Murdoch Is Served (71)

WE NAME THE STATESIDE CLAIMANTS

[Update at end of post]

At long last, lawyer Mark Lewis has indicated that a number of lawsuits are about to be launched against Rupe and his troops in the USA. Lewis has given an exclusive interview to the Daily Beast, in which he gives some clues to the identity of the first three claimants, and thanks to those hints, Zelo Street can put names to the cases. So what has been Lewis’ pitch?

He claims to have one case of a US citizen being hacked on home turf. The other two, therefore, must be foreign nationals hacked or tapped while also on US soil. And we already have a number of potential names for those US citizens, not least Jude Law, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie. But Lewis’ clues do not yet extend to any of these. Here’s what the Daily Beast has said:

“In one case, the alleged victim was connected to the royal household and to Princess Diana, Lewis says. In another case, the alleged victim was connected to England’s national football team. Lewis describes the third as a Hollywood case in which the alleged victim was in contact with a top celebrity, and therefore a target for hacking”. So who are the names in the frame?

The connection “to the royal household and to Princess Diana” looks all too obvious: step forward Paul Burrell. The football connection is less straightforward: “connected to England’s national football team” suggests it isn’t a player, so more than likely a manager. Not much choice there: most likely, in view of his colourful private life, to be Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Which brings us to the third name, who was “in contact with a top celebrity”. So this person is not a sleb, so probably an agent or publicist. But it is a “Hollywood case”, so we’re looking for someone resident in California. And that means there is only one name in the frame. Step forward Julie Colbert, Hollywood music agent and host for several months to one Charlotte Church.

Zelo Street readers learnt about Ms Colbert back in February, while the Pitt, Aniston and Jolie case was discussed in January. The possibility of the latter blowing up in Murdoch’s face is still very real, and anyone reading the Screws article that raised suspicion – and here, thanks once again to Tim Ireland at Bloggerheads – should note the heavy reliance on supposed phone conversations.

So there you have my three names for Mark Lewis’ first foray against Murdoch in the latter’s adopted country. And there may be more and bigger names: the four mentioned above, for starters. What was all that drivel back in July 2009 about it being no more than a crude attempt by a few rotten lefties to get revenge for the Damian McBride stuff? Just remember who got it right back then.

[UPDATE 13 April 1100 hours: the deeply subversive Guardian has picked up on the story and reveals today that there is a second lawyer working on bringing a case against Rupe and his Stateside troops. All that is thus far revealed is that the lawyer has a "celebrity client" who is alleged to have had voicemail messages intercepted on US soil.

The paper involved is asserted to be the Screws. On this, one can but guess: if it's one person, given all the previous coverage, it looks like Jude Law. Had it been the Pitt/Aniston/Jolie case, we wouldn't be talking about just one sleb. Zelo Street will keep watch on this one]