thousands.
10:13Yeah.
10:14Dial a number.
10:16Someone who's likely to not answer.
10:17This is Alan Rusbridger, please leave...
10:27That's your phone of rent.
10:28The editor of the Guardian.
10:31Press nine.
10:32Please enter your four-digit PIN.
10:34Now enter one, two, three, four.
10:36That's the factory setting.
10:37Welcome to your voicemail.
10:40You have one new message.
10:43Alan, it's mummy.
10:44I'm just calling about Jill Wyatt.
10:46She won best sponge again, and I'm sure she cheated.
10:48I don't want to hear this.
10:50It's that easy.
10:52Hmm.
10:52Doesn't even need a Glen Mulcair most of the time.
10:55And you're saying this was widespread?
10:57Glen's main job was that when it got tricky,
11:00unlike with your Alan,
11:01was to blag the mobile phone companies
11:03into resetting the celebrities' PIN codes
11:05to their original factory setting.
11:07One, two, three, four.
11:10That's Alan.
11:12Please.
11:13Who is this?
11:13Hi, yeah, it's Nick.
11:15Listen, change the voicemail settings on your phone.
11:18And how do I do that?
11:19Ask a young person. I've got to go. Bye.
11:23Who is suing?
11:25The person who is
11:27is currently trying to get Scotland Yard
11:29to hand over evidence they collected
11:30and did nothing with
11:32when they arrested Mulcair.
11:34It's evidence that could
11:36burn, fuck, and destroy everything.
11:40Twice over.
11:41You won't tell me which one of the five it is, will you?
11:46I will tell you
11:48that you're missing two names.
11:51Gordon Taylor and Simon Hughes.
11:54Will you go on the record?
11:57If you dig, it comes from you.
11:59I can...
12:00I can confirm things, but...
12:06It's just another story of journos behaving badly.
12:10You're not interested?
12:12It's interesting, but...
12:14you should talk to someone else.
12:15Do you realise I could lose my job just by talking to you?
12:17Don't worry, this conversation never happens.
12:19No, no, no, that's not my point, Nick.
12:21Think.
12:22Think who edited the paper.
12:25Think about where he sits now.
12:27You're talking about Andy Coulson.
12:33Stop him.
12:36Shh.
12:37Mind the gap.
12:51Stand clear of the doors, please.
12:53Andy Coulson, a rapid-assent journalist.
12:56From a local reporter to showbiz at The Sun,
12:59he was made editor of News of the World in 2003.
13:01Even after he resigned in 2007
13:04over the original phone hacking case,
13:06it was seen as honourable.
13:07Him carrying the can to the one rogue reporter.
13:10Not me really, Gov.
13:13But if he were...
13:14If he is...
13:15If this is endemic,
13:18he's David Cameron's communications director.
13:21For him to be involved in widespread criminality...
13:25No.
13:25No, bad idea.
13:28I'm not late.
13:42It would be fine if you were to be a bit late.
13:44You don't need to be so worried.
13:46Are they ready?
13:46Are they ever ready?
13:48Kids!
13:49You OK?
13:51Kids!
13:52Ooh, you're anxious to go, then?
13:54Sorry, how are you, etc?
13:56I'm fine, etc.
13:57You all right?
13:58Never better.
14:00Really?
14:01I heard you're on the radio.
14:02Mm.
14:02That sort of performance helps sales.
14:04Oh, I would doubt it.
14:08I'm, um...
14:09I am worried about...
14:11I'm not going to reveal my child's name.
14:14Let's call him...
14:15Beans.
14:16He comes home,
14:17locks himself in his room.
14:19I have tried to talk to him, but...
14:21Avoids all questions.
14:23So, do we bring the score?
14:25Let's go, then.
14:28Let's get the details.
14:29Make sure he wants the help.
14:30Oh, you sound like a journalist.
14:33Let me try.
14:38Let me try.
14:41OK.
14:41I've got a new recipe.
14:58OK, Dad.
14:58The stuffed tomato thing.
15:00Yeah, no, it's good.
15:01Call you when it's ready.
15:02It's Turkish.
15:03Yeah.
15:03So, I met someone today.
15:08A source.
15:09He was pissed off with what Kutner said on the radio.
15:12OK.
15:13Hacking was endemic, he said, at News of the World.
