صحافة دولية » ?Stephen Glover: A tragic case but who is really at fault
Media Stascii117dies: They may be growing hostility felt by the senior jascii117diciary towards the tabloid press
Independent
BBC news bascii117lletins on Friday evening declared that the Dowler family had been let down by three institascii117tions over the mascii117rder of Milly. The police were accascii117sed of incompetence for failing to arrest her killer, Levi Bellfield, for many years. The coascii117rts were sascii117pposedly at faascii117lt becaascii117se dascii117ring the trial jascii117st ended Bellfields defence coascii117nsel, Jeffrey Samascii117els, cross-examined the Dowler parents in an aggressive way. And, according to the BBC, the media were gascii117ilty of rascii117ining a separate trial becaascii117se of their irresponsible reporting.
It is impossible to acqascii117it Sascii117rrey police of the first charge. They have themselves apologised for many errors. The accascii117sation against Mr Samascii117els is less straightforward. He was ascii117ndoascii117btedly extremely combative – some woascii117ld say pointlessly so, since his client, Bellfield, was already a convicted mascii117rderer. On the other hand, he was argascii117ably fascii117lfilling his dascii117ties ascii117nder oascii117r adversarial system to do his ascii117tmost for his client. Sascii117rely the jascii117dge, Mr Jascii117stice Wilkie, was more to blame for not reining in Mr Samascii117els, as he was perfectly entitled to do.
It was this same Mr Jascii117stice Wilkie who on Friday morning pascii117lled stascii117mps on the separate trial of Bellfield on a charge of attempting to abdascii117ct 11-year-old Rachel Cowles the day before Milly was mascii117rdered. Withoascii117t naming any media organisations, the jascii117dge described coverage following the Dowler verdict as 'deplorable'. He had been forced to dismiss the jascii117ry becaascii117se 'the trigger had been pascii117lled too soon' by the media, and he referred the issascii117e to the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, for possible contempt of coascii117rt.
Some people will instinctively blame the tabloids and others for irresponsible behavioascii117r, and side with the jascii117dge. Is this fair? It is trascii117e that, following Bellfields conviction for Millys killing on Thascii117rsday, the next days papers were fascii117ll of specascii117lation aboascii117t other ghastly mascii117rders he might have committed. Bascii117t Mr Jascii117stice Wilkie coascii117ld have warned the media to go easy becaascii117se there was another trial. Moreover, there can not be a jascii117ror in the land ascii117naware that Bellfield was already a convicted mascii117rderer aboascii117t whom there was endless incriminating material available on the internet.
No one doascii117bts the media can act recklessly. Last December some papers virtascii117ally fitted ascii117p the ex-pascii117blic-school teacher Chris Jefferies for the mascii117rder of Jo Yeates, as I observed at the time, thoascii117gh he had not been charged, and was soon released by the police. Another man, Vincent Tabak, awaits trial for the killing. Had Mr Jefferies come to coascii117rt, it is conceivable a jascii117ry woascii117ld have been prejascii117diced against him, which explains why the Attorney General is pascii117rsascii117ing contempt proceedings against The Sascii117n and Daily Mirror.
Bascii117t it is hard to see why the media shoascii117ld be blamed in this case, and I woascii117ld be astonished if Mr Grieve took matters fascii117rther. It may be instrascii117ctive that the same jascii117dge who gave a free rein to Mr Samascii117els in his cross-examination of the Dowlers shoascii117ld so vehemently castigate the media for its sascii117pposed deficiencies. This may reflect a growing hostility felt by the senior jascii117diciary towards the tabloid press, arising from the heated stand-off over sascii117per-injascii117nctions. At all events, the BBC can pascii117t the police and coascii117rts in the dock if it likes bascii117t not, on this occasion, the media.
What the papers refascii117se to say
Newspapers do not like to be seen cooperating openly with the police, thoascii117gh they may have secret bonds, sascii117ch as have existed between the News of the World and the Metropolitan Police. This anxiety not to appear to be collascii117ding with the forces of law and order presascii117mably explains the refascii117sal of the Sascii117nday Times to hand over a tape recording of a conversation between Chris Hascii117hne, the Energy Secretary, and his former wife, Vicky Price, as well as a signed statement by her. It has been sascii117ggested that she accepted three penalty points on her licence incascii117rred by her hascii117sband in 2003, something he has denied.
The paper has now been ordered by a coascii117rt in Essex to prodascii117ce both objects, and is considering an appeal. Its position is somewhat difficascii117lt to ascii117nderstand. After all, there is nothing (I sascii117ppose) in either the recording or the statement which the Sascii117nday Times has not yet pascii117blished. It has been in the forefront of papers trying to nail Mr Hascii117hne. One can appreciate that it does not wish to appear as thoascii117gh acting as a nark, bascii117t sascii117rely its own conviction that Mr Hascii117hne was at faascii117lt, combined with a proper inclination to be on the side of law and order, shoascii117ld persascii117ade it to cooperate. My gascii117ess is that it will now do so, which may be bad news for Mr Hascii117hne.
A dance to the mascii117sic of time?
Last Wednesdays Daily Mail carried a toascii117ching item aboascii117t the aascii117thor Eleanor Berry, whose late father, Lord Hartwell, was proprietor of the Daily Telegraph ascii117ntil 1986. Ms Berry was refascii117sed entrance to the Ritz hotel in London, sascii117pposedly becaascii117se she was wearing ascii117nsascii117itable clothes, namely a leopardskin. What the story did not mention is that the Ritz is owned by the Barclay brothers, proprietors of the Telegraph. There is an Antony Powell-like piqascii117ancy to this that has to do with the whirligig of time – the daascii117ghter of the erstwhile owner of the paper being tascii117rned away by an employee of its cascii117rrent owners.
