Clive Goodman feared blame for all Mulcaire activities, NoW lawyer wrote

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/11/clive-goodman-tom-crone-hacking-trial

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The former royal correspondent of the News of the World told his lawyers seven years ago that he did not want to be seen as the "guiding light" behind everything the phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire did at the paper, the Old Bailey has heard.

A seven-year-old email uncovered during recent police investigations reports that Clive Goodman was "devastated" when the number of charges against him in 2006 relating to phone hacking increased from eight to 15, and felt that he was getting the blame for everything illegal Mulcaire may have done.

The email from the paper's former legal manager Tom Crone to the then editor, Andy Coulson, was dated 22 November 2006, two months before Goodman and Mulcaire were jailed for offences relating to hacking the voicemails of members of the royal family and others.

Crone wrote that Goodman was worried that if he did not draw a clear distinction between himself and Mulcaire he would go to jail.

Goodman and Mulcaire had been arrested in August 2006 on suspicion of hacking the voice messages of members of the royal household, and were sentenced in January 2007.

"Just rang Clive – he says he's 'devastated' by the fact that the number of charges against him on the indictment has gone up from 8 to 15 – and count charges him (and Mulcaire) with accessing Helen Asprey [personal private secretary to Prince Harry] between Feb and April 2005," the email reads.

"Said he feels he has to draw a 'clear distinction' between himself and all of Mulcaire's other activities. He must make it clear that he is not the guiding light at the NoW behind everything GM did over the years. 'If I [Goodman] don't do that, I'm going to prison, it's as simple as that.'"

Crone sent a second email to Coulson three days later to discuss the company's probable apology to those whom Mulcaire or Goodman may be found guilty of hacking. He said an apology could "tilt Mulcaire into reacting" and pointing to phone hacking that went wider than the royal family.

"Potential problem with the NoW/you apologising to specific individuals (the 3 involved in Clive's charges) is that it leads to the question.. Well are you going to apologise to all the others, for example the names in Mulcaire's extra charges. It would be very difficult question for us to ignore […] We could say that those 5 people are nothing to do with us […] Which could tilt Mulcaire into reacting."

Crone then mentioned others including Max Clifford and the MP Simon Hughes who at that time were alleged to have been hacked by Mulcaire.

"Also an apology to the Clive 3 might prompt Clifford or Simon Hughes or the others to say 'I too demand an apology from NoW editor'."

Coulson and others deny conspiring to intercept communications. The trial continues.

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