Not to mention the fact that they had over four years in which to fix this. Goodman and Mulcaire went to prison in January 2011. That gave them warning that they could stamp out the illlegal practices which were apparently rampant at News of the World, to make sure nobody else who worked there would go to prison. Instead, they decided to cover up what had already come out, let their reporters keep doing illegal stuff, and continue covering it up on a case by case basis. Incidentally shelling out some enormous amounts of money in hush-up payments to people who didn't hush up nearly as much as they would have liked (hello, is Max Clifford even physically capable of being quiet? I find it difficult to believe unless I see an affadavit from a doctor). Don't even get me started on the millions of pounds in legal fees NI must have paid out just for their OWN lawyers (and any out of court settlements would leave them on the hook for the legal costs of the person suing them as well.
Where was I? Covering the whole thing up and throwing money on top of it wasn't a completely insane strategy. It even worked, for a while. But the disadvantage was that it was wildly illegal, so if they got caught, there would be serious fucking consequences. Which means that a whole bunch of highly-placed executives who probably never tapped a phone in their life (but who aided and abetted their shrivelled little hearts out) are now either out of work or arrested and looking forward to serious charges. And it's entirely down to their own arrogance in thinking they could get away with illegal stuff. I don't feel even remotely sorry for them. I do feel sympathy for, say, the receptionist at NOTW who is now looking for a new job in a shit economy. But for the movers and shakers, no sympathy whatsoever. They made their bed, and now they get to lie in it.
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Not to mention the fact that they had over four years in which to fix this. Goodman and Mulcaire went to prison in January 2011. That gave them warning that they could stamp out the illlegal practices which were apparently rampant at News of the World, to make sure nobody else who worked there would go to prison. Instead, they decided to cover up what had already come out, let their reporters keep doing illegal stuff, and continue covering it up on a case by case basis. Incidentally shelling out some enormous amounts of money in hush-up payments to people who didn't hush up nearly as much as they would have liked (hello, is Max Clifford even physically capable of being quiet? I find it difficult to believe unless I see an affadavit from a doctor). Don't even get me started on the millions of pounds in legal fees NI must have paid out just for their OWN lawyers (and any out of court settlements would leave them on the hook for the legal costs of the person suing them as well.
Where was I? Covering the whole thing up and throwing money on top of it wasn't a completely insane strategy. It even worked, for a while. But the disadvantage was that it was wildly illegal, so if they got caught, there would be serious fucking consequences. Which means that a whole bunch of highly-placed executives who probably never tapped a phone in their life (but who aided and abetted their shrivelled little hearts out) are now either out of work or arrested and looking forward to serious charges. And it's entirely down to their own arrogance in thinking they could get away with illegal stuff. I don't feel even remotely sorry for them. I do feel sympathy for, say, the receptionist at NOTW who is now looking for a new job in a shit economy. But for the movers and shakers, no sympathy whatsoever. They made their bed, and now they get to lie in it.