Neville Thurlbeck has lobbed his grenade into the unravelling News of the World saga. He claims that he was continually blocked from showing a dossier of evidence about phone-hacking to senior staff:
“I requested that I be allowed to show my dossier to Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive officer at News International. I do not wish to embarrass the executive who warned me away from Rebekah’s door, for he is still in harness at News International and I regard him as nothing more sinister than an amiable buffoon. A Polonius-type figure in this drama. In short, a ‘yes man’ with a file perpetually tucked beneath his arm.”
Who is the amiable buffoon is the obvious question, as is why didn’t Thurlbeck just walk into Brooks’ office with the damning papers and tapes?
Tom Crone and Colin Myler do not come out of the, somewhat pompous, Press Gazette article at all well though. Thurlbeck lands the blame firmly at their door for hiding evidence from James Murdoch, which ultimately led to the demise of the paper. He has some rum words for Tom Watson too. Well worth a read for one side of the story, but he certainly has an axe to grind…
