Decision to print Nazi-themed party allegations without putting them to F1 boss taken by Colin Myler, says Neville Thurlbeck
A senior former News of the World reporter told the Leveson inquiry into press standards on Monday that it was the editor's decision to run a front-page story about Max Mosley without approaching the ex-Formula One racing boss for a comment.
Neville Thurlbeck, who worked at the paper for more than 20 years, told the inquiry it was Colin Myler's responsibility to make judgments of that kind. "I assumed that was his decision because I hadn't been instructed to go to Mr Mosley," he said.
Thurlbeck wrote a story alleging that Mosley had taken part in a Nazi-themed sex party in early 2008. Mosley sued successfully for breach of privacy and won damages of £60,000. The judge in the case, Mr Justice Eady, said there was no evidence of a Nazi theme.
Thurlbeck insisted he played no part in the decision to publish without seeking a response from Mosley. "I'm just the person who is investigating, meeting the contacts, writing it and making sure what I write is accurate," he told Lord Justice Leveson.
"I would always wait for an instruction from the news desk before [approaching] anybody who was the subject of an investigation by the News of the World. I wasn't told. Therefore I assumed we weren't putting the allegations to him."
Thurlbeck added that he believed at the time of publication that "the editor thought this story could be prevented from coming out by Mr Mosley if we went to him". Thurlbeck said: "You are assuming that I'm part of this 'strategy'," and insisted he played no part in it.
He also denied playing any role in the decision to place a video of the orgy in which Mosley took part on the News of the World's website.
Myler, who became editor of the News of the World in 2007 and stayed in the job until the title's closure earlier this year, is due to give evidence to the Leveson inquiry on Wednesday.
Thurlbeck, who has been arrested and bailed as part of Scotland Yard's investigation into phone hacking, was not questioned about the practice on Monday. Leveson said he did not want to risk prejudicing any future trial.
Thurlbeck also revealed that Rebecca Loos, the woman who had an alleged affair with David Beckham, was paid a six-figure sum for her story by the News of the World. "The Beckhams had been using their marriage in order to endorse products," he said, and that justified the paper's decision to run the story.
Thurlbeck, who revealed Loos's affair with Beckham, argued that David and Victoria Beckham "made millions" by promoting a "wholesome" family image.
Mazher Mahmood, the News of the World's former investigations editor, who also gave evidence on Monday, said he was unaware that hacking was taking place until the arrest in 2006 of Clive Goodman, who was then the paper's royal editor.
Mahmood said there was speculation at the title following the arrest about who else might be guilty of the practice. The office gossip "pointed to the news desk", Mahmood said, but there was no evidence that anyone else was involved.
He told the inquiry it was a "myth" that the News of the World entrapped people. Mahmood, known as the "fake sheikh" because of his use of disguises during undercover jobs, worked for the News of the World for more than 20 years and is now employed by the Sunday Times. He said the tabloid, which closed in July, acted on tip-offs.
The court was cleared before Mahmood gave evidence to conceal his identity. He said his former paper created the conditions necessary to catch criminals carrying out crimes they were "predisposed to committing".
Mahmood said that politicians who seek election on the basis that they are part of a close family unit should be exposed if the reality differed from the public perception they fostered. "I don't think I'd vote for my MP if I knew he was cheating on his wife," he said. "How could I trust him?"
Former News of the World editor Neil Wallis, who also edited the Sunday People, gave evidence to the inquiry. Wallis was brought by Andy Coulson to act as his deputy at the News of the World; he remained at the title until 2009.
Wallis, who has also been questioned by the Metropolitan police over phone hacking, defended his close relationship with Scotland Yard. It emerged earlier this year that Wallis dined with Sir Paul Stephenson, the former commissioner of the Met, eight times in a three-year period. He said that socialising with senior police officers formed part of his job in the same way that cultivating civil servants and politicians had. Wallis also said: "I've never heard of a policeman, a civil servant or a lawyer wanting me to pay them for information."