Murdoch Scum

[peterms]

Oh dear.

Police examine bag found in bin near Rebekah Brooks's home

Former NI chief executive's husband denies bag – containing computer, paperwork and phone – belonged to his wife

Detectives are examining a computer, paperwork and a phone found in a bin near the riverside London home of Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News International.

The Guardian has learned that a bag containing the items was found in an underground car park in the Design Centre at the exclusive Chelsea Harbour development on Monday afternoon.

The car park, under a shopping centre, is yards from the gated apartment block where Brooks lives with her husband, a former racehorse trainer and close friend of David Cameron.

It is understood the bag was handed in to security at around 3pm, and that shortly afterwards Brooks's husband, Charlie, arrived and tried to reclaim it. He was unable to prove the bag was his and the security guard refused to release it.

Instead, it is understood that the security guard called the police. In less than half an hour, two marked police cars and an unmarked forensics car are said to have arrived at the scene.

Police are now examining CCTV footage taken in the car park to uncover who dropped the bag. Initial suspicions that there had been a break-in at the Brooks's flat have been dismissed.

David Wilson, Charlie Brooks's official spokesman, told the Guardian that Charlie Brooks denies that the bag belonged to his wife. "Charlie has a bag which contains a laptop and papers which were private to him," said Wilson.

"They were nothing to do with Rebekah or the [phone-hacking] case."

Wilson said Charlie Brooks had left the bag with a friend who was returning it, but dropped it in the wrong part of the garage. When asked how the bag ended up in a bin he replied: "The suggestion is that a cleaner thought it was rubbish and put it in the bin." Wilson added: "Charlie was looking for it together with a couple of the building staff.

"Charlie was told it had gone to security, by which stage they [security] had already called the police to say they had found something.

"The police took it away. Charlie's lawyers got in touch with the police to say they could take a look at the computer but they'd see there was nothing relevant to them on it. He's expecting the stuff back forthwith."

Rebekah Brooks was arrested on Sunday under suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, and of corrupting police officers. She is due to appear before the Commons culture, media and sport select committee on Tuesday afternoon.

[Ingram85]

Vile and detestable character aside, id do rebecca brooks

[peterms]

This is delightful.

Rebekah makes an enemy of Dacre and the Mail group, pointlessly.

Rupe explores whether flying Easyjet will create such a wave of public sympathy that it will get him off all charges.

They're really not the sharperst knives in the box, are they?

Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail, told senior managers he had received reports from PR agencies, footballers and others that News International executives had encouraged them to investigate whether their phones had been hacked by Mail group newspapers, according to the New York Times.

Based on interviews said to have been carried out with former News International staff, the New York Times also claimed Rebekah Brooks had spearheaded a strategy in recent months that appeared designed to spread the blame for hacking across Fleet Street. Several former NoW journalists claimed she asked them to dig up evidence of hacking by others, while one said Brooks's target was not her own newspapers, but those of her rivals.

In an account relayed to his management team, Dacre confronted Brooks at a hotel, telling her: "You are trying to tear down the entire industry."

Lady Claudia Rothermere, wife of the owner of the Mail, was also said to have overheard Brooks say at a dinner party that the Mail was just as culpable as the NoW.

"We didn't break the law," Lady Rothermere said, according to two sources who spoke to the New York Times. Brooks was said to have asked who Rothermere thought she was – "Mother Teresa?"

By the middle of last year, News International's lawyers and some executives were also said to have been urging that the company accept some responsibility – but Brooks disagreed. "Her behaviour all along has been resist, resist, resist," one company official was reported to have said. The US newspaper reported that Rupert Murdoch wanted to "fly commercial to London," so that he might be seen as a man of the people as he prepared to leave a conference in Idaho and come to the UK to take charge of the crisis enveloping his media empire.

He was said to have been told that would hardly do the trick, and Murdoch instead arrived in the UK on a Gulfstream G550 private jet.

Former company executives and political aides also told the New York Times that News International executives engaged in a campaign of selective leaks implicating previous management and the police.

[MrDuck]

Oh dear.

Police examine bag found in bin near Rebekah Brooks's home

Former NI chief executive's husband denies bag – containing computer, paperwork and phone – belonged to his wife

Detectives are examining a computer, paperwork and a phone found in a bin near the riverside London home of Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News International.

The Guardian has learned that a bag containing the items was found in an underground car park in the Design Centre at the exclusive Chelsea Harbour development on Monday afternoon.

The car park, under a shopping centre, is yards from the gated apartment block where Brooks lives with her husband, a former racehorse trainer and close friend of David Cameron.

It is understood the bag was handed in to security at around 3pm, and that shortly afterwards Brooks's husband, Charlie, arrived and tried to reclaim it. He was unable to prove the bag was his and the security guard refused to release it.

Instead, it is understood that the security guard called the police. In less than half an hour, two marked police cars and an unmarked forensics car are said to have arrived at the scene.

Police are now examining CCTV footage taken in the car park to uncover who dropped the bag. Initial suspicions that there had been a break-in at the Brooks's flat have been dismissed.

David Wilson, Charlie Brooks's official spokesman, told the Guardian that Charlie Brooks denies that the bag belonged to his wife. "Charlie has a bag which contains a laptop and papers which were private to him," said Wilson.

"They were nothing to do with Rebekah or the [phone-hacking] case."

Wilson said Charlie Brooks had left the bag with a friend who was returning it, but dropped it in the wrong part of the garage. When asked how the bag ended up in a bin he replied: "The suggestion is that a cleaner thought it was rubbish and put it in the bin." Wilson added: "Charlie was looking for it together with a couple of the building staff.

