Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Issues 2012
Candidates 2012
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Jack & Suzy Welch
Frederick Kempe
Christopher Papagianis
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Slideshow
Full Focus
Editor's Choice
Our best photos from the last 24 hours. See more
Images of April
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
No survivors found after Russian plane crashes in Indonesia
|
10:48am EDT
UPDATE 4-No survivors found after Russian plane crashes in Indonesia
10:43am EDT
Syria suicide bombers kill 55, truce in tatters
|
12:19pm EDT
No survivors found after Russian plane crashes in Indonesia
10:44am EDT
China urges Philippines to ensure citizens' safety
6:48am EDT
Discussed
136
Obesity fight must shift from personal blame: U.S. panel
120
Florida nabs white supremacists planning ”race war”
89
Obama says same-sex couples should be able to marry: ABC
Watched
Russian plane crash in Indonesia
3:33am EDT
World's rarest gorilla makes camera-trap debut
Wed, May 9 2012
Russian plane goes missing in Indonesia
Wed, May 9 2012
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Creative smuggling
From guns in a Mickey Mouse doll to drugs in mini-submarines, smugglers look for ways to outwit authorities. Slideshow
Cat cafe
Vienna's first cat cafe is open for business. Slideshow
British PM's judgment on line over ex-editor's access
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
News Corp profit beats forecasts on cable, movies
Wed, May 9 2012
Brooks and Coulson to face UK press inquiry
Thu, May 3 2012
News Corp board supports Murdoch after UK report
Wed, May 2 2012
UK lawmakers: Rupert Murdoch unfit to run company
Tue, May 1 2012
UK lawmakers to give verdict on Murdochs
Tue, May 1 2012
Analysis & Opinion
Let News Corp keep BSkyB
Rupert Murdoch’s escape act
Related Topics
World »
1 of 2. Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron gestures outside 10 Downing Street in London May 10, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett
By Kate Holton and Michael Holden
LONDON |
Thu May 10, 2012 12:13pm EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron gave a former tabloid newspaper editor whom he hired as his top spokesman access to some of the government's most sensitive secrets while he did not have full security clearance, an inquiry heard on Thursday.
Andy Coulson, a former editor of Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, told a government-ordered investigation into press standards that Cameron's Conservative Party had asked few questions about his past had not carried out full security checks.
Coulson took up the role as the Conservatives' director of communications, helping steer Cameron's bid to become prime minister, just six months after he stood down as editor of the now-defunct Sunday paper following the jailing of one of his reporters for phone hacking.
Critics says Cameron appointed Coulson in order to secure the backing of the journalist's former boss, Murdoch, and say the appointment showed a lack of judgment.
"Did you have any unsupervised access to information designated top secret or above?" Robert Jay, the lead lawyer for senior judge Brian Leveson, asked Coulson.
"I may have done, yes," he said.
"Did you ever attend meetings of the national security council?" Jay asked about a body of senior politicians, defense and intelligence chiefs which is chaired by the prime minister.
"Yes," Coulson told the public inquiry, which Cameron ordered last year after the phone hacking scandal spiraled out of control, forcing Murdoch to close the News of the World.
A full security clearance procedure includes a review of the applicant's finances and detailed interviews about their past.
Coulson told the hearing on Thursday that he had owned shares in Murdoch's News Corp while he worked for Cameron, an issue he said could raise the potential for a perception of a conflict of interest.
He denied any 'grand conspiracy' between media tycoons and senior politicians but did say that the fallout from the phone hacking scandal was forcing politicians to distance themselves from journalists and media bosses.
NO 'GRAND CONSPIRACY'
The involvement of Coulson and another former editor - Cameron's friend Rebekah Brooks - turned the long-running hacking story into a national political scandal that has laid bare the close ties between senior politicians, the police and the media.
Coulson, appearing relaxed throughout the hearing, was asked repeatedly why Cameron and future Finance Minister George Osborne would have wanted to take on Coulson when they were in opposition, with lawyer Jay suggesting that they were trying to secure the backing of Murdoch's newspapers.
"I want to make it quite clear that there was never any inappropriate deal between the papers and the party," Coulson said. "There were no conditions or contingencies suggested or levied in return for a newspapers' support."
The left-leaning Guardian newspaper, which broke the phone hacking scandal, has said it warned Cameron against employing Coulson, citing information it had but was unable to publish for legal reasons.
And an updated biography of Cameron, serialized this week in the Times newspaper, reports that aides to the royal family warned the prime minister that Buckingham Palace also did not think the appointment of an editor of such a salacious paper would be an appropriate move.
Coulson had edited the News of the World when its royal reporter went to jail for hacking the phones of staff working for Princes William and Harry.
In May 2010 however, Coulson moved with Cameron into Downing Street to act as the Prime Ministers official spokesman, winning early plaudits for giving the wealthy and privileged Cameron a better understanding of the average voter.
With the allegations about phone hacking refusing to die down, and the link to Cameron becoming ever more damaging, Coulson left Downing Street in January 2011 saying: "When the spokesman needs a spokesman, it's time to move on."
He has since been arrested over allegations of phone hacking and bribery.
Asked whether senior members of the Conservative Party asked Coulson about his links to the phone hacking scandal, he said: "I don't remember but it's possible." Coulson has said he did not know about the phone hacking but left the tabloid because he felt he had to take ultimate responsibility.
(Editing by Giles Elgood)
World
Related Quotes and News
Company
Price
Related News
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.