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Phone hacking: News of the World asks ex-judge to run compensation scheme

Sir Charles Gray to assess amount of damages in each case, as Lord Fowler demands public inquiry into scandal News of the World publisher News Group Newspapers has appointed a former high court judge to run its scheme to pay compensation to victims of phone hacking. Sir Charles Gray, who was the judge in the paper’s legal battle with former Liverpool footballer Bruce Grobbelaar, has agreed to be the independent adjudicator of the scheme. If victims choose to apply for compensation from NGN, a subsidiary of News International, Gray will assess how much a court would have paid in damages for each civil case, and the final settlement figure will be reached by adding 10% to that sum. This premium is designed to encourage victims to take part in the scheme rather than pursue legal action through the courts. The compensation scheme, which was announced in April , is designed to encourage victims to drop civil actions which lead to embarrassing revelations about the scale of the practice being made in open court. Former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Fowler said today in the House of Lords that there should be a public inquiry into the hacking affair. On Wednesday it emerged that Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs is the latest public figure to begin legal action against the News of the World and it is likely many more will follow suit. The compensation fund, which could end up costing NGN’ ultimate owner News Corporation tens of millions of pounds, will be open to the two dozen or so people who have started legal action against the paper and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who was on the News of the World’s books. Potential victims who have not yet started legal action but believe the paper has a case to answer will also be able to apply. NGN has already said it will also pay their legal costs. The company said it would set out further details of the scheme, including a start date, soon. The company has already agreed a £100,000 out-of-court settlement with Sienna Miller, plus her legal costs, and issued a detailed formal apology earlier in June , although that followed court action and was unrelated to the compensation scheme, which has not yet been set up. The paper admitted 11 stories had been obtained as a direct result of hacking into her phone. The News International chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, said: “We very much hope that the scheme will be used as a fair and efficient alternative to obtaining compensation through court action and satisfy successful claimants that we sincerely regret any harm caused.” Gray said he had reviewed the terms of the scheme and it “provides a fair, effective and speedy means for determining compensation”. He was the judge who found in favour of Grobbelaar when he sued the News of the World for libel in 1999 over its claim he was involved in match-fixing. The footballer was awarded damages of £80,00, but that sum was reduced on appeal to £1 and Grobbelaar was ordered to pay NGN’s legal costs, which totalled several hundred thousand pounds. Fowler told the Lords there should be an inquiry into the “conspiracy against the public”. He said it was “ludicrous to suggest that the editor of a national newspaper is not aware of where the information came from”. “In the past a journalist [former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman] was actually given a custodial sentence for phone hacking,” he added. “Isn’t it the case that the editor is responsible for what goes in the newspaper and he also should be given a custodial sentence and indeed the proprietor and the board of directors?” News International maintains that senior executives did not know phone hacking was taking place. •

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Police drop ‘sex assault’ case against Tory MP

Conservative Andrew Brigden was arrested after woman made allegations of sexual assault in London No action is to be taken against the Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen over allegations of sexual assault made against him. The 46-year-old MP for North West Leicestershire was arrested in the early hours of last Thursday morning after a 29-year-old woman made a complaint to police. After questioning, he was released on bail to return in mid-July. He vigorously denied any wrongdoing and co-operated with a police inquiry into the allegations. On Thursday, he was informed by Scotland Yard that the case was being dropped and he would not face charges. A Metropolitan police spokesman said: “A 46-year-old man, arrested on Thursday 9 June on suspicion of sexual assault against a 29-year-old woman at an address in SW1, [has been] released from bail with no further action.” guardian.co.uk

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Anthony Weiner resignation – live coverage

