David Allen Green

A critical and liberal look at law and policy

A racket at News International?

The second module of the Leveson inquiry has an explosive start.

By David Allen Green Published 27 February 2012 13:56

When last November, Tom Watson MP put to Rupert and James Murdoch that they were running a "Mafia" organisiation, it seemed that the dogged and fearless critic of News International had gone a step too far. And that was a pity, as up to that point Watson had asked a fine sequence of well-structured questions which the Murdochs were finding extremely difficult to evade.

The allegations that came out this morning at the Leveson inquiry suggest that Watson's comment was not as misconceived as it may have first appeared.

Let's break down a criminal enterprise into elements. Are there allegations of criminal activity? Yes, both in terms of hacking and corrupt payments. Was that alleged criminality for commercial purposes? Yes. Were there alleged wrongful payments to the police? Yes. Were there contacts with the police which provided alleged early warnings of investigations? Yes. Was the knowledge of any of this possessed at senior levels in the organization? It would appear so. Was there a deliberate silence to the outside world about what was known? Yes, again it would appear so. Were public officials misled? That seems the case with at least the PCC. And were police investigations closed down in circumstances for which there is still no good explanation? That would indeed appear to be the case.

However, all that we have so far are allegations and what can be inferred from the materials released. All those involved are entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence in respect of any criminal liability. Nonetheless, the scope of the allegations are now as serious as they can be, and there does seem to be evidence of a scale and system of improper payments which is worrying at best.

Still, Watson did perhaps go too far with his reference to the Mafia. A Mafia organisation is presumably one which exists for criminality as an end in itself. News International was always in the lawful business of publishing newspapers; it was just that a culture of criminality seems to have been allowed to develop as part of that otherwise entirely legal enterprise, and that such a culture seemed to have been knowingly insulated from any effective outside scrutiny. But it is a rather unfortunate defence to resort to say something is not being quite as bad as a Mafia. What appears to have gone wrong at News International seems bad enough on its own terms. For, if these allegations are borne out, then there was what can be fairly called a racket.

David Allen Green is legal correspondent of the New Statesman

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Tags: Leveson Inquiry news international

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11 comments

Wed, 2012-07-25 20:36 — olek (not verified)

prezent na chrzest

"David Allen Green is a City lawyer as well as legal correspondent of the New Statesman."

And a bit of an arse if this article is anything to go by.

Mon, 2012-02-27 16:21 — Kippers

Criminality is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end: riches, fame, sex, influence. Criminal organisations often have a legitimate cover. So the fact that a company is in the newspaper business does not mean that it isn't a criminal enterprise.

A criminal organisation becomes a Mafia when it begins to take on the role of legitimate institutions (such as State institutions) by having a strong influence over the Police, government, legislators and legal institutions or by being a provider of the protection that legitimate institutions should be providing. Mafia organisations exist where the State is weak or failed, or where Mafia organisations have managed to hollow-out legitimate institutions. One sign of this is when a company or organisation believes that the laws do not apply to itself (usually because it has enough influence by one means or another to intimidate legitimate institutions into turning a blind eye).

There are some worrying signs in the UK of the weakening of legitimate institutions: parliament failing to hold the Executive to account and voting for things it doesn't understand; prosecutions being dropped; police failing to investigate wrongdoing; policies being put forward because they appeal to certain newspapers rather than whether they make sense. NI may not be the only reason for the hollowing-out of some of our institutions but we've heard enough recently to see that the word Mafia isn't completely wrong.

Mon, 2012-02-27 16:37 — Leedsnil

Watson's analogy is apposite. A mafia subverts the state apparatus and covertly replaces it with its own: controlling politicians; paying minimal taxes; and engaging in selective criminality to further its profit goals. There is no bloodshed; but in this instance a tabloid monstering becomes the formidable instrument of retribution for those who do not toe the line.

Mon, 2012-02-27 16:49 — Duncan (not verified)

To me "Mafia" is only inappropriate because it has an implication of a central "family", which seems like an personal attack on the Murdochs.

But what we are seeing outlined by this investigation is definitely organised crime. It's not "serious" organised crime, of the type that SOCA would be interested in, but it fits the general description: systematic, sustained crime that is intertwined with the organisation's core commercial operations.

Tue, 2012-02-28 10:46 — Neville Peters (not verified)

And let's not forget David Cameron was up to his neck in it and very close to the consiglere and caporegime. This is being airbrushed out of the picture for some reason.

Sun, 2012-03-04 15:25 — Eddy S (not verified)

what is the point of tom watson (it's not even personal for him unlike other politicians, even some politicians who got found out by the expense scandals i could understand) has he got anything else to say about things that matter to the people? personally think the people ?

Tue, 2012-02-28 13:46 — ZannaBaker (not verified)

It is not possibke that such illegal operations would have been carried out without the knowledge and approval at the highest level... In my opinion this whole horrifying case has one virtue: it brings back the debate on the liberty of the press right to the center stage. We need to re-assess what are the reasonable limits that we can impose on the press as clearly what was in place before hasn't worked. I watched a really good debate recently on this: http://iai.tv/video/limits-to-liberty

Tue, 2012-02-28 15:34 — Kevin Irving (not verified)

A horse, a horse, a kingdom for a horse.. you couldn't make it up.. I remember a Sunday night ITV comedy called "Hot Metal" starring Robert Hardy back in the 1980's...priceless comedy about the fictional "Crucible" tabloid. Happy days.

Mon, 2012-02-27 14:20 — Pigfarmer (not verified)

I think you give the murdochs too much credit. Even though Rupe started honestly enough, I think that as soon as he got a taste for power, all the honesty went out of the window and he became a true mafioso. Not all gangsters started out bad.

Mon, 2012-02-27 15:02 — Tim Ireland (not verified)

I think you will find that even lead participants in criminal organisations are motivated by profit (and a lust for power), and that criminality stems from an attitude that laws to do not apply to them as they might to 'normal' people.

Mon, 2012-02-27 15:05 — rob (not verified)

Have to agree with Pigfarmer @ 13.20.
Once the staid institutions of countries become compliant because of the perceived benefit of swayed public opinion the temptation to go beyond the bounds to keep circulation figures high must have been too much. Once done without any comeback it was probably easy to slip into a habit - especially when one considers the power that can be exerted whether "secret" knowledge is published or kept a secret.
And wasn't the Mafia criminality, not for criminality itself's sake, but for power and wealth? The criminality at first was just an aid to create their power and a became habit which helped retain it??