Alan Rusbridger, former editor of The Guardian, weighs in on the recent court case involving phone hacking at The Sun, questioning whether it marks the end of the scandal or the start of a new chapter. He discusses the implications for justice, the role of wealth in influencing legal outcomes, and the damage inflicted on the reputation of both The Sun and the broader media landscape.
We spoke to Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian and current editor of Prospect magazine. We asked him if he sees this as the end – or the beginning of a criminal investigation into phone hacking at The Sun newspaper. Rusbridger felt it would have been preferable to have all the evidence tested in court, as in Harry's case against Mirror Group Newspapers, where a judge reached conclusions of fact.
However, he noted that Lord Watson's statement indicating the intention to hand over the entire dossier of evidence to the police was significant. This now places the decision in the hands of law enforcement regarding whether to pursue allegations of criminal behavior, perjury, and evidence destruction.Rusbridger acknowledged the sense of justice served, but expressed concern about the implications for those with deep financial resources. He questioned whether Tom Watson's involvement would have occurred without Prince Harry's financial backing, and pointed out that Rupert Murdoch's vast wealth allowed him to potentially circumvent the justice system. He highlighted the fact that the original defense regarding phone hacking focused on a single rogue employee, later shifting to a single corrupt newspaper, but the admission that it involved more than one rogue publication signifies a failure to provide the complete truth for an extended period.This failure to disclose the truth is particularly troubling because it involves a newspaper at the heart of journalism. Rusbridger emphasized that news organizations are expected to uphold the truth, and this incident calls into question the credibility of both Murdoch's publications and the broader media landscape. He noted the existence of further legal battles involving Associated Newspapers (publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday) and expressed hope that the grovelling apology issued by Murdoch – not only to Harry but also to Princess Diana – would prevent a repetition of past practices. He questioned the continued employment of Rebekah Brooks, former editor of The Sun, who admitted to unlawful activities during her tenure. He argued that the legacy media, which seeks to regain trust and compete with social media, cannot achieve that while entangled in such controversies.
PHONE HACKING JOURNALISM THE SUN RUPERT MURDOCH PRINCE HARRY JUSTICE SYSTEM MEDIA CREDIBILITY
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