15:17And someone is now suing Scotland Yard for information on what was hacked.
15:20Now, no, I know it's one of either Elman Furson, Simon Hughes, Gordon Taylor, Sky Andrew, or Max Clifford, but I don't know which one.
15:29What do you think?
15:31Do I dig?
15:32Trying to find out who it is.
15:34If I find them, it might...
15:35We might get some evidence that Prue's foul play was a bit more widespread.
15:39Imagine what it does to Andy Coulson.
15:41He's about to...
15:42He could soon have keys to 10 Downing Street.
15:44Did Cameron even do a fit and proper person test on him?
15:46Did he even look into Coulson's past?
15:48That's a good angle.
15:50But another tabloid's behaving badly story.
15:54I said the same thing.
15:56And who wants to kick a bee's nest?
15:59Murdoch, you know?
16:01This source.
16:03Has he got under your skin?
16:05No, I just wanted to talk it out with someone.
16:08You.
16:10Oh.
16:11Always grateful to be your sounding board.
16:14Go ahead, man.
16:15Who says I'm in the office?
16:18We'll always have Brussels.
16:19Bye.
16:21Ladies and gentlemen, stay in the time.
16:24Thompson, come see you on.
16:28Street on to Davidson.
16:32It's creepy when you do that.
16:36You stare at me like that.
16:37How are you?
16:39Why are you asking?
16:41If there ever is anything you need to discuss...
16:43Yes, Dad.
16:44I know.
16:45And where is the defence?
16:47Martin is completely unmarked as he cramers his way to the United goal.
16:51I, um, I, I never much liked school.
17:10Not being bullied.
17:11I always saw school as a necessity.
17:13Why does everyone always think I'm being bullied?
17:15Not a virtue.
17:16There was a guy who used to hit us.
17:23Another kid?
17:24Actually, a teacher.
17:27Used to...
17:28God, used to really scare me.
17:30I never used to do well.
17:33Um...
17:35Well, I never used to do well with fear,
17:36but also the thing I remember most clearly.
17:39Rage.
17:40I heard you on the radio.
17:48You listen to the Today programme.
17:51Mum makes us listen to you or read everything you do.
17:55You've an impressive dad.
17:56And she says it like...
17:58He may be a total dick, but...
18:00He's impressive.
18:01Oh, God.
18:06You know the story of the dung beetle.
18:09Oh, God.
18:10Really, again?
18:11If you want to fly free...
18:12First, you have to eat a lot of shit.
18:14Sometimes you have to ignore bullies.
18:16I'm not being bullied.
18:16Sometimes you, you, you have to puncture them.
18:19I'm not that.
18:19There's always a way to...
18:21There's always a chance when the wankers,
18:23when they suddenly seem vulnerable,
18:25when they are,
18:27you have to clamp your pincers onto them
18:29as hard as possible.
18:30Do not let go.
18:31Tomatoes in the oven.
18:41Brilliant, Ted.
18:41They're Turkish.
18:44Thank you very much.
18:45You stupid child.
18:57You're such a disappointment.
18:59It won't surprise you to know
19:08we didn't get the rights
19:09to use their masthead.
19:12Or this one.
19:13Hi, it's Nick Davies.
19:28You still have that contact at Scotland Yard?
19:29No, sorry, mate.
19:31Really can't help you get involved with that one.
19:34You know how that is.
19:35But Andy Coulson will soon be sitting in Downing Street.
19:38Yeah, and Murdoch's already sitting on Downing Street.
19:41Yeah, I...
19:41Yes, I appreciate that.
19:43I understand.
19:44If I could get some evidence of this...
19:45No.
19:46No.
19:47No.
19:48All right, thanks. Bye.
19:54Oh, hi.
19:55Thanks for coming back.
19:56Do you have the number four name redacted?
19:59See you, Nathan.
20:00Yeah.
20:01Okay, great.
20:03Zero.
20:04Seven.
20:05Seven.
20:06Zero.
20:07Zero.
20:07Nine.
20:08Zero.
20:09Zero.
20:09Nine.
20:10Five.
20:11Four.
20:12Got that.
20:14Hi.
20:15I'm wondering whether I could speak to
20:17whoever represents Elle Macpherson.
20:21No, no, I'm not a fan.
20:22No, I'm wondering whether she's currently
20:24suing the news of the world.
