Absence of paperwork showing Rebekah Brooks signed off most cash payments is indicator that News International has controlled flow of evidence, jury hears

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The Sun’s head of news has been “hung out to dry” by his bosses in bid to avoid a corporate prosecution that could bring down Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, a court has heard.

Nigel Rumfitt QC, defending Chris Pharo, said News International handed over its own employees to the police in a bid to appease the police and Crown Prosecution Service.



He told the jury on Wednesday: “You can’t actually see the clothes pegs on the collar of his jacket, but you know he’s been hung out to dry by the company he loyally served for nearly his whole working life.

“It did it because it was desperate to use him and others to save its own skin.”

Rumfitt explained the history of the Metropolitan police’s Operation Elveden, stemming from the phone-hacking scandal that was threatening to engulf Murdoch’s News Corp in 2011.

“They were terrified the company would be prosecuted and if it was, the authorities in the United States might withdraw licences, bringing the whole of Mr Murdoch’s empire down,” he said.

Rumfitt said the absence of paperwork showing that editor Rebekah Brooks signed off the majority of cash payments was an indicator that News International has controlled the flow of evidence to the police.

“Has it all been hidden away to shield the editor and the company itself?” he asked. “It couldn’t be there’s been another cover-up at News International – the release of incomplete or misleading information.”

He said the Met was “desperate” to make up for past mistakes over phone hacking, but “made it 10 times worse by launching this prosecution without having sight of all the evidence and without the ability to get it.

“News International is just a corporate police informant. Here, the informant controls the entire investigation, the police – try as they might – can’t legally get access to a single document or piece of paper controlled by News International. The police investigation is controlled by the prime suspect.”

He dubbed Elveden “the longest-running farce in London”, adding: “A financially hard-pressed police force devoted twice the number of police officers normally used to investigate a murder to investigate 100 suspects, many of them journalists.

“All of those resources, dawn raids, long trials culminated in mass acquittals of journalists who should never have been prosecuted in the first place.”



Rumfitt claimed it would be “dangerous” to convict Pharo because of the absence of other people involved and evidence that should have been included in the case.

Earlier, Julian Christopher QC, prosecuting, argued that Pharo’s role was clear in approving payments to sources, and he “knew full well” that Pyatt had a police officer contact.

“It is an important role Mr Pharo was playing in the decision as to who should be paid what and whether cash could be justified,” he said.

“As you step back and look at these emails, you may indeed find yourself coming to the conclusion that we may not have everything, but we have quite enough for the true position to emerge.

“You may conclude that what officer 2044 was doing was precisely what both Mr Pyatt and Mr Pharo wanted to encourage him.

“Both of them knew he was a serving police officer breaking the rules, both wanted him to continue doing so in order to give the newspaper a competitive edge over their rivals.

“Both wanted to encourage him to continue providing information, and as a result he did continue to do so.”

Christopher said the emails between Pyatt and Pharo make it clear that both knew the nature of the relationship with the source.

“The prosecution suggests looking [at] all of these in the whole, both men know full will who’s being spoken about,” he said.

“Mr Pharo may not have known his name but could there be any doubt he knew full well what Mr Pyatt was referring to, a serving police officer contact of his in Surrey, a longstanding contact in Surrey who it was important to keep on side for the future.”

In the first email Pharo is accused of receiving about the officer, in March 2006, he did not challenge the payment, said Christopher.

“It couldn’t be more plain that what we are concerned with is payment to a police officer, accessing information, addresses to knock, all the background and crime report,” he said. “It is obviously material the police officer ought not to be selling to a newspaper. He knows full well what Mr Pyatt is talking about is a police officer.”

Christopher said the fact Pharo had been a district reporter and Pyatt had in the past run the news desk were important.

“They both knew what was important, they both knew the importance of encouraging and retaining a good source, and they both knew when cash payments would be justified,” he said.

“He’s involved not just afterwards – he’s importantly involved in the lead-up to publication. He had to be confident as he goes into conference that the stories are accurate, and what work is being done on them.”

He continued: “You may think the head of the news desk would have to know the sort of sources at various reporters’ disposal. He doesn’t need to know the names or identities, but he needs to know what sort of sources a reporter is able to get information from.”

The trial continues.