Media

UK Hacking Scandal Causes Another Scotland Yard Resignation

(The Blaze/AP)- London Mayor Boris Johnson said Monday that Scotland Yard‘s assistant commissioner resigned after being told he’d be suspended, in the second high-profile police department casualty over the quickly spreading phone hacking scandal in as many days.

Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner John Yates Resigns

Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner Yates

John Yates made a decision two years ago to not re-open police inquiries into electronic eavesdropping of voice mail messages, saying he did not believe there was any new evidence to consider. He has said in recent weeks he regrets that decision.

Yates’ boss, police commissioner Paul Stephenson, resigned Sunday over his ties to Neil Wallis, a former News of the World executive editor who has been arrested over the scandal.

Police are under pressure to explain why their original hacking investigation several years ago failed to find enough evidence to prosecute anyone other than News of the World royal reporter Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. Detectives reopened the investigation earlier this year and now say they have the names of 3,700 potential victims.

Stephenson, the police chief, resigned Sunday over his ties to Neil Wallis, a former News of the World executive editor who has been arrested over the scandal. Stephenson said he had nothing to do with the earlier apparently flawed phone hacking inquiry or Wallis, but was resigning to allow his agency to focus on the London 2012 Olympics instead of leadership changes.

London mayor Boris Johnson said Monday that Yates had questions to answer about his own links with Wallis, and added that Yates resigned after being told he would be suspended pending an ethics investigation.

Johnson has said both Stephenson and Yates made the right decision in resigning.

Comments (11)

  • EastSide_Thomas
    Posted on July 18, 2011 at 7:38pm

    You can speculate all your little liberal hearts desire, a talent that your side seems especially well-suited to, but until any evidence is revealed to support your accusations you are just sheeple bleating out in the pastures, noses in the wind, p*ssing yourselves at imagined wolves at the fence.

    Rupert Murdoch may or may not have known specifically about the day-to-day operations of his London tabloid newspapers; rarely does an owner at his level trouble him/herself with that level of detail but he must and is certainly taking the hit over this. As to Fox News and Glenn Beck’s ties to any of this don not think that they will just magically disappear if Fox news changes hands. It is a superior network and Beck’s radio program is doing quite well in what their stated task is, driving you lefties up a wall.

    Don’t cry about a “corruption of media”, until your lefties can get your collective crap together and manage to field some competition (need I bring up Air America and it’s high level corporate corruption?), stop your incessant whining. You cannot level the playing field by hoping that your competitors get in a bus crash on the way to the game. Get a real team together and play the game like you know how it’s done and stop tilting at windmills. You goofballs look stupid enough as it is without the bad haircuts you’re getting using that technique.

    Report Post » EastSide_Thomas  
    • Knewskul
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 4:01pm

      First of all, there is plenty of evidence support my “accusations,” none of which is reported in corporate media, and secondly the latter half of your first paragraph exemplifies your intellectual inmaturity and inability to respond to my comment intelligently.
      These were not “day-to-day” operations per se, but rather systematic violations of the law. I am not suggesting that Glenn Beck has a direct involvement in this particular scandal, I am questioning as to why he is not calling foul, being that his business is unearthing corruption.

      Report Post » Knewskul  
  • Knewskul
    Posted on July 18, 2011 at 3:59pm

    Do we really consider this good news coverage in this country? They don’t even talk about what actually happend! Which is:
    Rupert Murdoch, the owner the British newspaper, News of the World, as well as a mass of other media outlets in Britain and the US, including Fow News, Wall Street Journal, & Washington Post. News of the World has just been exposed of systematically hacking the phones of citizens, a scandal that involves the Scottland Yard accepting money for compliance. This is all occurring as Murdoch is attempting to take over another large chunk of media ownership in Britain.
    I will not hash out the details here, but if you are truly interested, visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/
    The Guardian broke this story and is covering it extensively.

