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A secret deal hatched by the News of the World to hush up details of phone-tapping was sealed in a tiny room at the Royal Courts of Justice, the Standard has discovered.
The newspaper agreed to pay Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, £700,000 in damages and legal fees after his mobile phone was hacked into by a private investigator.
News of the settlement emerged today, along with claims that “thousands” of public figures had had their phones tapped. At least two others from the world of football were also believed to have been paid £300,000 in costs and damages.
The out-of-court deal was struck on the basis that Mr Taylor and the two others agreed to a gagging order banning them from talking in public about the case.
Mr Taylor had sued News Group Newspapers Ltd, owners of the NoW, and the case proceeded in a series of hearings in Room TM7.06 between June 2007 and September last year. Instead of taking place before a judge in one of the prestige courts in the Strand, the case was held in its Thomas More annexe.
The innocuous-sounding Taylor v News Group Newspapers Ltd was heard before Master Moncaster.
A Master has the status of a judge but sits without robes, hears specialist issues and is rarely involved in high-profile cases. Although in principle these hearings are meant to be in open court, the rooms are so small that there are no Press benches or space for a public gallery.
One leading QC said: “The purpose of running everything past a Master is that it denies the Press and public the oxygen of publicity. It sweeps it all under the carpet and enables the defendants to escape the carbon monoxide that would cause them to expire.”
Mr Taylor had had his phone hacked into by private investigator Glenn Mulcaire and sued News Group. It had denied all knowledge of the illegal activity but he claimed that it must have known about it.
Six months into the court hearings Mr Taylor applied for key documents to be disclosed about Scotland Yard's criminal investigation of NoW reporter Clive Goodman and Mulcaire, who had admitted bugging the phones.
The application was again heard by Master Moncaster on 7 December 2007 in the same small courtroom.According to the Guardian, News Group agreed to the out of court settlement including the gagging clause.
At the end of the proceedings Master Moncaster was persuaded by News Group lawyers to “seal” the key evidence submitted to the court preventing it being made available to the public. A sealing order can be overturned “in the public interest” but only after counsel makes a costly court application.
Reader views (15)
I am another victim of secret behind closed doors litigation, but there has been no settlement for me as yet. Just endless secret hearings to hide the injustice being doled out to me. And it's a libel claim against a British tabloid and a prominent City figure. It's outrageous and not becoming to England's sense of fair play and access to justice.
Fortunately, the Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport approved the Memoranda I submitted for their ongoing Press Standards Inquiry to be put on their website:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmcumeds/memo/press/ucps3902.htm
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmcumeds/memo/press/ucps5302.htm
The latter is the 'one' judgment made in public in this case. The secret hearings are against English common law, court procedure and Articles 6 & 10 of The European Convention on Human Rights. In addition, one's reputation is now considered a human right under Article 8. There are also phone bugging allegations involved. I was told by the police to raise them in the High Court, but my allegations have been consistently ignored.
I continue to await long overdue justice from one of the world's most respected legal systems.
- Elaine Decoulos, London and Massachusetts
JUSTICE,dont be nieave.its every man for himself.thats the way the cards are delt.all uf you comment people,are not sweaky clean,have a look at yourself.if you you were handed 7,000,ooo would,nt you take it,wake up and get with it the WORLD and life is a CON game ,get involved,and keep quiet,get going.be like murdock smart.dont get coned
- Phil, usa
steve,london
more water with it!
- Russ, london
Dave, Cumbria
At last, someone who is prepared to call Taylors actions into qoestion. All he's ethics and morals [if he had any] went out the window when the dirty digger mention three quarters of a million pounds. Surely this must be the end of he's job as the PFA union boss.
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- James, Manchester England
Mobile 'phones - such a brilliant opportunity for tracking and eavesdropping. The spies don't need government clearance, just equipment and knowhow. I'm staying away for as long as possible.
- John, London
It beggars belief that a man breaking the law can get a gagging order to stop someone telling the rest of the world about it issued by the very legak system that is supposed to prosecute him.
How can any justice system allow this to happen.
- Duncan, Kent
The amazing part of your story, is the suggestion that a criminal act involving, apparently, thousands of phone taps could be considered a minor offence(I assume this is what you mean by 'non high profile cases only'). You only have to look back at Watergate to see how serious this could be. I imagine the conspiracy theorists amongst us could now have a field day.We now need to know who knew what, and when.
- Mikey, Tring
Master Moncaster’s room is far from “tiny”. High Court Masters have equal status to Circuit Judges. There is absolutely no reason why a Master cannot approve a settlement without it going before a High Court Judge. Privacy orders are usually made by Masters after hearing from all of the parties.
- Bj, London
it would be a grand craic entirely if all 3000 or so
sued the n.o.w. at the same time. what entertainment!
- M.O'Brien, london.uk
THIS IS AN UTTER DISGRACE
- Sara, london
This all only confirms my long held opinion that Murdoch, the scabby Sun and his other rags are the absolute pits.
- Micky, London
'Tabloids', eh - remind me who owns the 'Times'? I know (and respect) who now owns the ES. Whatsay, the Telegraph has promoted the 2009 Quiet Revolution, via those t.t.twinn-y offshore Barons. With all due respect to the UK once-was 'Nobility', I'd say these few had given us all more of a breath of fresh air than anything from the moth-eaten Woolsack. High time to invert the constitution, Your Majesty, and let the real effectives have their voice.
- Steve, London, England
So, in short, what is now being infurred is that the conspiracy to cover this up goes to the very top of the British judicial service, the government, the media elite i.e the establishment. I wonder what else has been heard 'behind close doors' for our own good ?
- Hansel, London
Perhaps the chickens are coming home to roost for tabloid investigative methods?
- Matthew, Ware, Herts
This grubby out-of-court 'secret deal' says as much about the loose 'socialist' morals of PFA 'union boss' Taylor, as much as it says about Murdoch.
Taylor, discontent with perportedly pushing £1/2 million a year, was comfortably relaxed to pocket a mutually agreed, sleazy £700,000 damages 'pay off' rather than expose Murdoch's NoWs' filthy press practices through the courts.
Taylor was complicitly content to sneak off with what was, in reality, a confidentiality bribe!
His 'professional' credibility is now shot to pieces.
A 'union man' bought off by big buisness!
- Dave, cumbria
