[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14112097

The Sunday Times said Gordon Brown had purchased a flat owned by Robert Maxwell at a "knock-down price"

The Sunday Times is alleged to have targeted the personal information of the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the time he was chancellor, a BBC investigation has found.

Documents and a phone recording suggest "blagging" was used to obtain private financial and property details.

The Browns also fear medical records relating to their son Fraser, whom the Sun revealed in 2006 had cystic fibrosis, may have been obtained.

News International is yet to respond.

The company owns the Sun and the Sunday Times, and also owned the News of the World which was shut last week amid allegations of phone-hacking and illegal payments to police officers.

There are several allegations. The first two relate to personal details it is claimed were obtained for a front-page Sunday Times report that Gordon Brown had purchased a flat owned by Robert Maxwell at a "knock-down price".

Blagging, or "knowingly or recklessly obtaining or disclosing personal data or information without the consent of the data controller" has been illegal since 1998.

A blagger alleged to be acting for the Sunday Times posed as Brown and obtained details of his Abbey National account in January 2000.

This blagging was discovered by the building society's fraud department which alleged someone successfully called their Bradford call centre six times pretending to be Brown and were given information.

In letters obtained by the BBC, the Abbey National wrote to Sunday Times editor John Witherow concluding it had suspicions that "someone from the Sunday Times or acting on its behalf has masqueraded as Mr Brown for the purpose of obtaining information from Abbey National by deception."

The Abbey National said to Mr Brown's lawyer it was a "well-orchestrated scheme of deception".

Abbey National has not been able to identify the blagger, and did accept in a letter to Mr Brown it did not have conclusive evidence.

However, the Guardian journalist Nick Davis has alleged a former actor John Ford carried out specialised blagging from banks during this period for the Sunday Times. This allegation is detailed in his book Flat Earth News.

Blimey ..... more (alleged) lawbreaking from Murdoch's minions .....

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by Omah

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14112097



Blimey ..... more (alleged) lawbreaking from Murdoch's minions .....

This is going to roll and roll I fear.

[Suze]

It's hard to take in how sordid the papers/media have become. I find it quite hard to take in to be honest at the lengths to which they would go to, because surely it can't be just the one newspaper, can it? ..... It surely could have a ripple effect and open up no end of cans of worms? You have the scandelous newspaper possibly tied to corrupt politicians? the way politicians are tied to the banks with the revolving door policy. It's just all so sordid, and we as a Country seem able to do little about these things, the Government protests not so long ago did little or nothing. I am not very media savvy or politically minded, so maybe I am talking a load of carp here.

[joeysteele]

It seems that possibly Madam Rebekah Brookes may be implicated in the prying into Gordon Browns sons medical records. If that is so, its despicable and she should be slung out if she won't go voluntarily.

What a scandal this is all going to be once all is known and it's really bad enough as it is now.

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14119225

Former prime minister Gordon Brown has claimed News International used "known criminals" to gain access to personal information about people.

He accused the company of "working through links that they had to the criminal underworld" to get stories.

And he claimed the Sunday Times had used underhand methods to get access to personal details about him with the aim of bringing him down as chancellor.

News International said it would investigate Mr Brown's allegations.

The company, which is carrying out an internal investigation into allegations of wrongdoing at its newspapers, said it wanted to see all of the information.

It comes after a week of allegations about phone hacking at another News International title, the News of the World, which is accused of using a private investigator to listen to the mobile phone messages of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

The latest claims relate to personal details it is claimed were obtained for a front-page Sunday Times report that Mr Brown had bought a flat owned by Robert Maxwell at a "knock-down price".

Mr Brown told the BBC the story had been "completely wrong" but the company had been "trying to prove a point" and had aimed to bring him down as chancellor.

He alleged the newspaper had got access to his building society account and legal files: "I'm shocked, I'm genuinely shocked to find this happened because of the links with known criminals who were undertaking this activity, hired by investigators who were working with the Sunday Times."

"If I, with all the protection and all the defences and all the security that a chancellor of the exchequer or a prime minister has, is so vulnerable to unscrupulous tactics, unlawful tactics, to methods that have been used in the way that we've found - what about the ordinary citizen?

"What about the person - like the family of Milly Dowler - who were in the most desperate of circumstances, at the most difficult occasions in their lives - in huge grief ... and then they find that they are totally defenceless in this moment of greatest grief from people who are employing these ruthless tactics?"

The Guardian newspaper has reported that a conman working for the Sunday Times was used to get access to Mr Brown's files from his London lawyers - the conman was later jailed for fraud in relation to a different matter.

Good for Brown .....

(Accuses the people at the top, i.e. NI)

[joeysteele]

It's almost beginning to look like the Murdoch family should be stripped of any assets as to the UK,they don't seem to be fit to have any business ventures let alone be increasing them.

Their judgements as to appointments of Coulson and Brookes and now this poison that seems to be rife in near all their publications.
If the buck for sorting this out stops with the PM then the buck for all wrongdoing criminal or otherwise should surely stop with the Murdochs as to their empire.

If these things get substantiated how on earth can the Murdochs be seen as competent and appropriate owners of anything.

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14134599

1727:

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown gets up to speak in the Commons. He jokes that it is "like the old days", with the Sun running the headline "Brown wrong" again.

[joeysteele]

I would guess the Sun's account of the matter with Brown and his son are near correct.

They don't though generally give a choice as to whether they print something or not to the person concerned,so for me it's still sick to plaster a young childs health matter over their front pages.

Certainly the Sun gives people warning of what they intend to print, but they take no notice of the privacy of the person or the wishes, especially when outing someone they find to be gay.
I doubt once the Sun had the story, not from the Browns themselves but other sources, then no way would they not have printed it,no matter what Gordon and Sarah brown said or asked or wished. That lacks all decency.

[arista]

Yes Former Un Elected Brown was dumped by the Sun
so he has a Axe to grind.

Some of his Facts ,though ,
are so very wrong.

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by arista

Yes Former Un Elected Brown was dumped by the Sun
so he has a Axe to grind.

Some of his Facts ,though ,
are so very wrong.

Well he got a lot of facts wrong when he was PM didn't he.

I still don't think or believe even had he said no way do I want you splashing my Son's health matter all over your paper that the Sun would have then respected his wishes.
They would have printed it anyway regardless.I think they are morally wrong to have done so.

[Marc]

News papers are so wrong nowadays. I'll stick to word of mouth