Associated Newspapers Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Unlawful News Gathering
Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, is facing renewed scrutiny over its historical use of private investigators, with allegations of unlawful newsgathering taking center stage in a high-profile legal case. The investigation established that the media group utilized the services of investigator Whittamore more extensively than any other newspaper group.
The current editor-in-chief of DMG Media Ltd, the holding company of Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), Paul Dacre, testified on Tuesday before the High Court, “utterly refuting” what he characterized as “preposterous” allegations. This is not the first time Dacre has defended the practices of Associated Newspapers; he previously addressed similar concerns at the Leveson Inquiry into press standards 14 years ago, maintaining there was no evidence of phone hacking.
The current proceedings center on claims that journalists engaged in unlawful practices to obtain information. On Wednesday, Dacre denied lying during his 2012 testimony at the Leveson Inquiry when questioned about stories allegedly sourced from hacked phones. Evidence presented to the court included emails from 2006 between freelance journalist Greg Miskiw – who has since passed away – and former Mail on Sunday associate editor Chris Anderson.
These emails contained transcripts of voicemails between actor Sadie Frost Law and her nanny, purportedly obtained by phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire, described as a close associate of Miskiw. While the story was ultimately not published by the Mail on Sunday, Miskiw was paid £500, a payment the claimants’ barrister, David Sherborne, argued was “prima facie” evidence of phone hacking. Dacre countered that the payment was likely a “kill fee” to prevent publication elsewhere, or simply an attempt by Miskiw to secure work. He further stated he lacked detailed knowledge of the circumstances as he was editor of the Daily Mail at the time, and the Mail on Sunday operated as a separate entity.
Dacre testified that the realization of potentially unlawful activities “snuck up on us,” prompting him to task an executive with investigating the extent of Whittamore’s use by Daily Mail journalists. He claimed he subsequently “brought the shutters down” to halt the practice. In 2007, Dacre instituted a ban on the use of “inquiry agents” – a term for private investigators – stating, “All my energy, all my willpower was going into educating my journalists, educating the industry that the Data Protection Act needed to be taken seriously.”
However, Dacre admitted that journalists had previously used these agents to obtain ex-directory phone numbers, characterizing this as “very low on the Richter scale of unlawfulness” and potentially in the public interest. He explained that using inquiry agents was preferable to manually searching through phone books.
The court also heard testimony regarding allegations that Daily Mail crime reporter Stephen Wright paid private investigators £1,500 for information related to the Stephen Lawrence murder investigation. Dacre defended Wright’s work as “brilliant” and contributing to the conviction of two of the Lawrence killers.
Sherborne pressed Dacre on whether the ban on private investigators was effectively enforced after April 2007. A contentious exchange followed, with Sherborne presenting evidence suggesting some journalists continued to utilize investigators and freelance journalists for unlawful information. One example cited involved royal correspondent Rebecca English receiving the precise aircraft seat number of Chelsy Davy, then-girlfriend of Prince Harry. Dacre stated he was “totally unaware” of this, noting that airlines were more lenient with information disclosure at the time.
Dacre further asserted that paying freelance reporters for information was standard practice, distinguishing them from “inquiry agents.” “Every newspaper pays for stories,” he explained. “They don’t do it willingly. But news does not grow on trees, you have to secure it. As long as you don’t pay a policeman it’s ok.”
The proceedings have also drawn attention to the conduct of David Sherborne, who has faced criticism from Mr Justice Nicklin for allegedly expanding the scope of the legal case into a broader public inquiry. Sherborne was given a time limit for his cross-examination of Dacre, concluding shortly after 15:00 GMT on Wednesday.
The trial is scheduled to conclude in March, with a written judgment expected to be issued at a later date.
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