Ex-Mirror journalist says he was asked to give Coronation Street star flowers containing listening device

Published

11 months ago

December 19, 2023

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A former Mirror Group journalist has told Sky News that he was asked to give a Coronation Street actress a bunch of flowers bugged with a listening device during a visit to a spa.

Dean Piper, a showbiz reporter at The Mirror in the early 2000s, said he was asked to carry out the task while working for the paper’s sister title, The Sunday People.

However, he said he refused and later decided to leave the paper.

Last week, in a privacy case brought by Prince Harry, a High Court judge found another practice – phone hacking – was carried out by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) from 1996 to 2011.

The judge said hacking was “widespread and habitual” from 1998.

He also found there was “some unlawful activity” – involving the use of private investigators – in 1995.

Speaking to the UK Tonight with Sarah Jane Mee about his experience working at MGN, Mr Piper said: “The worst thing I was ever asked – and it was probably ultimately what made me walk from my job at The People – involved Coronation Street star Tracy Shaw.

“She was having a lot of issues in those days, but she was very big news. She was on the front cover all the time.

“I was called over at one point and said that I was going to go to a spa and have a spa break, and I thought: ‘Brilliant’.

“They said you are going to have a bunch of flowers, and we’re going to put a bug in it, and we’re going to deliver it to Tracy Shaw, and we have booked the room right next door to her, and you’re just going to stay up all night and write down everything that’s gone on.”

Mr Piper said he “point-blank refused” the request.

“There were enough whipper-snappers that want to further their career that probably would have taken the flowers, but that wasn’t morally right, and it’s kind of illegal,” he said.

‘It was a Voldemort scenario’

Mr Piper was speaking after Prince Harry’s victory in a phone hacking against his former employers.

The judge ruled in the case that phone hacking “remained an important tool in the climate of journalism” at all three MGN papers – the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People – from 2006 to 2011.

The judge also ruled that directors at MGN – Paul Vickers and Sly Bailey – knew about phone hacking but did not inform the rest of the board.

Mr Piper said he was aware that people were phone hacking during his time working there, but insisted “not everybody was phone hacking”.

“I’m able to talk about it because I’ve got a completely clear conscience about the fact that I was never involved in it. But there were people at the paper that did phone hacking,” he said.

“There were certain people on each desk – they were usually away from the main throng of the editorial team – we knew what they did, and we knew that their exclusives were coming from the phones.”

Mr Piper compared the topic of hacking to the main villain in the Harry Potter series, Lord Voldemort, who is referred to by most characters as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named because of the culture of fear surrounding him.

The ex-reporter said: “It was a ‘Voldemort’ scenario – as far as you didn’t openly talk about it. But everybody knew what was going on.”

Morgan ‘brilliant boss’ but hacking excuse ‘ridiculous’

The judge, Mr Justice Fancourt, said in his ruling that he found it “convincing” that Piers Morgan knew about phone hacking when he was in charge of the Daily Mirror – from 1995 to 2004.

After the judgment, Mr Morgan made a statement outside his London home, in which he said he had “never hacked a phone or told anyone else to hack a phone”.

“There is just one article relating to the prince published in The Daily Mirror during my entire nine-year tenure as editor that he [the High Court judge] thinks may have involved some unlawful information gathering,” Mr Morgan said.

“To be clear, I had then and still have zero knowledge of how that particular story was gathered.”

Mr Piper praised Piers Morgan as a “brilliant boss” who was “very supportive”.

But asked about the judgment and Mr Morgan’s defence, Mr Piper said: “I mean, look, if you’re a national newspaper editor, and you’ve got all of this power, and you’re deciding what the narrative is for the Daily Mirror the first thing you’re going to say is, where did that story come from?

“So I find that quite amusing and kind of ridiculous because that’s the first port of call as an editor and as a journalist, you want to know where the story came from.”

Mr Piper added: “But there is an open conversation that I feel is important about the way that those newspapers did work in those days.

“And it wasn’t good what they were doing, and it would be nice if people started to get to the point where they accepted some responsibility for what they put people through.”

