Cold Open

It’s the morning of July 7th, 2005, and the streets of London are busier than usual.

An hour ago, an incident involving the London Underground, forced the evacuation of the entire network. At this stage, no one’s quite sure what’s going on, but there are thousands of frustrated commuters still spilling into the city’s crowded sidewalks and then onto buses.

As the number 30, a bright red double-decker bus pulls up to Euston Station, dozens get on it. And once the door is closed, the bus's driver, George, pulls away from the station, steering back into traffic.

As he focuses on driving the bus, George can’t help but wonder what’s caused this morning’s chaos. In the distance, he can hear sirens, and some people on the street seem frightened. He’s heard some chatter about explosions in the Underground tunnels – perhaps caused by problems with the power grid – but no one really knows for sure. All anyone cares about now is getting places on time. So George tries to shut out the noise of his crowded bus and concentrate on driving his passengers to their destinations safely and efficiently.

But only minutes into his journey, just as he drives past the headquarters of the British Medical Association, George’s world is torn apart.

An explosion on the upper level of number 30 blows the roof off the bus, sending twisted steel crashing into the street.

George is thrown forward by the force of the blast, but he's held safe by his seat belt. Many of his passengers, however, are not so fortunate. As he looks around, disoriented and in pain, the veteran driver sees blood everywhere – on people’s faces, on the remains of his bus, on the walls of nearby buildings.

As things slowly come into focus, George realizes people are screaming, calling for help, and crying. Dozens of people run out of the building to George’s right, a collection of doctors attending a conference who now rush to offer lifesaving help to the passengers of bus number 30.

In the wake of the attack, George and people around the world will dwell upon the same question: who would blow up a London bus, and why? As information trickles out, a full picture will eventually emerge. Because the explosion on the Number 30 bus was not an anomaly; it was the fourth attack on London soil that morning. Three Islamist suicide bombers detonated homemade explosive devices in the Underground during rush hour, and the fourth terrorist selected George’s bus as his target an hour later. All told the terrorists killed a total of 52 people and injured over 700.

As years pass, the horrific attack will devolve from a galvanizing moment for the British people into a political debate. But while politicians used the tragedy for their own ideological purposes, others will try to twist the events of July 7th, for profit. In the end, one of the UK’s deadliest terrorist attacks will become just one domino in a dizzying sequence of events that will ultimately bring down one of the country’s oldest media institutions, forcing press baron Rupert Murdoch’s News International to announce the shuttering of its long-running News of the World tabloid newspaper exactly six years later, on July 7th, 2011.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is July 7th, 2011: News of the World Shuts Down.

Act One: The Prince’s Knee

It’s November 6th, 2005, and William, the Prince of Wales, is feeling slightly perturbed. He’s heard that there’s a small story in one of today’s tabloids about him. That’s not at all unusual. Now 23, the prince has lived a life in the spotlight. Journalists are always following him to take photographs, or printing gossip pieces speculating about his love life. It’s tiresome, but to be expected.

But this story in today’s News of the World has caught his attention. Clive Goodman, the paper’s royal editor, has written a short piece about a recent knee injury the prince sustained, and how he has been in contact with a doctor about it. It couldn’t be less consequential of an issue – a story that hardly even qualifies as news. But what makes the article so alarming is how few people knew about the prince’s injury. Until now, it’s not been made public to anyone save for his doctor and a very few within the royal household.

But although the incident is unsettling, the prince puts it out of his mind. Leaks are unfortunate, but bound to happen now and again, and if they’re all as minor as this one, he’ll be very lucky indeed.

But then, the following week, the prince hears of another minor story about him in News of the World – this time about him borrowing a portable editing suite from a journalist friend. Again, it’s almost not even a story. But it is true, and it’s something no one should know about. Confused, the prince calls the friend who lent him the equipment, and they get to chatting. After a few minutes, they realize that the only time they mentioned the editing suite was on voicemails they left for one another. So, unless someone in the royal family spoke to the paper, it seems like the prince’s phone might have been hacked.

Those suspicions are reported to Scotland Yard, Headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police. Their counter-terrorism branch takes on the case and confirms that someone had listened to the prince’s voicemail. The following month, journalist Clive Goodman is arrested on charges of intercepting communications without lawful authority. Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator Clive hired to do the actual intercepting, is also charged.

These arrests are headline-grabbing news, because not only did Mulcaire tap Prince William’s phone, he’s also charged with hacking the phones of politicians, celebrities, athletes, even the editor of another newspaper. It also emerges that News of the World paid the investigator 100,000 pounds a year for his services – an eye-watering sum for what amounts to an invasion of privacy.

The following January, Clive Goodman is sentenced to four months behind bars for his role in the scandal, and Mulcaire receives a six-month sentence. But the controversy doesn’t end there.

In July 2009, in a series of articles, the newspaper The Guardian reveals that News Group Newspapers, a subsidiary of News International, has settled several cases brought by victims of the hacking scandal. The articles in The Guardian also allege that the organization went to significant lengths to seal the records of those cases, but that the Metropolitan Police still has possession of records that show News of the World has potentially hacked hundreds, if not thousands more phones than was initially suspected.

Concurrently, News International hires an investigator of their own to look into their previous claims that the earlier hacking instances were isolated and that no one else at the corporation knew about them. That investigator quickly finds evidence that there was clear criminal activity occurring at News of the World, including the bribing of police officers for insider information.

Over the following months, police take several News of the World journalists into custody for questioning over-the-phone hacks, ensuring that the scandal drags on, and making the paper a news item in its own right.

Then finally, in April of 2011, News of the World will admit liability in eight cases brought against it and will offer apologies to the claimants. But, beyond that limited number of instances, it will deny all wrongdoing. The move will signal to many that the paper seems ready to leave its mistakes in the past and move forward with a clean slate. But the full picture is still yet to emerge. And when it does, the people of Britain will be screaming for blood.