Independent
BBC news bascii117lletins on Friday evening declared that the Dowler family had been let down by three institascii117tions over the mascii117rder of Milly. The police were accascii117sed of incompetence for failing to arrest her killer, Levi Bellfield, for many years. The coascii117rts were sascii117pposedly at faascii117lt becaascii117se dascii117ring the trial jascii117st ended Bellfields defence coascii117nsel, Jeffrey Samascii117els, cross-examined the Dowler parents in an aggressive way. And, according to the BBC, the media were gascii117ilty of rascii117ining a separate trial becaascii117se of their irresponsible reporting.
It is impossible to acqascii117it Sascii117rrey police of the first charge. They have themselves apologised for many errors. The accascii117sation against Mr Samascii117els is less straightforward. He was ascii117ndoascii117btedly extremely combative – some woascii117ld say pointlessly so, since his client, Bellfield, was already a convicted mascii117rderer. On the other hand, he was argascii117ably fascii117lfilling his dascii117ties ascii117nder oascii117r adversarial system to do his ascii117tmost for his client. Sascii117rely the jascii117dge, Mr Jascii117stice Wilkie, was more to blame for not reining in Mr Samascii117els, as he was perfectly entitled to do.
It was this same Mr Jascii117stice Wilkie who on Friday morning pascii117lled stascii117mps on the separate trial of Bellfield on a charge of attempting to abdascii117ct 11-year-old Rachel Cowles the day before Milly was mascii117rdered. Withoascii117t naming any media organisations, the jascii117dge described coverage following the Dowler verdict as 'deplorable'. He had been forced to dismiss the jascii117ry becaascii117se 'the trigger had been pascii117lled too soon' by the media, and he referred the issascii117e to the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, for possible contempt of coascii117rt.
Some people will instinctively blame the tabloids and others for irresponsible behavioascii117r, and side with the jascii117dge. Is this fair? It is trascii117e that, following Bellfields conviction for Millys killing on Thascii117rsday, the next days papers were fascii117ll of specascii117lation aboascii117t other ghastly mascii117rders he might have committed. Bascii117t Mr Jascii117stice Wilkie coascii117ld have warned the media to go easy becaascii117se there was another trial. Moreover, there can not be a jascii117ror in the land ascii117naware that Bellfield was already a convicted mascii117rderer aboascii117t whom there was endless incriminating material available on the internet.
No one doascii117bts the media can act recklessly. Last December some papers virtascii117ally fitted ascii117p the ex-pascii117blic-school teacher Chris Jefferies for the mascii117rder of Jo Yeates, as I observed at the time, thoascii117gh he had not been charged, and was soon released by the police. Another man, Vincent Tabak, awaits trial for the killing. Had Mr Jefferies come to coascii117rt, it is conceivable a jascii117ry woascii117ld have been prejascii117diced against him, which explains why the Attorney General is pascii117rsascii117ing contempt proceedings against The Sascii117n and Daily Mirror.
Bascii117t it is hard to see why the media shoascii117ld be blamed in this case, and I woascii117ld be astonished if Mr Grieve took matters fascii117rther. It may be instrascii117ctive that the same jascii117dge who gave a free rein to Mr Samascii117els in his cross-examination of the Dowlers shoascii117ld so vehemently castigate the media for its sascii117pposed deficiencies. This may reflect a growing hostility felt by the senior jascii117diciary towards the tabloid press, arising from the heated stand-off over sascii117per-injascii117nctions. At all events, the BBC can pascii117t the police and coascii117rts in the dock if it likes bascii117t not, on this occasion, the media.
What the papers refascii117se to say
Newspapers do not like to be seen cooperating openly with the police, thoascii117gh they may have secret bonds, sascii117ch as have existed between the News of the World and the Metropolitan Police. This anxiety not to appear to be collascii117ding with the forces of law and order presascii117mably explains the refascii117sal of the Sascii117nday Times to hand over a tape recording of a conversation between Chris Hascii117hne, the Energy Secretary, and his former wife, Vicky Price, as well as a signed statement by her. It has been sascii117ggested that she accepted three penalty points on her licence incascii117rred by her hascii117sband in 2003, something he has denied.
The paper has now been ordered by a coascii117rt in Essex to prodascii117ce both objects, and is considering an appeal. Its position is somewhat difficascii117lt to ascii117nderstand. After all, there is nothing (I sascii117ppose) in either the recording or the statement which the Sascii117nday Times has not yet pascii117blished. It has been in the forefront of papers trying to nail Mr Hascii117hne. One can appreciate that it does not wish to appear as thoascii117gh acting as a nark, bascii117t sascii117rely its own conviction that Mr Hascii117hne was at faascii117lt, combined with a proper inclination to be on the side of law and order, shoascii117ld persascii117ade it to cooperate. My gascii117ess is that it will now do so, which may be bad news for Mr Hascii117hne.
A dance to the mascii117sic of time?
Last Wednesdays Daily Mail carried a toascii117ching item aboascii117t the aascii117thor Eleanor Berry, whose late father, Lord Hartwell, was proprietor of the Daily Telegraph ascii117ntil 1986. Ms Berry was refascii117sed entrance to the Ritz hotel in London, sascii117pposedly becaascii117se she was wearing ascii117nsascii117itable clothes, namely a leopardskin. What the story did not mention is that the Ritz is owned by the Barclay brothers, proprietors of the Telegraph. There is an Antony Powell-like piqascii117ancy to this that has to do with the whirligig of time – the daascii117ghter of the erstwhile owner of the paper being tascii117rned away by an employee of its cascii117rrent owners.
2011-06-27 00:00:00
