Andy Coulson 'tried to buy silence' of journalist who admitted phone hacking

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/mar/19/andy-coulson-buy-silence-journalist-phone-hacking

Version 0 of 1.

Andy Coulson, the former director of communications at Downing Street, has been accused of trying to buy the silence of a journalist who pleaded guilty to phone-hacking related offences eight years ago at the Old Bailey.

A former News of the World journalist who was arrested for phone hacking in 2006 claimed that Coulson, the paper's editor at the time, had suggested to him that if he made it clear that he had acted as a "lone wolf" he could continue to be paid by News International.

On his fourth day in the witness box on Wednesday, Clive Goodman said the offer was made a few days after his arrest on 8 August 2006 and that Coulson had suggested that he should say he had "gone off the reservation" or off mission.

Goodman, the paper's former royal editor, said he had been provided with a lawyer, Henri Brandman, by News International on the day of his arrest.

He said he was "quite distraught" with the "enormity of the file of [private investigator] Glenn Mulcaire's activities" that the police had compiled and was afraid that he was going to be blamed for it.

After one of his interviews with police, Goodman said that both he and Brandman agreed the "evidence was overwhelming against Glenn and, it looked like, me".

"I said I was worried that I was going to get blamed for all of Glenn's activities, I told him that wasn't the case, lots of people at the News of the World were doing this, I just happened to be the one that got caught; that Andy Coulson, the editor actually set the facilities for all the payments [to Mulcaire]," Goodman told jurors.

Goodman said Brandman was well known at the News of the World as he was a criminal lawyer who dealt with difficult stories. The journalist told jurors that Brandman had raised the issue of whether Goodman was "under stress" and whether in relation to phone hacking at the paper he had acted as a "lone wolf".

A few days later, Goodman said he received a call from Coulson, who suggested it might be better if he pleaded guilty straight away.

"Andy again stressed that I should deal with the matter in front of me and make a clean breast of it and get the matter out of the way as quickly as possible," said Goodman, who agreed that this meant he would have to plead guilty.

Asked by his counsel, David Spens QC, if Coulson had responded to this suggestion, Goodman told jurors: "He said he did not see how I could beat the charges."

Goodman was charged with hacking the phones of members of the royal family along with Mulcaire in 2006, causing a crisis at the News of the World.

The former journalist told jurors that Coulson had phoned him to tell him that although they were friends – they attended each other's weddings the jury has heard previously – that he would have to suspend Goodman. He would be on full pay and his legal fees would be paid by News International.

"Mr Coulson gave me the impression that he had been having some kind of discussions with people who were making the decisions in this case … There was no intention to seek a prison sentence as long as I pleaded guilty and got it out of the way quickly," said Goodman.

In a subsequent conversation, Goodman said Coulson was more direct. He told him he could come back to the News of the World as a writer after he "pleaded guilty and made it clear that I acted alone, I have gone off the reservation – those were his exact words".

He said Coulson had put it to him that he could spend "three months away from the office suffering stress" and that "you can be one of those people who bounces back". The conversation took place in Cafe Rouge in Wimbledon on 14 August 2006, six days after his arrest. Goodman said he was "very suspicious" about the meeting and secretly recorded it.

"He wanted to talk about the criminal case and he expressed the view that, through his newspapers contacts, the police did not want the case to go any deeper than me and Mr Mulcaire and nobody wanted it to end up as a jail sentence. The clear suggestions was that his influence had somehow arranged for me not to go to jail," Goodman said.

He said that Coulson told him if that "If I did get a custodial sentence, I would continue to be paid under News International" and his "family would be looked after".

Spens asked him was this deal "dependent on anything". Goodman replied: "Keeping silent about the involvement of others."

He said he thought it was "pretty low to involve my family" but that Coulson seemed to have "lots and lots of details" about the case even though he had not briefed him. He suspected he had been talking to Brandman.

"When he said 'all you have to say is you were a lone wolf', that really put the fear of God into me," Goodman said, explaining that is "exactly" what Brandman had said to him.

It has been alleged that Coulson and others conspired with Goodman, Mulcaire and others to hack phones between October 2000 and August 2006. Coulson and others deny this charge.

The trial continues.