20:26Is that Max?
20:28Hi.
20:29It's Nick Davies.
20:30We met at the Orwell Prize.
20:33I'm actually after a bit of insight.
20:36Well, no, give me a chance.
20:37Give me a chance.
20:37Give me a chance.
20:37Detective Buzz Aldrin.
20:46Not his real name.
21:02My name is Nick Davies.
21:04I'm a guardian journalist.
21:05I believe you were looking into the Clive Goodman case.
21:06I'm very busy, Mr. Davies.
21:08I followed your work, Buzz.
21:09I know how principled you are.
21:10I think you know that this, that, that what is happening here
21:12is acutely in the public interest.
21:14And if it's all dealt with in behind stairs deals,
21:16it'll help no one.
21:17I can't talk to James.
21:18Don't have to talk.
21:20All I need to know is which of the five non-royal names
21:22in the Clive Goodman case is now suing the paper.
21:25Cough.
21:26That's all I ask.
21:26Cough when I hit the right name.
21:27You are very, very persistent.
21:29Because what I understand is that those five names
21:31represent thousands, thousands of people
21:33who've had their privacy stolen by this newspaper.
21:36Please.
21:36L. McPherson.
21:39Simon Hughes.
21:41Gordon Taylor.
21:47You did the right thing.
21:48Sorry, excuse me.
22:06Charlotte Harris.
22:07Nick Davis of The Guardian.
22:09I believe you represent Gordon Taylor.
22:10I'm doing court.
22:11I understand that he's suing News of the World
22:13for breach of privacy.
22:14Mr. Davis, whether or not Mr. Taylor is my client,
22:16I have no interest in putting to any press.
22:18Sorry.
22:19These so-called journalists
22:21bring our whole industry into disrepute.
22:23I'm very persistent.
22:26Well, can you tell me then about John Hewison?
22:30He's also a claimant, is he not?
22:33And the interesting thing is,
22:34if you ask the public who those two are,
22:36they might know Taylor.
22:37They wouldn't know Hewison because he's a lawyer,
22:39like you.
22:41He's entrusted with the secrets of others
22:43in the secrets of sports stars in his case,
22:45which makes him interesting to the news of the world.
22:49This is a news operation
22:50which is trying to undermine the confidentiality
22:53that crucially underlies your profession.
22:56If you want to fight it,
22:58well, you're a tiger, but they're lions.
23:01The Guardian's a lion too.
23:03What if I'm neither a lion nor a tiger?
23:06What if I am a walrus?
23:10Walruses can be fierce.
23:12And what if you're a...
23:14See, I'm trying to think of an annoying animal.
23:15Is Mr. Taylor settled?
23:17What evidence do you have?
23:18Are there other claimants?
23:20I'm sure you must be looking to engage more clients.
23:23Privacy cases like this can sometimes...
23:25What did Max Mosley get?
23:27£60,000 and costs.
23:29Line enough out.
23:30You could have a class action suit worth a lot of money.
23:32See, you were doing well, reasonably well,
23:35until you brought money into it.
23:37I can't talk to you about specific cases,
23:39but I can tell you...
23:41I can tell you that there is so much more to come.
23:45Yep.
24:04You got the name?
24:06Mr. Apollo, you're back.
24:09Are you watching me?
24:10I take it you're still interested in this case, then.
24:15The deer is in the fireplace, the lion is a light.
24:21What the fuck are you doing?
24:23Sorry, I've had a tendency to make jokes.
24:25I was trying to be a Russian spy.
24:29It could be spotted at any moment.
24:30Do you know the risks?
24:31I do, sorry.
24:34So you found the lawyer?
24:37Is this some kind of a test?
24:38Do I get a prize at the end of it?
24:40Do you know how much they're settling for?
24:41No.
24:42£400,000 in damages.
24:46Another £300,000 in legal expenses.
24:48And their associates are getting £140,000 in damages, plus their legal.
24:53The whole package comes in at just over a million pounds.
24:56Now that's a lot, even for News International to stomach.
25:00But Max Mosley was their cute him of being a Nazi at an orgy.
25:06All he got was £60,000, yes.
25:09Now you're getting it.
25:12Look, I need, I need paperwork or audio recording, some sort of hard evidence.
25:18I don't even have to publish it.
25:20I just need to be able to show The Guardian.
