TMCnet News
The day the Irish Mirror hacked a prime minister's phone(Guardian Web Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The Daily Mirror's Irish edition published a story detailing exactly how to hack mobile phones as early as 1998. The paper did so very openly by admitting that it had eavesdropped the voicemail messages of Ireland's then prime minister, Bertie Ahern. In an article headlined, "Mirror taps Bertie's mobile: we listen to his message in cabinet phone scandal", the reporter explained the necessary hacking technique in great detail. The full story, billed as an exclusive, is archived here. It told how, aside from Ahern's phone, reporters were also able to access messages on the phones of the ministers of justice and defence. At the time, members of the Irish government used Eircell mobile phones. They changed their codes and tightened security immediately after the Mirror's article appeared. The Mirror was then edited by Piers Morgan, but the Irish edition was published separately in Dublin. Its editor in 1998 was Craig MacKenzie, but he believes he was located in Belfast at the time and cannot recall the story. One person on the Dublin staff who does remember it said it was "wholly legitimate and in the public interest" to publish it. Copies of the Irish edition are sent as a matter of routine to the paper's London headquarters. But that does not mean that they reach the attention of the London-based editor. It is thought highly unlikely that Morgan would have seen the story. A member of the London office staff during that period said: "I would say Piers was hardly aware of the Irish edition." This was confirmed by the Dublin staffer who said: "Piers had nothing to do with us." All forms of phone hacking have been illegal in Ireland since 1983 under the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act. And Irish people have had a constitutional right to privacy since 1974. So the Irish Mirror's hacking activities were in breach of the law. But Irish legal experts believe the paper was not prosecuted because its revelation was clearly designed to protect the prime minister's privacy rights and to bolster security. Though there was no public interest defence, the paper did have a good argument that it had acted for the wider public benefit. The Irish Mirror's publisher, Trinity Mirror, was contacted for a comment but had not provided one by the time of publication. (c) 2011 Guardian Newspapers Limited. |