THE Leveson Inquiry has exposed the diseased nature of British capitalism, its ruling class and its state apparatus.
The state, during the period of the heyday of the empire, was viewed as incorruptible. Today, in the period of the decline and fall of British imperialism, it is proving to have the morality of a banana republic.
To the shock of millions, the News International scandal has shown that a variety of state officials in the Home Office, the police and the Defence Ministry – and no doubt other ministries – can be bought, provided the price is right, and that they will prevent investigations taking place, cover up criminal activities and even break the law themselves.
Sue Akers, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, told the inquiry that the Sun Newspaper established a ‘network of corrupted officials’, and a ‘culture of illegal payments’.
She added that there had been ‘multiple payments’ by the Sun to public officials of thousands of pounds, and that one person received £80,000 in corrupt payments over a number of years, and also that a Sun journalist drew more than £150,000 over several years to pay off sources. Akers said there was a system to hide the identities of those receiving the cash.
The inquiry was told that Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks were informed about News of the World phone hacking in 2006, when Coulson was its editor, well before he was employed by Prime Minister Cameron as his 10 Downing Street media chief.
The note, based on information received by Brooks from the police, was written by Tom Crone, the former chief lawyer at the Sun and the News of the World, and sent to Coulson. In it Crone warned him that the police had Goodman and Mulcaire ‘bang to rights’ on illegally intercepting voicemails of Buckingham Palace staff – and that the police had discovered a list of ‘100-110 victims’.
Coulson was also told police had found records of payments to Mulcaire, who worked for the News of the World from News International, worth over £1m.
None of this prevented Cameron employing Coulson, with the Met presumably keeping mum about the scandal, as the PM defended Coulson from the hacking allegations. The Met itself employed a large number of ex-News International employees in its media department.
The inquiry also heard from former top Met Police official Paddick that Mulcaire appeared to have possession of the new identities of people under the witness protection programme.
He said: ‘Clearly people are only put into the witness protection programme when the police believe that their lives are potentially at risk or they are in serious danger.’
Former Labour Deputy Prime Minister Prescott told the inquiry that the police repeatedly denied that his phone was being hacked when he knew that the opposite was the case. In fact, the Met assured Rebekah Brooks in 2006 that it was not planning to extend its phone-hacking inquiry to include News of the World staff other than Clive Goodman. The Deputy Prime Minister of the UK was ignored and treated with contempt by the police.
The alliance between News International, the state and the government was forged in the Malvinas War in 1982, the war against the miners in 1984-85, and Murdoch’s scab operation against Fleet Street in 1986-87.
As News International grew stronger, while the UK grew weaker, Murdoch became the most powerful force in the alliance with his News International paying policemen, and telling both Tory and Labour Parties that his media empire could decide who would govern the country.
The only way to deal with the monopoly capitalists, their rogue capitalist state and the washed-up ruling parties is to get rid of the capitalist system that has spawned them, with a socialist revolution.