25:22The preliminary hearing's in 2007, the public record.
25:24That's not enough.
25:25What is it?
25:37You work it out.
25:38Can I use it?
25:39Nope.
25:40I need to be able to use it.
25:42Summarise it?
25:43Yes.
25:43Show it to your editor?
25:44Yes.
25:45Quote from it?
25:46No.
25:46Can I have your number?
25:50Be careful, Nick.
25:51This could get nasty.
25:54I have a piece on MP's expenses I want you to have a look at.
26:14Okay.
26:14Do you want some gingerbread?
26:16My mother made it.
26:16It's not very good.
26:17I have evidence.
26:19How long did that take you to get?
26:21Maybe two months.
26:22And you've never mentioned it?
26:25They're paying up millions to cover this, huh?
26:27This is a story.
26:29Nick, newspapers reporting on newspapers.
26:32But the editor of that newspaper is about to enter government.
26:35If Andy Coulson was complicit in hacking phones as an editor,
26:39imagine what he might do to enemies of the government.
26:43Show me what you have.
26:45Okay.
26:46So, print out of an email.
26:50Ross Hindley, Ant News of the World, to shadowmen at yahoo.co.uk.
26:54It's Glenn Mulcair's email.
26:55His email was shadowmen?
26:57Hmm.
26:58It says, transcript for Neville.
26:59Well, Wednesday 29th of June, 2005.
27:02I can read.
27:04And Neville is...
27:05Neville Thirlbeck, chief reporter at News of the World.
27:08There are transcripts of 35 voicemail messages
27:11which have been left on the phones of Gordon Taylor and a colleague.
27:14It wasn't just Clive Goodman.
27:16And then there's this.
27:19Greg Miskew, assistant editor,
27:21approving a payment of 7,000 pounds,
27:23two-mile care for a story on Gordon Taylor.
27:26And the police have access to all of this and more.
27:30Can we use this?
27:31No.
27:33Can we get your Mr. Apollo to speak on the record?
27:37How long have we known each other?
27:39I've no idea.
27:40I had no interest in trying to work that out.
27:42It'll make me feel old.
27:43Nearly 30 years.
27:45This is it, Alan.
27:46There is an industry making huge profit
27:48from evading people's private lives,
27:50and Rupert Murdoch's bullying tabloids
27:52have explicitly encouraged it and are buying it.
27:54This matters.
28:06Tin hat on.
28:10Good.
28:11Okay.
28:15I'll let you know when I've got something.
28:18Thanks, Alan.
28:18You may think you lead a private life,
28:23but The Guardian has uncovered evidence to suggest otherwise.
28:27This strange story began in 2006 with the arrest of two men,
28:31the News of the World Royal editor Clive Goodman
28:34and a private investigator, Glenn Mulcair.
28:36The men pled guilty to phone hacking charges
28:39and served prison sentences.
28:41Following an investigation,
28:42the paper told the world that hacking was the work
28:45of one rogue reporter.
28:47The story should have ended there,
28:49but it didn't.
28:50From the beginning on,
29:06newspapers have prospered for one reason.
29:09Giving readers the news they want.
29:12Shit.
29:13Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
29:18Hmm.
29:20Keep it simple.
29:23Rupert Murdoch's News Group newspapers
29:25had paid out more than one million pounds
29:27to settle legal cases
29:28that threatened to reveal evidence
29:30of his journalists' repeated involvement
29:31in the use of criminal methods to get stories.
29:34Payments secured secrecy over out-of-court settlements
29:37in three cases that threatened to expose evidence
29:40of Murdoch journalists
29:41using private investigators
29:43to illegally hack into the mobile phone messages
29:46of numerous public figures.
29:48Cabinet ministers, MPs,
29:50actors, and sports stars
29:52were all targets of private investigators.
29:54Are you sure we can safely list all those groups?
29:56We already have evidence of actors,
29:58Elle McPherson, sports stars, Sky Andrew.
30:00MPs, then.
30:00I have an invoice recording a payment
30:03to a private investigator
30:04showing John Prescott had been targeted.
30:06It's likely hacking.
30:07This article has no named sources,
30:08no evidence on the record.
30:10Anna thinks we have enough.
30:11I do, too.
30:12And we haven't got right of reply.
30:13It's a declaration of bloody war.
