So after last weeks Politicians special at the Leveson Inquiry, where all those involved in The Jeremy Hunt situation were much more forgetful than everyone else. people were expecting a quiet week. Thats not how it's panning out.
First the daily mail reported that Lord Leveson had threatened to quit over statements made by Michael Gove the education secretary (and former times columnist, and man with a Book deal with Harper Collins, the Murdoch publishing house) saying that the Inquiry was a threat to free speech.
Lord Justice levesons representatives have said that it is untrue that he threatened to resign, but he did ring up the cabinet office to check that it wasn't a government position being announced by the education secretary, because if it was there would be no point in carrying on. However it did take two days for the government to make up its mind and get back to him. Today we get this response from the government, (after a day of tory and Murdoch supporters campaigning about how it was an outrageous assult on free speech that gove was being denied the right to speak.
Ministers gagged from commenting on Leveson - Telegraph
The judge complained to Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary, after Education secretary Michael Gove said the inquiry was damaging journalistic freedom.
The result has been that members of the Government have stopped commenting on the inquiry until it reports in September.
One Whitehall source said it was normal for ministers not to comment on ongoing inquiries but that they had become involved because it was about the press.
Then we have further events, phone hacking reports from Scotland, (going against evidence given by the First Minister Alex salmond last week)
Scottish Government phones ‘were hacked’ says Willie Rennie - Politics - Scotsman.com
PHONES belonging to the Scottish Government were hacked by the media during a period of press intrusion which saw the voicemail messages of celebrities and politicians targeted, the Scottish Lib Dem leader has claimed.
Willie Rennie said he was concerned a breach had taken place which may have had a “serious impact” on Scotland’s national security.
He made the claim after Scotland’s most senior civil servant, Sir Peter Housden, refused to reveal details of whether the government had been a target of journalists acting illegally to obtain information.
Further details on the Murdoch iPhones, and their significance and this could be big and Tie James in to the situation
Police study James Murdoch's 'secret' iPhone account - Crime - UK - The Independent
Scotland Yard detectives investigating phone hacking at the News of the World are examining the call records of four newly discovered Apple iPhones issued to senior executives at News International.
The smartphones, issued by O2 in a contract beginning in October 2009, included a handset given to James Murdoch, the former chairman and chief executive of News Corp Europe. Despite billing for the phones totalling nearly £12,000 between June last year and May this year, neither Operation Weeting nor the Leveson Inquiry was told of the existence of the smartphone accounts.
Phone text messages and emails sent and received by News International executives and advisers have provided some of the most controversial evidence heard by Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into press practices and ethics.
Two more files covering phone hacking reporters have been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service
BBC News - Phone hacking: Two files on journalists handed to CPS
Police investigating phone hacking have passed files on two journalists to the Crown Prosecution Service, as part of Scotland Yard's Operation Weeting.
The files relate to allegations of offences under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa).
The two files sent on Friday are in addition to five sent on 11 June.
So that's a total of Seven Journalists now with possible hacking charges. (There are rumours that more files will be sent over this week and next, but how reliable the source is for that one is extremely shaky)
We have the first signs of activity from Operation Tuleta (That covering email hacking)
'Possible computer hacking' of Sheridan case witness - Channel 4 News
A lawyer representing a number of claimants in the hacking scandal has confirmed to Home Affairs CorrespondentAndy Davies that one of his clients – a "key witness” in the Sheridan libel case (who wishes to remain anonymous) - may have had "very personal" emails intercepted by senior staff at theNews of the World.
The case of Tommy Sheridan, one of the most high-profile defamation cases in recent years, hit the headlines in 2004 when he was accused by the News of the World of adultery and visiting a swingers' club. Two years later, the former Scottish Socialist MSP was awarded £200,000 in damages from the News of the World after suing over the claims. However, in a subsequent court action, Mr Sheridan was thenfound guilty of having lied under oath in his initial civil action.
Steven Heffer, a partner in the law firm Collyer Bristow, has told Channel 4 News that it was only recently that detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Operation Tuleta approached him with evidence relating to a witness in that initial defamation trial. Heffer says that he was shown some emails containing personal exchanges between this witness (his client) and another individual dating back to 2004/05 which appeared to have been later forwarded between News of the World journalists.
On the Other hand The Murdoch organisation has started fighting back, From its newspapers in Australia
Whingeing Leveson can’t be trusted with a media inquiry | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog
Lord Justice Leveson, currently leading the sinister witch-hunt against Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers, huffily declared last month:
I do not need to be told about the importance of freedom of speech, I really don’t.
Pompous ass. Of course, he does. The man is in charge of an attack against a free, rambunctious media, giving every appearance of sympathy to those who want less scrutiny, specially from conservative newspapers.
I said pompous. Now let me add “hypocrite” and even “censorious buffoon”. No sooner is he told something that he doesn’t like to hear - this time about free speech - than he screams for the cops:
although it's a response in the literary form of a screaming two year old.
And there was me thinking it was going to be a quiet week.....