New York politician Anthony Weiner to resign today after his ‘sexting’ scandal on Twitter – follow the latest developments live 12pm: Nancy Pelosi tweets: Thx followers for telling me cables cut me off – what I said: I’m here to talk about #jobs & this bill-> http://t.co/MOIijaO Here’s the top line: Democratic leaders in the US House of Representatives on Thursday said they would try to force a vote on a China currency bill that House members overwhelmingly approved last year but that died in the Senate. 11.45am ET: Another reason for Weiner to go today may have been the prospect of further fallout from one of Weiner’s sexting targets : a sometime porn star named Ginger Lee, who gave a press conference yesterday: Lee, from La Vergne, Tennessee, said the pair exchanged about 100 emails between March and June, but said she never received photos from Weiner and never sent him any. She said she followed him on Twitter because she liked his stance on Planned Parenthood funding and health care, and that he repeatedly tried to turn the conversation into sexual banter. “My package and I are not going to beg,” Weiner emailed at one point, according to Allred. Another email said “I have wardrobe demands too – I need to highlight my package.” “I did not reciprocate,” Lee said Wednesday. Lee said as Weiner’s Twitter scandal was unfolding, the married lawmaker gave her a statement to put out, which read: “I haven’t met Rep Weiner. I follow him on Twitter because I support him & what he stands for. I have been hounded by his political opponents, but that hasn’t changed my view of him and what he fights for.” Lee said she was happy to talk to the congressional ethics investigation that was underway – and Weiner would have been in trouble because he asked Lee to cover up their epistolary relationship. 11.30am ET: The question is whether Weiner steps down immediately or is not seeking re-election – and thus sticking around until January 2013, the end of his current term. If he does step down as of now, that means another special election in New York state, the third in two years caused by a sex scandal. There was Democrat Eric Massa in 2010 , Republican Chris Lee earlier this year (also over sexy pictures), and now Weiner. A little further back there was Eliot Spitzer . Something in the water? 11.25am ET: “I’d much rather be discussing economic issues … than talking about this,” says Wolf Blitzer on CNN, more in sorrow than in truth. I mean, anger. The next CNN presenter immediately starts talking about “half-nude Weiner pictures” and playing clips of David Letterman makes Weiner gags. 11.20am ET: Local newspaper the New York Times speaks to a “top Democratic official” for more details on the latest developments: The top Democratic official said Mr Weiner called Representative Nancy Pelosi of California and Representative Steve Israel of New York last night while they were at the White House picnic to inform them he had decided to resign on Thursday. Mr. Weiner plans to resign in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, at 2pm, at the spot where he announced his first campaign for City Council in 1992, according to two people told of his plans. The news comes as Democratic leaders prepared to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to strip the 46-year-old congressman of his committee assignments, a blow that would severely damage his effectiveness. Ms Pelosi had called for an ethics investigation into Mr. Weiner’s actions. Mr Weiner began telling his most trusted advisers about his decision on Wednesday night by phone, informing them that it no longer seemed fair to his constituents and his colleagues for him to remain in office. Mr Weiner, a Democrat, came to the conclusion that he could no longer serve after having long discussions with his wife, Huma Abedin, when she returned home on Tuesday after traveling abroad with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. 11.14am ET: Oh dear – CNN just briefly mixed up a Weiner story with an on-screen headline about al-Qaida’s new leader. Whoops. 11.05am ET: So after three weeks, why did Weiner decide to go now? Obviously the intense pressure from Democrats, including Obama, Pelosi and the powerful chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Steve Israel, has taken its toll. Weiner himself said that his wife, Huma Abedin, had supported him. But possibly she changed her mind after returning from an overseas trip in her role as an aide to Hillary Clinton. And the news that she was pregnant may have played a part. Top plausible conspiracy theory of the day is the thought that New York City was due to lose a congressional seat due to population changes, and so that Weiner’s seat was in danger of being redistricted into oblivion. 10.55am ET: All eyes are on the Democratic House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, holding a press conference right now on some trivial issue like jobs or something. But as Pelosi steps up to the mike she says: “If you’re here to ask a question about Anthony Weiner, I won’t be answering any.” There’s an old joke about the shortest measurable unit of time is the gap between a Los Angeles traffic light turning green and the car behind you honking. But here’s a record breaker – the light-speed at which cable news channels cut away from a press conference after Nancy Pelosi refuses to answer questions about Anthony Weiner. Pelosi says she’ll answer questions after Weiner makes his statement. But cable news missed that bit. 10.50am ET: Good morning from Washington DC, where Weiner-gate has reached its climax, so to speak. According to local New York television reports, Weiner plans to give a live statement at his congressional office in Brooklyn at 2pm ET – 7pm BST. But according to multiple reports he has told “friends” that he will resign. After three weeks of trying to hang on to his job, Anthony Weiner will today announce that he is stepping down as a Democratic congressman – ending a scandal that began with an errant Twitter message sent by Weiner on 27 May. After first denying responsibility and blaming hackers , Weiner was found to have had bizzare sexual relationships with at least six women via Twitter, Facebook, email and text message, exchanging provocative photographs. At a teary press conference 10 days ago Weiner finally confessed to his behaviour but insisted he would not resign. But under pressure from senior Democrats, Weiner asked for a two-week leave of absence from the House of Representatives in order to seek undisclosed treatment. The final nail may have come on Tuesday morning, when President Obama weighed in during an interview on breakfast television, in which Obama said: “If it was me, I would resign.” As today’s events unfold we’ll be following developments and reaction right here. (You can catch up with our previous live blog of Weiner’s press conference on 6 June here .) Anthony Weiner US politics New York Democrats Social media Twitter United States Richard Adams guardian.co.uk

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House Dems to Meet About Weiner’s Future

House Democratic leaders are planning to meet Thursday to consider the next step in handling the scandal embroiling Rep. Anthony Weiner. (June 16)

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The 111th U.S. Open tees off this Thursday morning at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. This year, the three-time winner Tiger Woods will miss the championship due to his left leg injuries.This is the first time since 1994 that Woods miss the tournament. Neither of the world top two players will be on the No Tiger Woods in US Open Golf 2011 is a post from: Daily World Buzz

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Raw Video: Storms Blast Carolinas

A line of severe storms moved through the Carolinas, knocking down trees, knocking over RVs and knocking out power to tens of thousands of customers. (June 16)

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Bin Laden’s Deputy Al-Zawahri Now Heads Al-Qaida

Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida deputy leader under Osama bin Laden, will lead the militant network in the wake of bin Laden’s death. The announcement about his appointment appeared on the Internet Thursday. (16 June 2011)

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Bin Laden’s Deputy Al-Zawahri Now Heads Al-Qaida

Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida deputy leader under Osama bin Laden, will lead the militant network in the wake of bin Laden’s death. The announcement about his appointment appeared on the Internet Thursday. (16 June 2011)

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Bin Laden’s Deputy Al-Zawahri Now Heads Al-Qaida

Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida deputy leader under Osama bin Laden, will lead the militant network in the wake of bin Laden’s death. The announcement about his appointment appeared on the Internet Thursday. (16 June 2011)

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Bin Laden’s Deputy Al-Zawahri Now Heads Al-Qaida

Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida deputy leader under Osama bin Laden, will lead the militant network in the wake of bin Laden’s death. The announcement about his appointment appeared on the Internet Thursday. (16 June 2011)

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