30:15Murdoch and Brooks, they have nuclear weapons.
30:17Right now they do,
30:18but we can neuter their nuclear weapons with this.
30:20If we do, Fleet Street will fall in behind us,
30:22the police soon after.
30:23And they have,
30:24when they find the information they already have.
30:27Information they've asked?
30:27Information they don't know they have.
30:28The Met we're talking about.
30:31Look, once we publish,
30:32they'll be forced to act.
30:34Can we name Coulson?
30:36Now you're worried I haven't gone far enough.
30:38That makes it more in the public interest
30:40if we can name him.
30:41I did ring Conservative HQ right to reply, Jill.
30:44I asked about the Gordon-Taylor settlement.
30:46His office replied it didn't ring any bells.
30:48There'd be nothing that directly links them.
30:50I agree.
30:51But we can say
30:54that he was the editor in place
30:56when journalists for whom he was responsible,
30:59et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
30:59It's good.
31:01It's good.
31:06Yes?
31:08I'm uneasy.
31:09But if you're sure?
31:14I am.
31:20It reads well.
31:28Okay.
31:29At half past five in the afternoon
31:38on Wednesday 8th of July 2009,
31:40we posted my news story
31:42on the Guardian website.
31:43As it ran,
31:44the Guardian news desk
31:45asked a reporter, Caroline Davies,
31:46to call John Prescott,
31:47ex-deputy prime minister,
31:49to get a quote.
31:50I told him the gist of the story
31:52and he said,
31:53fucking hell!
31:54You'd have thought the police
31:56in the committing of a criminal offence,
31:58as clearly it is,
31:59against anyone,
32:00and particularly you'd have thought
32:01a cabinet member,
32:02they would have come
32:03and told me about it
32:04and I would have asked them,
32:05what are you going to do about it?
32:06Prescott ruled,
32:08but the house fell silent.
32:11Anyone?
32:15Anyone?
32:16Anyone?
32:21And Freed Street?
32:21Well.
32:26Fleet Street essentially
32:27did their best to ignore the story.
32:30Ask any journalist
32:31what a great story depends on.
32:33They'll say the same thing.
32:36A new angle.
32:37Well, at least journalists
32:38can get mine.
32:40We are reliant on our own profession
32:41to follow up on stories
32:43so they have impact.
32:44To make a story newsworthy
32:45requires multiple news outlets.
32:47But on this one,
32:49crickets.
32:49My company couldn't have settled
32:52the legal action
32:53like the Guardian claims.
32:54If they had done,
32:55I'd have known about it.
32:57I tried to get this out
32:58as wide as possible.
32:59I talked on radio stations,
33:00TV shows.
33:01I took constant calls
33:02from agents of public figures
33:03asking,
33:04am I on that list?
33:05I slept about four hours.
33:07And then,
33:07at five in the afternoon,
33:09I was surprised to hear
33:10that John Yates,
33:11Assistant Commissioner
33:12at Scotland Yard,
33:13was preparing to make a statement.
33:16Good afternoon.
33:17I was not involved
33:18in the original case
33:19and clearly come at this
33:21with an independent mind.
33:23In my opinion,
33:24what I have seen
33:25is a most careful investigation
33:26by very experienced detectives.
33:29He proceeded
33:30to gently demolish our work.
33:32We'd suggested
33:33there were thousands of victims.
33:35Their potential targets
33:36may have run
33:36into hundreds of people.
33:38But our inquiry showed
33:39that they only used the tactic
33:41against a far smaller
33:42number of individuals.
33:44And since no additional evidence
33:45has come to light,
33:46I can see no reason
33:47to reopen the inquiry.
33:50That's all for today.
33:51Does that mean
33:52the Guardian's fabricating
33:53the story?
33:53No further comment.
33:56We may have run
33:58into hundreds of people.
33:59Our inquiry showed
34:00that they only used the tactic
34:02against a far smaller
34:03number of individuals.
34:04And since no additional evidence
34:06has come to light,
34:07I can see no reason
34:08to reopen the inquiry.
34:10That was Assistant Commissioner
34:12John Yates
34:12speaking in response
34:13to Fred.
34:18What is it?
34:20The police haven't backed us
34:22and Kistana's
34:23conducting a review.
34:25He was Director
34:26of Public Prosecutions then.