"Charlie was told it had gone to security, by which stage they [security] had already called the police to say they had found something.

"The police took it away. Charlie's lawyers got in touch with the police to say they could take a look at the computer but they'd see there was nothing relevant to them on it. He's expecting the stuff back forthwith."

Rebekah Brooks was arrested on Sunday under suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, and of corrupting police officers. She is due to appear before the Commons culture, media and sport select committee on Tuesday afternoon.

"The suggestion is that a cleaner thought it was rubbish and put it in the bin."

Yes. Cleaners always find bags and put them in bins. Especially bags containing laptops.

This charade just keeps getting better

[Jezza]

This piece-by-piece dismantling of the evil Murdocoply is absolutely delightful!!!

[PauloBarnesi]

On tonight's Panorama, I did chuckle at Chris Bryant's anecdote which went something like this (apologies if not verbatim):

I went to a party and bumped in to Rebekah Brooks who said, "It's after dark, Mr Bryant, shouldn't you be out on Clapham Common?"

Her then husband, Ross Kemp turned to her and said, "Shut up, you homophobic bitch."

I wonder why she would say that.

[Amsterdam_Neil_D]

This piece-by-piece dismantling of the evil Murdocoply is absolutely delightful!!!

Agreed. It is a lot of fun, the other media can't hide their joy either. It's basically like watching the school bully get knocked out by a midget.

On the other hand the people like Cameron will no doubt get away with it and by the end of this a lot of people will be mentality scarred for life (The people and families of the phones or families of these people involved ) or people will end up dead or silenced to protect the cabinet and the slime minister. The net is closing so expect more people to get thrown out of the plane yet, Police, editors and advisor's are all falling on their sword to protect someone high up, that person is not Murdoch. I think the big story is right around the corner.

[MrDuck]

I think the big story is right around the corner.

Yeah, several people involved have said things along the lines of "you think this is bad, wait until you see what's still to come".

[Jezza]

I think the big story is right around the corner.

Yeah, several people involved have said things along the lines of "you think this is bad, wait until you see what's still to come".

Bloody hell - the joy is just beginning, it seems! Being so far away Down Under, what is the word on the UK street re: "the bigger story"??

edit: Just noticed MrD is in the same city as me!!!

[Jon]

Vile and detestable character aside, id do rebecca brooks

I've been toying with this same thought for a while now.

She's certainly got a bit of MILF about her.

[Gringo]

On tonight's Panorama, I did chuckle at Chris Bryant's anecdote which went something like this (apologies if not verbatim):

I went to a party and bumped in to Rebekah Brooks who said, "It's after dark, Mr Bryant, shouldn't you be out on Clapham Common?"

Her then husband, Ross Kemp turned to her and said, "Shut up, you homophobic bitch."

I wonder why she would say that.

I wonder why they got divorced

[TheAuthority]

Apologies for the word invention ;-)

I'll forgive it just this once.

Surely a public debate conducted without reason becomes a farce: from there we may as well choose gladiators, or employ an army... My personal preference would be female mud-wrestling (apologies again if this offends.)

Oh, very true. I'm not sure that allowing objectionable views to be aired (at whatever level) prevents the possibility of reasoned public debate, though. Reasoned debate can also use unreasoned, unreasonable, objectionable opinion to inform itself just as much as it can use staid mainstream opinion.

By automatically excluding the extreme and objectionable aren't we likely to exclude the radical?

An impassioned opinion can be delivered with reason. When a public television network/media outlet chooses to invoke rage and anger and apply it to political issues for political gain. Isn't that just manipulation of the ill-informed?

It can be but it doesn't have to be. No argument has to be delivered with reason though one would think that it ought to help its cause if it were put forward so.

That it doesn't is, probably, a deficiency of the audience. This doesn't excuse those putting forward their thoughts in such a way (indeed one could suggest that it is even more morally bankrupt that they do this because they see a clear opportunity and thus seek to exploit the power that may be obtained) but it may suggest a way out. It's an exit that seems rather obvious to me - education. Not the Blairite bollocks soundbite but real education - teaching people to think, to question and to decide for themselves.

Completely agree with both points in bold, especially the last line. Some of my work involves the US public education system - it's quite frightening.

[mjmooney]

[tonyh29]

Rowan Atkinson as Ed Milliband :-)

[mjmooney]

Rowan Atkinson as Ed Milliband :-)

I know. Made me LOL.

[tonyh29]

Seems we may get our wish ... Piers Morgan come on down ?

England manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who was having an affair with Ulrika Jonsson was actually uncovered

by the News of the World but a Mirror hack hit gold by hacking the phone of the NofTW journalist so the Mirror were then

able to run the story on the Friday,before the News Of The World came out on the Sunday.

[PauloBarnesi]

On tonight's Panorama, I did chuckle at Chris Bryant's anecdote which went something like this (apologies if not verbatim):

I went to a party and bumped in to Rebekah Brooks who said, "It's after dark, Mr Bryant, shouldn't you be out on Clapham Common?"

Her then husband, Ross Kemp turned to her and said, "Shut up, you homophobic bitch."

I wonder why she would say that.

I wonder why they got divorced

Or why Rebekah attacked Grant...

[PauloBarnesi]

Seems bizarre that Keith Vaz is charing this committee

[ender4]

Am i reading this correctly?

Brooks was arrested, and not charged with anything. she was then bailed.

how can you be bailed, if you haven't been charged with anything?

and another question:

what is the actual crime here, and what are the sentencing guidelines on that actual crime?

[tonyh29]

what is the actual crime here

Turning your back on the labour party if the rumours are to be beleived

and what are the sentencing guidelines on that actual crime?

the richer you are the lighter the sentence