Ex-News of the World editor’s counsel tells jury Coulson ‘wishes he had made different decisions,’ while in charge of newspaper

guardian

Andy Coulson has hit back at claims by the prosecution in the phone-hacking trial that he had anything to do with hacking Milly Dowler’s phone.

His counsel, Timothy Langdale QC, told the Old Bailey jury on Monday that Coulson knew "mistakes" were made on the paper and that "he wishes he had made some different decisions" when he was editor of the News of the World.

But, Langdale said, his defence was he did not commit the offences he has been charged with. "It is his case that he was never party to hacking phones," said Langdale.

He warned the jury against prejudicial reporting and said there is no evidence to support the Guardian’s story that the News of the World had deleted messages from Milly Dowler’s phone.

He reminded the jury there was no evidence to suggest that anyone connected to the News of the World, including private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, had deleted messages on her phone, as originally reported by the Guardian in July 2011.

Langdale also countered the prosecution’s portrayal of the News of the World as the antithesis of Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

"Some people may never have heard of War and Peace, but it is a very long novel. We suggest that this paints a picture which is simply not realistic. Painting a picture that all Mr Coulson had to do was read the paper cover to cover and it wouldn’t take long for him to do that," said Langdale.

He pointed out that the paper involved thousands and thousands of stories over the three-year period in which Coulson was in charge and that the editor did not read everything in the paper. He had other duties, including ensuring the paper was not late off the presses and would "end up on the breakfast table of over three million" every Sunday morning, as well as putting out two magazines every week and a 50-page sport section.

Langdale countered the prosecution’s notion that the editor was aware of everything going on in the paper, which he likened to a "story factory", taking in stories from not just reporters, but freelancers, agents, politicians, sport stars and their agents and advisers. He said the competition with other papers, including News International sister title the Sun, was "fierce and intense" and that reporters "kept their cards very close to their chests". He said: "If they didn’t, their rivals would snatch their story from under their noses."

Langdale said journalists had a habit of over-inflating the value of their stories.

His 20-minute presentation to the jury was unusual, Langdale said, and he was not setting out Coulson’s case.

However, he told the jury: "What you have heard so far is just one side of the story. It will be some two months or so before you hear the defence or Mr Coulson present his case."

Langdale said evidence would be heard that Coulson himself was hacked by Mulcaire. "The prosecution didn’t choose to tell you about that in opening the case to you. It’s not easy to reconcile with their case against Mr Coulson, is it? Both conspirator and victim at the same time."

He added: "Its a fair question to pose, is it not? The two things don’t sit easily together, do they?"

He then referred the jury to a report in the Guardian of 4 July 2011 "relating to that tragic story of the disappearance and death of Amanda Dowler back in 2002".

He said: "The report made the allegation that the News of the World had interfered with police inquiries, that News of the World journalists had deleted voicemail messages on Milly Dowler’s phone. That they had deleted messages to free up space for more messages.

"There is no evidence to suggest that Mr Mulcaire or any other person acting for the News of the World deleted any message on Milly Dowler’s phone, either deliberately or accidentally.

"You may also confidently conclude that the last thing the News of the World would seek to do would be to interfere with a police investigation." The paper was pro-police and set out to help rather than hinder, he said.

"There was nothing that either the News of the World or Glenn Mulcaire did which gave rise to any moment of false hope that she might still be alive," Langdale added.

"These statements were wholly unjustified. And these statements had significant consequences. They played a significant part in the closure of the News of the World and other national events that followed thereafter.

"That being said, it remains that the Milly Dowler’s voicemail messages should not have been hacked. It is Mr Coulson’s case that he did not play any part in the hacking of Milly Dowler’s phone and that he was never party to any agreement to hack her phone or anyone else’s."

Langdale added that by "using an example from such a sensitive and perhaps emotive topic", he hoped the jury would see how it important it was to try the case solely on the evidence.