34:27But he doesn't consider
34:28there was anything inappropriate
34:30in the prosecutions
34:31undertaken in this case.
34:32We are being squashed.
34:35We need to speak to you,
34:36Mr. Apollo.
34:37We need to get him
34:37on the record.
34:38He...
34:39He can contact me.
34:41I can't contact him.
34:42Nick.
34:45Our colleagues upstairs
34:47are gravely concerned.
34:49Is it possible
34:50you were set up?
34:50No.
34:51This is right.
34:52I've used no named sources,
34:54no quotes from documents
34:56we should never have published.
34:58And Murdoch has set
35:00his attack dogs
35:01on us in the comments
35:02for their briefing
35:02that we can't back up
35:03our story.
35:05And now the CMS Select Committee
35:07want to see us urgently.
35:08That doesn't sound great.
35:11They want to barbecue you, Nick.
35:13And Johnny Yates
35:14has given them permission.
35:18I'm sorry.
35:19I, uh...
35:20I've read the runes wrong
35:22here.
35:24Guardian are putting together
35:26a statement.
35:26What kind of statement?
35:28I'll know when I see it.
35:31I feel like I'm having
35:31a heart attack.
35:32Why is everybody doing this?
35:37Oh, my God.
36:07My mother was a strong character, intelligent, forceful, imaginative, trapped, as she believed,
36:16in domestic drudgery.
36:17She had a furious temper.
36:21This wasn't the 1950s toxic ideal of spare the rod and spoil the child.
36:25This was mad beatings, which she came after us with a black-eyed fury, armed with whatever
36:31weapon she had to hand.
36:33A dog lead, a slipper, a riding crop, a rope.
36:37Are you ready to say you're sorry?
36:42No.
36:49I've been working as a journalist for a couple of decades, thinking I was interested in criminal
36:54justice and social problems.
36:56When I saw that I was being drawn to stories again and again with the same theme, a deep-seated
37:03urge to hit back at anybody at all who takes power and abuses it.
37:10Stupid child.
37:11Stupid child.
37:11No!
37:12No!
37:13No!
37:14No!
37:15No!
37:16No!
37:17No!
37:23No!
37:23No!
37:24No!
37:38No!
37:39No!
37:39I don't see.
37:41I guess so. I tried hitting him back.
38:00Why?
38:02Seizing rage.
38:04I thought he looked vulnerable.
38:07Oh.
38:08It didn't work.
38:12No.
38:15You look terrible.
38:19What happened to you?
38:21You're asking me or him.
38:24Okay, so I need to take you to your mum's tonight.
38:29She says she's cool, though, if you are.
38:31Yeah, sure, I don't mind.
38:38It's been a day of statement and counter-statement in the phone hacking affair, with News International angrily refuting all the allegations made by The Guardian.
38:52With the editor and the reporter due to appear at the Media Select Committee, certain publications are claiming a leftist agenda against the News of the World by The Guardian, and calling for legal action to be taken against the organization if they can't back up.
39:07Curious claim made against Murdoch's paper.
39:17Hi.
39:18Hello.
39:18Hello.
39:19See you, kids.
39:23Hi, kids.
39:24Whoa.
39:25I'm fine, Mum.
39:26I'm fine.
39:27It's my fault.
39:28Sorry.
39:29Bad advice.
39:31Coffee?
39:33Oh.
39:35Thanks for this.
39:35I'll see you Monday.
39:36I'm sorry.
39:37Nick.
39:38Yeah?
39:38Have you eaten?
39:40When?
39:41In the last day.
39:42I'm just a bit tired.
39:44I'm not really at my best.
39:46I need to think.
39:47And the House of Commons Select Committee want to see us tomorrow.
39:55And The Guardian have got this message that their PR have written that is just...
39:59All right.
40:00Okay.
40:02You look worse than he does.
40:04I didn't tell him to fight back.
40:07I got the biggest mark.
40:08Come on.
40:08Hit someone.
40:09Shit.
40:10All right.
40:13Come on.
40:14Sit down.
40:17Sit down.
40:18Super okay.
40:24What do I do?
40:26How do I make it better?
40:29Well, we will talk to the school.
40:32You know what I'm doing better.
40:34It's a good school.
40:37Things have changed, you know.
40:39Teachers, parents.
40:41They're not allowed to do.