Act Two: Milly Dowler

It’s just after 3 PM on March 21st, 2002.

School has just let out in the town of Weybridge in England’s southwest, and the streets around Heathside School are full of teenagers. Plenty of students are heading for the nearby train station. And among them is 13-year-old Amanda Dowler, called Milly. Chatting and laughing with her friends, Milly boards a train, and the pair get off at Walton-on-Thames about two and a half miles along the line.

There, the girls order a plate of fries from the station café and share them while they continue to talk. Once the fries are gone, the girls know it’s time to go their separate ways. It’s 4:05 when Milly calls her dad to tell him she’s about to walk home from the station. It should only take her about 10 minutes to make the journey.

But she never arrives.

Hours later, when Milly still has not made it home, her parents, Sally and Bob, grow more and more worried. As night falls and calls to Milly’s phone go unanswered, they notify the police.

In the days that follow, an army of police officers and helicopters are marshaled to search for Milly. A description of her is sent out to news outlets around the country. When she was last seen, the 13-year-old was wearing her blue school uniform, which she accessorized with a fairy pendant. She had with her a Nokia phone, a black backpack, and a white plastic purse.

Police switchboards light up with tips from the public, including supposed sightings of Milly, but every lead quickly fizzles. Stores, pubs, and restaurants put posters in their windows, making it impossible to forget the smiling face of the missing girl.

Many questions whether Milly was abducted, or if she simply ran away. So while police search for clues that might lead to her, they also make pleas for her to come home. Even celebrities like Will Young, who has just won the first series of Pop Idol, ask Milly to return to her family.

The Dowler family hang on to hope too sending text messages to Milly’s phone, and leaving voicemails begging her to let them know she is alright. As the weeks drag into months, phone records show that Milly has been listening to her messages, and some of them are even deleted. It seems like proof that wherever she is, and whoever might be responsible for her disappearance, the teenager is at least alive.

But six months later, on September 18th, the last shred of hope evaporates. That day, a group of mushroom foragers are walking slowly through Yateley Heath Wood, about 25 miles where Milly lived. Amongst the trees, partly obscured by leaves and branches, the foragers find the skeletal remains of a teenage girl. The body is too decomposed for anyone to identify her right away, but dental records eventually confirm that it’s Milly Dowler.

It’s a tragic end to a young girl’s life, but not to the suffering of her anguished parents. There will be another eight years of unanswered questions for the family before they finally receive some semblance of closure. When at the end of March 2010, convicted serial killer Levi Bellfield is charged with Milly’s murder, and the following June, he’s given a second life sentence for the crime.

It’s been a long journey for the Dowlers. But with Bellfield’s conviction, at last, it seems like they can move forward with their lives. Until, July 4th, 2011, when The Guardian reports that Milly Dowler’s phone was hacked by Glenn Mulcaire, private investigator for News of the World, while the teen was still missing. 

The invasion of privacy will come as a shock to Sally and Bob, who can’t believe any journalist could possibly think it was ethical to hack into Milly’s voicemail for the sake of some scoop. Furious, the couple will announce that they intend to pursue damages against News of the World – joining a now-growing list of people who’ve had their privacy invaded by the tabloid, and who are determined to make them pay.

Act Three: Closing Down

It’s the afternoon of July 7th, 2011, a Thursday, and the London offices of News of the World are busy. The weekend’s edition is due to go to the printers tomorrow, and everyone is racing to make deadlines.

That much is par for the course, but this week has been unusually stressful for the News of the World staff. It’s felt like the entire country has its eye fixed on the paper, as its phone hacking scandal continues to draw ire from every corner. First, it was the royal family, then celebrities and now this week, the news about Milly Dowler’s phone has made even more waves.

The tabloid’s current leadership has done their best to distance themselves and their team from the sins of their predecessors, but it doesn’t seem to be helping. Advertisers are boycotting the paper, and if that weren’t bad enough, a story emerged just yesterday revealing that the relatives of victims of the July 7th bombings in 2005 might also have been targets of hacking attempts by News of the World.

This it seems is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Because the newsroom falls silent as James Murdoch, chairman of their parent company, News International, strides into the bullpen, a small entourage of executives and lawyers in his wake. The sound of clacking computer keys drops away, and the room tenses up as all heads swivel to look at Murdoch.

Reading from a prepared statement, Murdoch acknowledges the problems that News of the World is facing. Not only are there legal troubles right now, there are credibility issues to think about in the future. He lists the steps the company is taking to address these issues but declares that it’s just not enough. So with that in mind, he announces that this Sunday’s issue will be News of the World’s last.

With that, the 168-year history of the newspaper comes to an end. In three days, News of the World will publish one last issue, commemorating its own legacy, and acknowledging the various scoops and scandals they’ve had a hand in breaking to the public.

Around 200 people will lose their jobs when the paper closes its doors, but the occasion is barely a blip in the history of parent company News International. Before they even announced that they were closing the paper, they registered the domain name “thesunonsunday.co.uk”, signaling that they’d soon establish a replacement publication to fill in the gap in their bottom line.

Over the coming months, several arrests will be made in relation to the various phone hacking instances, and some high-profile media executives will be forced to resign. The affair will also start a more prolonged discourse about the ethics of businesses owned by Rupert Murdoch. But in the end, the News of the World closure will have little lasting effect on the News International Corporation as a whole, which will be able to thrive even after the egregious phone hacking scandal led one of its most popular tabloids to announce its closure on July 7th, 2011.

Outro

Next on History Daily. July 10th, 1985. While berthed in New Zealand, a Greenpeace protest ship is sunk by French intelligence agents.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing and sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Joel Callen.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.