    What does this mean for America? Well, having a media monopoly held by an organization with an extremely radical agenda (see link from RIXSE’s comment) is not condusive to democracy. As citizens we should protest the theft of our public forum by corporate interests. Glenn Beck, Evil Exposer, should be raging about this blatent corruption of media, but since his multimillion dollar salary was(but probably still is) paid by Murdoch, it is understandable why he has never brought attention to it.

    One more reason why we should support independent media outlets that reject the agendas of corporate advertisers.

    Report Post » Knewskul  
    • Gold Coin & Economic News
      Posted on July 18, 2011 at 6:42pm

      Watch this so-called scandal. They’re going after Fox News.

      Report Post » Gold Coin & Economic News  
    • Knewskul
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 3:45pm

      Murdoch’s newpaper was caught systematically breaking the law and should be punished accordingly. There are plenty of other scandals lurking beneath the surface of the rest of his empire, which more journalists should be compelled to break in the wake of this one.

      Report Post » Knewskul  
    • EastSide_Thomas
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 5:03pm

      Knewskul,

      You seem fixated on this so-called media monopoly that has the world its grip yet we live at a time when there are more available sources of information, suited to individual tastes, that at any time in world history. Between the countless news programs available through cable/satellite television, radio stations both broadcast and through the internet not to mention the thousands of web based news sites, there is an overabundance of outlets for anyone with an inquiring mind to slake their thirst of knowledge. You’re more like offended that the ones that are doing the best, the stations and networks who are not only making a profit but are dominating the field, are conservative in format. Unfortunately for your liberal comrades, this not only is indicative of a superior format but the underlying expanding listenership who is increasingly becoming aware of the attempt to convert a freedom loving, capitalism based economy in America to a socialism based society that will spell it Amerika. Good luck with that as until the repeal the 2nd amendment your efforts will be stymied.
      Now, as to my intellectual “inmaturity” as you so poorly called it, having no knowledge of my educational background nor my self-taught manner of informational acquisition, you are at best taking potshots into the night. Save yourself the foolish aggravation and stick to the things you actually know about, those things that you have studied for long hours out of Chairman Mao’s Little R

      Report Post » EastSide_Thomas  
    • Knewskul
      Posted on July 20, 2011 at 5:22pm

      My argument is that this media monopoly, owned by Rupert Murdoch and his family(he’s not a US-born citizen by the way), encompassing over 1000 outlets, is not a healthy element for democracy or freedom of thought. In fact, when Murdoch aquired the Wall Street Journal, he had to obtain a waiver in order to have ownership of both a newspaper and a broadcasting company based in New York City. The fact that he was granted this waiver that undermined a law that was clearly intended to prevent monopoly of media and thus protecting its integrity and accountability to the public, is testiment to the state’s willingness to comply with moneyed interests. As far as having a myriad of sources, I agree. But you must understand that the free market of information is becoming less and less free (much like what has happened to the free market economy). As you may have heard, Google, and other major search engines are now “personalizing” searches and catering to the information it “thinks” you want to hear. Sadly, this is coming at a time when our television and radio broadcasting companies have been almost completely usurped by corporate advertisers and the internet is our last free media forum. Media is beholden to whomever pays for its existence, and it is the people’s best interest if ownership and support are dispersed and not concentrated. I assume that since you are terriffied of communism you can agree that concentrated power is the antithesis of freedom.

      Report Post » Knewskul  
  • rixse
    Posted on July 18, 2011 at 1:32pm

    Who is Rupert? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmX0eQJPd5A&feature=player_detailpage

    Report Post »  
  • Exrepublisheep
    Posted on July 18, 2011 at 12:33pm

    Keeps getting bigger.

    Report Post » Exrepublisheep  
  • saranda
    Posted on July 18, 2011 at 12:33pm

    How soon til this crosses the pond? Peirs Morgan used to be an editor with News of the World, will he be a victim of this?

    Report Post »  

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