He continued: “You only have to look at the front pages in those days to realise how many stories were coming from that [phone hacking]. It wasn’t just the odd one, it was endless amounts.”

A spokesperson for Mirror Group said following last week’s judgment: “We welcome the judgment that gives the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago.

“Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologise unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation.”

Entertainment

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs attempting to obstruct justice from jail, prosecutors say

Published

1 hour ago

November 18, 2024

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs attempting to obstruct justice from jail, prosecutors say

Sean “Diddy” Combs has attempted to contact prospective witnesses from jail in a bid to sway public opinion ahead of his upcoming sex trafficking trial, prosecutors have claimed.

The accusations were made in a Manhattan federal court filing in which the prosecution opposes the 55-year-old rapper‘s latest $50m (£39m) bail proposal. A bail hearing is scheduled for next week.

Combs pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years with the aid of a network of associates and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.

He says his sexual relationships were consensual, and strenuously denies all wrongdoing.

In the latest step of the ongoing case, prosecutors say a review of recorded jail calls made by Combs shows he has asked family members to reach out to potential victims and witnesses and has urged them to create “narratives” to influence the jury pool.

They say he has also encouraged marketing strategies to influence public opinion.

The filing said: “The defendant has shown repeatedly – even while in custody – that he will flagrantly and repeatedly flout rules in order to improperly impact the outcome of his case.

“The defendant has shown, in other words, that he cannot be trusted to abide by rules or conditions.”

Prosecutors wrote that it could be inferred from his behaviour that Combs wants to blackmail victims and witnesses into silence or into providing testimony helpful to his defence.

Read more: What is Sean Combs charged with?

It is alleged that Combs began breaking rules almost as soon as he was detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York City, after his arrest in September.

Two judges have concluded he is a danger to the community and at risk of fleeing, rejecting two previous bail requests.

In Combs’s latest request, his lawyers cited changed circumstances, including new evidence, which they said made it sensible to release him ahead of his trial next year.

But prosecutors said defence lawyers created their latest bail proposal using some evidence prosecutors turned over to them, and the new material was already known to defence lawyers when they made previous bail applications.

In their submission to a judge, prosecutors said Combs’s behaviour in jail shows he must remain locked up.

They cited examples including Combs enlisting family members to plan and carry out a social media campaign around his birthday earlier this month, “with the intention of influencing the potential jury in this criminal proceeding”.

They say he encouraged his seven children to post a video to their social media accounts showing them gathered to celebrate his birthday.

Afterwards, they say he allegedly monitored the analytics, including audience engagement, from inside the jail and “explicitly discussed with his family how to ensure that the video had his desired effect on potential jury members in this case”.

Prosecutors also alleged Combs made clear his intention to anonymously publish information that he thought would help his defence team.

“The defendant’s efforts to obstruct the integrity of this proceeding also includes relentless efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of his abuse who could provide powerful testimony against him,” they wrote.

Sky News has contacted Combs’s lawyer for comment.

Combs is currently in custody in Manhattan. His criminal trial is scheduled for 5 May 2025.

Entertainment

Davina McCall makes ‘enormous leap forward’ and is out of ICU after surgery to remove brain tumour

Published

10 hours ago

November 18, 2024

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Davina McCall makes 'enormous leap forward' and is out of ICU after surgery to remove brain tumour

Davina McCall has made an “enormous leap forward in the last 24 hours”, her partner has said on her Instagram.

In an update, her partner Michael Douglas, said: “Update folks. Thanks so much to all the well wishers. She really has made an enormous leap forward in the last 24 hours. She is out of ICU She is ‘loving awareness’. Thank you xx Michael.”

The post also featured a bright pink text image, which said, “massive relief to see some light breaking through,” followed by four heart emojis.

“Thanks for all the good vibes coming in from all angles. Up and up,” it added.

Friends and fellow celebrities were quick to comment on the update, with actress Patsy Palmer writing, “sending healing,” Dame Kelly Holmes commenting “awesome news Michael” and Jools Oliver adding three heart emojis.

