Actor, comedian, victim of phone hacking by the News of the World and a leading figure in legal actions against the newspaper. He told the Leveson Inquiry that "lurid" details of his private life appeared in the News of the World after he was set up by that paper's former editor. Coogan gave extensive evidence of intrusive stalking and photographing by the Daily Mirror and Sunday Times. He said he had witnessed journalists rummaging through his rubbish bins. He had also been the victim of several kiss-and-tell stories and detailed how the women in question had been fooled and sometimes bribed into giving stories. At the heart of the problem, he thought, was the lack of accountability on the part of the editors and owners.
Coogan discusses and gives examples of intrusion and unethical conduct from his experience, under six headings: targeting other members of my family; stalking and surveillance; entrapment and blackmail; blatant falsehoods; general points; fear of tabloid revenge. He describes one alleged incident as ‘a dispassionate sociopathic act by those who operate in an amoral universe where they are never accountable’. Final passages relating to redress and a general conclusion refer to obstacles to action by victims such as cost and the fear of renewed exposure.
Questioned by Robert Jay QC, Coogan supplies additional background to and evidence for some of the incidents described in the statement. Presented with interviews he has given, he discusses conflicts between the wish to avoid publicity for himself or his family and his professional obligations, such as having to give interviews because of a contractual obligation to promote a film. These conflicts are sometimes complicated by a need or desire to respond to bad publicity or to mitigate damage.
Coogan discusses and gives examples of intrusion and unethical conduct from his experience, under six headings: targeting other members of my family; stalking and surveillance; entrapment and blackmail; blatant falsehoods; general points; fear of tabloid revenge. He describes one alleged incident as ‘a dispassionate sociopathic act by those who operate in an amoral universe where they are never accountable’. Final passages relating to redress and a general conclusion refer to obstacles to action by victims such as cost and the fear of renewed exposure.
Afternoon session, beginning transcript p6
Questioned by Robert Jay QC, Coogan supplies additional background to and evidence for some of the incidents described in the statement. Presented with interviews he has given, he discusses conflicts between the wish to avoid publicity for himself or his family and his professional obligations, such as having to give interviews because of a contractual obligation to promote a film. These conflicts are sometimes complicated by a need or desire to respond to bad publicity or to mitigate damage.
