HOW NEWS INTERNATIONAL TRIED TO KEEP A LID ON HACKING SCANDAL

News International, the embattled British news division of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, agreed to pay one of its reporter’s legal fees in an effort to prevent him from naming colleagues, who, like him, allegedly hacked into the phones of celebrities and officials, a jury in London heard today (Monday). The disclosure was made by Rebekah Brooks, the former CEO of NI, at her trial in London’s Old Bailey on charges of conspiring to hack phones, conceal evidence, and pay officials for stories. She was referring to Glenn Mulcaire, who was convicted of phone hacking in 2009 and who had been subpoenaed to testify in the case of PR exec Max Clifford, who had sued the now-defunct News of the World after gathering evidence that his voicemail had been hacked. Brooks testified that NI’s chief counsel, Tom Crone, had agreed to pay for Mulcaire’s legal representation when it became apparent that the court could order him to name the individual who had instructed him to hack into Clifford’s phones. “The view was that he could say anyone or anything,” Brooks testified. She also indicated that, in an effort to put a lid on the disclosures, News International agreed to settle the Clifford case for £200,000 (about $320,000) and resume doing business with him.