Celebs, victims selected to join in phone-hack probe
Former News International boss Rebekah Brooks will not take part in a judicial inquiry into culture, practices and ethics of the British press.
Brooks, who resigned from her job at NI in July after closing the “toxic” News of the World as allegations of widespread phone-hacking practices at the Sunday tabloid unfolded, had sought core participant status in the Leveson inquiry.
A list was published today confirming which individuals and organisations would be granted such status, following public submissions and written applications received by Lord Justice Leveson on 6 September.
“It is important to underline that part one of this inquiry is not concerned with the apportionment of personal or corporate responsibility,” said Leveson in his ruling.
He added, however, that he planned to keep core participant status submissions under review.
“If the inquiry proceeds along lines that cause me to consider that my view should be changed, I shall invite further representation. At each stage I will consider any application entirely on its merits,” Leveson said.
The inquiry will scrutinise three other areas: the press and the police; the press and politicians; and “the future”.
In July Leveson confirmed a wide-ranging probe into the relationship between the press and public and issues of press regulation. He has the power to force witnesses to attend hearings.
He said at the time that he would be investigating why the 2005 Motorman investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office that highlighted what the watchdog described at the time as the “unlawful trade in confidential personal information” was never followed up.
As the scandal exploded at News International, which is the sister company of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, Prime Minister David Cameron backed calls for public inquiries into the “absolutely disgusting” phone-hacking allegations against the News of the World.
Cameron said at the time that he wanted inquiries not only into those claims against the tabloid but also into the original police investigation as well as consider broader journalistic methods employed by newspapers.
“We are no longer talking here about politicians and celebrities, we are talking about murder victims, potentially terrorist victims, having their phones hacked into. It is absolutely disgusting, what has taken place”, he said in July.
Core participants in this stage of the Leveson inquiry will include victims of press intrusion. Here’s the full list:
1 Chris Bryant MP
2 Tessa Jowell MP
3 Denis MacShane MP
4 The Rt Hon Lord Prescott of Kingston upon Hull
5 Joan Smith
6 Christopher Shipman
7 Tom Rowland
8 Mark Lewis
9 Mark Thomson
10 Gerry McCann
11 Kate McCann
12 Christopher Jefferies
13 Max Moseley
14 Brian Paddick
15 Paul Gascoigne
16 David Mills
17 Sienna Miller
18 Hugh Grant
19 Ben Jackson
20 Ciara Parkes
21 Simon Hughes MP
22 Max Clifford
23 Sky Andrew
24 Ulrika Jonsson
25 Mark Oaten
26 Michele Milburn
27 Abi Titmuss
28 Calum Best
29 Claire Ward
30 Mary-Ellen Field
31 Gary Flitcroft
32 Ian Hurst
33 Shobna Gulati
34 Mike Hollingsworth
35 Kieron Fallon
36 Ashvini Sharma
37 Tim Blackstone
38 Valatina Semenenko
39 Sally Dowler
40 Bob Dowler
41 Gemma Dowler
42 Sheryl Gascoigne
43 Graham Shear
44 JK Rowling
45 James Watson
46 Margaret Watson
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Article source: http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/14/rebekah_leveson_part1/