40:42There's systems, right?
40:47I thought about her.
40:50Earlier today, I was reading this...
40:53paper magie over apologetic PR nonsense,
40:57and I thought about all the times I'd gone to her and apologised,
41:00and all the times that I...
41:02And then my son gets her face like that.
41:08Okay.
41:08I'm going to make the sofa out you're staying here tonight.
41:14And just put the soup on.
41:16I'm going to make the sofa out you're having to eat.
41:18Hold on.
41:18No, no.
41:21I can't read that statement.
41:51A retraction at this time.
41:53You're asking me to say I was wrong.
41:56If we can't get Mr. Apollo on the record,
41:58then we need to make a retraction.
42:01You know getting him on the record is impossible.
42:04Then I'm afraid you'll have to make that statement
42:07to the select committee tomorrow.
42:09If you make me read it out, I won't come.
42:12If you don't come, we're fucked.
42:16I'll give you a hand.
42:23I'll give you a second.
42:26I'll give you a second.
42:31Carl Bernstein, one of the great reporters who exposed the Watergate scandal, said,
42:52I think all good reporting is the same thing, the best attainable version of the truth.
42:59The best attainable version of the truth.
43:03The best attainable.
43:04So no matter what you've got, you've got to...
43:07You've got to...
43:27Morning.
43:28Hi.
43:29Does this printer scanner thing still work?
43:32Uh, yeah, that one does.
43:34Coffee?
43:35And do you have some black paper and some glue and some scissors?
43:39Oh, you're making me a collage, Nick.
43:41Might need the kids to be slightly late for school.
43:44Right.
43:45Why?
43:45Okay, so these are emails written to a journalist, that's Neville, with transcriptions of a man called Gordon Taylor's voicemail messages.
43:57What I need you to do is to block out all the sections which are clearly transcribed from those voicemails.
44:02Leave everything else visible.
44:03You should be able to tell which bit's a which, but ain't doubts, just ask.
44:05Hmm.
44:06May I ask?
44:07Why aren't you doing this at The Guardian with some sort of vague professionalism?
44:10Alan can't know.
44:11Your editor can't know?
44:13Because I can't have him tell anyone else.
44:16Oh, yeah.
44:17That man is a gossip.
44:18Fleet Street can't know about this.
44:20As far as they know, I'm walking naked into that committee room.
44:22I was just trying to protect my editor and my newspaper.
44:25And you.
44:26What sort of danger are you putting yourself in here?
44:52Nick.
44:53How are you, Alan?
44:54I'm fine.
44:55A bit tired.
44:56Something interrupted my sleep last night.
45:10I hate it when that happens.
45:14I hate all of this.
45:17Sorry if I've made your life difficult.
45:19My life, this is bigger than me.
45:24Could have brought down the whole Guardian newspaper with this one.
45:28But what a way to go.
45:30I mean, consider the glory I, Nick Davies, have destroyed, utterly destroyed,
45:40close to 200 years of journalistic endeavor.
45:44You're an absolute god.
45:47God, I can't even think what you are.
45:50You're awful.
45:54You know what Peter Preston told me when I took over the editor's desk?
45:58Why in hell did they choose you?
46:00Don't join the club.
46:02He had to make adjustments to the paper after the move from Manchester.
46:05And he didn't...
46:07He wouldn't be part of the media cabal.
46:11He liked being on the edge of Fleet Street.
46:14He considered it part of our DNA.
46:17Last night in bed I realized something.
46:22What you've done, bringing us here, is in the line of great Guardian coups.
46:30But I do want to keep the newspaper I've been entrusted with alive.
46:35Are you reading the statement?
46:37No.
46:38But I do have things to say.
46:40If you go too far, I will squeeze your leg and you will stop.
46:50I've got a paper to protect.
46:52And you.
46:54Be sure to protect yourself.
46:56Ten hats on.
46:59Thank you for joining us, gentlemen.
47:02Now we have a lot of questions, so I'm trying to keep opening statements short.
47:07I'd like to keep this whole experience quite short, if I may.
47:11But I do have...
47:13There's a lot for me to say.
47:15I'd like to start by showing you, first of all, copies of an email.
47:45I'll see you next time.
47:46I'll see you next time.
47:47I'll see you next time.
47:48Bye.
47:49Bye.
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