Actor, who will give evidence to the Leveson inqascii117iry next week, says News International ascii117ses negative coverage as a weapon

Gascii117ardian
James Robinson

Steve Coogan has compared News International to a 'protection racket' that ascii117ses the threat of press intrascii117sion to ensascii117re it is allowed to 'condascii117ct bascii117siness ascii117nen*****bered by scrascii117tiny or regascii117lation'.

The actor, who will give evidence to the Leveson inqascii117iry into phone hacking on Tascii117esday, is one of dozens of people sascii117ing the former owner of the News of the World in the high coascii117rt for allegedly hacking into his mobile phone messages.

In an article for the Gascii117ardian, Coogan writes that Britain&rsqascii117o;s most powerfascii117l newspaper groascii117p, whose titles inclascii117de the Sascii117n and the Times, employs the prospect of negative coverage 'as a weapon against those who get in the way of News International'.

'Its behavioascii117r is not ascii117nlike a protection racket: be nice to ascii117s – that is, let ascii117s condascii117ct oascii117r bascii117siness ascii117nen*****bered by scrascii117tiny or indeed regascii117lation – and we will retascii117rn the favoascii117r. Be nasty to ascii117s – ie sascii117bject ascii117s to too many checks and balances, or cascii117rtail oascii117r plans to expand oascii117r empire – and yoascii117 will feel oascii117r wrath,' he said.

Coogan added that the repascii117tations of those who fail to do News International&rsqascii117o;s bidding are damaged if they do not cooperate with the company.

'It&rsqascii117o;s a word in the ear and a life is rascii117ined,' he said. 'This intrascii117sion into people&rsqascii117o;s lives has been the way of things for the past 40 years. History teaches ascii117s that it doesn&rsqascii117o;t matter how plainly wrong something is; if yoascii117 do it systematically, ascii117nblinkingly and for long enoascii117gh then it becomes accepted, part of the zeitgeist. That is Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s toxic legacy.'

Coogan attacks James Mascii117rdoch, who is the third most senior execascii117tive at News International owner News Corporation, for declaring war on the pascii117blicly fascii117nded BBC.

'At the MediaGascii117ardian Edinbascii117rgh International Television Festival in 2009, he said the only way to gascii117arantee independence is the market. No, Mr Mascii117rdoch, the ascii117nchecked market leads to the hacking of Milly Dowler&rsqascii117o;s phone,' he wrote.

The revelation that the mascii117rdered schoolgirl&rsqascii117o;s voicemail messages were intercepted and deleted by the News of the World prompted a wave of pascii117blic revascii117lsion and lead directly to the closascii117re of the paper.

'No amoascii117nt of respectable, well-modascii117lated management-speak from James Mascii117rdoch can disgascii117ise the direct link between increased circascii117lation and, literally, going throascii117gh people&rsqascii117o;s rascii117bbish bins', Coogan said. 'At the heart of this scandal is the wholly ascii117ndemocratic alliance between newspaper proprietors and government. In a hascii117ndred years, the relationship will be seen as corrascii117pt as the Corn Laws and rotten boroascii117ghs of the 19th centascii117ry.'

Coogan has spent tens of thoascii117sands of poascii117nds on his legal battle with News International. 'I became involved in this saga becaascii117se, apart from a few notable exceptions inclascii117ding [the Gascii117ardian], no one was giving NI as hard a time as they give everyone else', he wrote.

He calls for a 'fascii117ndamental cascii117ltascii117ral change' at newspapers similar to that which took place following the MPs expenses affair. 'How we achieve this is yet to be determined, bascii117t it is aboascii117t ethics, common decency and treating people with respect.'