The 57-year-old television presenter had revealed in a video posted on Instagram earlier on Friday she had a benign brain tumour, a colloid cyst, which she described as “very rare”.

Speaking in the short video ahead of her operation, McCall had explained to her followers the benign tumour was around 14mm wide and “needed to come out, because if it grows it would be bad” .

She said a surgeon would remove the cyst through the top of her head in a procedure called a craniotomy.

In her video post the former Big Brother host had said she was “in good spirits,” and would be in hospital “for around nine days” following the procedure.

According to the NHS, non-cancerous brain tumours are slow-growing and unlikely to spread, but are still serious and can be life-threatening.

McCall’s current partner, hairdresser Michael Douglas, is sharing updates from McCall’s account while she is recovering. This is his second update since her operation.

McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.

She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, and currently presents ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.

Last year, McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.

In recent years, McCall has spoken regularly on women’s health and the effects of menopause in a bid to break taboos around the subject. Her 2022 book, Menopausing, won book of the year at the British Book Awards.

The same year, McCall fronted the Channel 4 documentary Davina McCall: Sex, Mind And The Menopause, and told the BBC that the perimenopausal symptoms caused her difficulties multi-tasking and she considered that she had a brain tumour or Alzheimer’s disease at the time.

Married twice, McCall has three children, two daughters and a son, with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.

She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and they present a weekly lifestyle podcast together, Making The Cut.

Entertainment

Ed Sheeran says his didn’t give Band Aid 40 permission to use his vocals

Published

12 hours ago

November 18, 2024

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Ed Sheeran says he didn't give Band Aid 40 permission to use his vocals

Ed Sheeran says Band Aid 40 organisers did not seek his approval to use his vocals in the new version of the charity hit Do They Know It’s Christmas?

The Shape Of You star said he would have “respectively declined” any permission, going on to share another post criticising foreign aid in Africa.

The new version of the festive hit blends previous recordings to create an “ultimate” mix from Band Aid 1984 including the voices of George Michael, Sting and Boy George, alongside the likes of Harry Styles, Chris Martin and the Sugababes, who appeared on the Band Aid 20 and Band Aid 30 versions in 2004 and 2014.

Sheeran had previously sung on Band Aid 30 alongside One Direction, Sam Smith and Coldplay’s Chris Martin.

The 33-year-old singer wrote in an Instagram story: “My approval wasn’t sought on this new Band Aid 40 release and had I had the choice I would have respectfully declined the use of my vocals.

“A decade on and my understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed, eloquently explained by @fuseodg. This is just my personal stance, I’m hoping it’s a forward-looking one. Love to all x.”

Sheeran referenced a post by Ghanaian-English singer, songwriter and rapper Fuse ODG, who worked with him on the track Boa Me.

Fuse ODG said that a decade earlier he “refused” to be part of the Band Aid 30 song as he feels that while the charity helps get “sympathy and donations, they perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economic growth, tourism, and investment”.

The rapper added: “By showcasing dehumanising imagery, these initiatives fuel pity rather than partnership, discouraging meaningful engagement.

“My mission has been to reclaim the narrative, empowering Africans to tell their own stories, redefine their identity, and position Africa as a thriving hub for investment and tourism.

“Today, the diaspora drives the largest flow of funds back into the continent, not Band Aid or foreign aid proving that Africa’s solutions and progress lies in its own hands.”

Sheeran has also worked with other African artists including Nigerian singers Fireboy DML and Burna Boy.

The original Band Aid single released in 1984 featured artists led by Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof and Ultravox’s Midge Ure to help charities working with starving children in Ethiopia. It sold a million copies in the first week alone.

For the new version, the singers will be backed by the Band Aid house band of Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Duran Duran’s John Taylor, Phil Collins, Queen’s Roger Taylor, Supergrass’s Danny Goffey, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Ure, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins.

Premiering on 25 November, the song will be physically released too on 29 November, with a minimum of £5 donated to the Band Aid Trust when the single is sold on vinyl, a minimum of £1.50 donated when the single is sold on CD, and a minimum 50p donated when the single is digitally downloaded.