Sean Hoare
Encyclopedia
Sean Hoare was a British
entertainment journalist. He contributed to articles on show business, from actors to reality television stars. He played a central role in contributing to exposing the News International phone hacking scandal.
s Nick Davies
as "coming from a working-class background of solid Arsenal
supporters, always voted Labour
, defined himself specifically as a 'clause IV
' socialist who still believed in public ownership of the means of production." Hoare was a trainee reporter in the 1980s for the Watford Observer.
He was a reporter for The Sun before joining the The Sunday People, under editor Neil Wallis
. He moved to the News of the World
in June 2001, under editor Rebekah Brooks (then Rebekah Wade) but was sacked in 2005 by then editor Andy Coulson
for drink and drug problems. He said in regards to his drug taking while employed by the News of the World, "I was paid to go out and take drugs with rock stars – get drunk with them, take pills with them, take cocaine with them. It was so competitive. You are going to go beyond the call of duty. You are going to do things that no sane man would do. You're in a machine." He claims to have often taken "three grammes of cocaine a day, spending about £1,000 a week" and would drink Jack Daniel's
, and then would snort a line of cocaine as part of a "rock star's breakfast". His health deteriorated to the point that the doctor examining his liver remarked that he "must be dead". A former colleague said, "if you could imagine the stereotypical image of News of the World hack, it would be he."
In 2001, Hoare was awarded a Shafta Award (celebrating "the very worst in tabloid journalism") for his scoop on David
and Victoria Beckham
's purchase of an island off the Essex
coast; the story, which turned out to be fiction, also won him the 20th anniversary "Shafta of Shaftas" in 2006. He won another Shafta in 2002 two in 2003 and a lifetime achievement Shafta in 2004.
reopened its 2006 phone-hacking case against News of the World
and Andy Coulson
, following a New York Times Magazine piece published that month in which Hoare told reporters Don Van Natta, Jo Becker
and Graham Bowley that Coulson had "actively encouraged" him to hack phones. Hoare had once been a close friend of Coulson. Following his statements for The New York Times
Hoare was interviewed by Scotland Yard
officers "under criminal caution," meaning that his statements could be used against him in possible future prosecution. Hoare had said of the phone hacking at the News of the World: "It was always done in the language of, 'Why don't you practise some of your dark arts on this', which was a metaphor for saying, 'Go and hack into a phone'. Such was the culture of intimidation and bullying that you would do it because you had to produce results. And, you know, to stand up in front of a Commons committee and say, 'I was unaware of this under my watch' was wrong."
Following his original statements for The New York Times
and testimony before the police
, Hoare re-entered the news in July, 2011 when he and an anonymous colleague told reporters for the Times
that British police had assisted reporters working for News of the World
with cell-phone tracking
, a power ordinarily used "for high-profile criminal cases and terrorism investigations," in exchange for bribes
. Times reporter Don Van Natta wrote that he had dinner with Hoare the night of the New York Times article's publication, describing him as "ailing but defiant and funny. And no regrets. All-courage." Metropolitan Police Commissioner
Paul Stephenson
and his deputy commissioner John Yates resigned within a week of Hoare's statements.
, Hertfordshire
, at around 11 am on 18 July 2011. A friend and neighbor described him as "physically going downhill" in recent weeks and paranoid that "someone from the Government [was] coming to get him." On the same day and within hours of his body being found, Hertfordshire Police stated that his death was "unexplained" but not suspicious, and that it could take weeks to establish a cause of death. On 21 July, Hoare's widow issued a statement in which she said that his death had come as a "tremendous shock". The inquest into his death noted the irreversible damage caused to Hoare's liver by his alcoholism and his return to drinking brought about by the resurgence of media interest in the phone hacking scandal in December 2010. It ruled that he died from natural causes.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
entertainment journalist. He contributed to articles on show business, from actors to reality television stars. He played a central role in contributing to exposing the News International phone hacking scandal.
Career
Hoare was described as by The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Nick Davies
Nick Davies
Nick Davies is a British investigative journalist, writer and documentary maker.Davies has written extensively as a freelancer, as well as for The Guardian and The Observer, and been named Reporter of the Year Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year at the British Press Awards...
as "coming from a working-class background of solid Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
supporters, always voted Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, defined himself specifically as a 'clause IV
Clause IV
Clause IV historically refers to part of the 1918 text of the British Labour Party constitution which set out the aims and values of the party. Before its revision in 1995, its application was the subject of considerable dispute.-Text:...
' socialist who still believed in public ownership of the means of production." Hoare was a trainee reporter in the 1980s for the Watford Observer.
He was a reporter for The Sun before joining the The Sunday People, under editor Neil Wallis
Neil Wallis
Neil John Wallis is a former newspaper editor in the United Kingdom.-Early life:Wallis was born in Lincolnshire. He attended Skegness Grammar School.-Journalism:...
. He moved to the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
in June 2001, under editor Rebekah Brooks (then Rebekah Wade) but was sacked in 2005 by then editor Andy Coulson
Andy Coulson
Andrew Edward Coulson is an English journalist and political strategist.Coulson was the editor of the News of the World from 2003 until his resignation in 2007, following the conviction of one of the newspaper's reporters in relation to illegal phone-hacking.He subsequently joined David Cameron's...
for drink and drug problems. He said in regards to his drug taking while employed by the News of the World, "I was paid to go out and take drugs with rock stars – get drunk with them, take pills with them, take cocaine with them. It was so competitive. You are going to go beyond the call of duty. You are going to do things that no sane man would do. You're in a machine." He claims to have often taken "three grammes of cocaine a day, spending about £1,000 a week" and would drink Jack Daniel's
Jack Daniel's
Jack Daniel's is a brand of sour mash Tennessee whiskey that is among the world's best-selling liquors. It is known for its square bottles and black label. As of November, 2007, one blogger was claiming that it was the best-selling whiskey in the world. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee by...
, and then would snort a line of cocaine as part of a "rock star's breakfast". His health deteriorated to the point that the doctor examining his liver remarked that he "must be dead". A former colleague said, "if you could imagine the stereotypical image of News of the World hack, it would be he."
In 2001, Hoare was awarded a Shafta Award (celebrating "the very worst in tabloid journalism") for his scoop on David
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
and Victoria Beckham
Victoria Beckham
Victoria Caroline Beckham is an English singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, fashion designer and businesswoman. In the late 1990s, Beckham rose to fame with the all-female pop group Spice Girls and was dubbed Posh Spice by the July 1996 issue of the British pop music magazine Top of the Pops...
's purchase of an island off the Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
coast; the story, which turned out to be fiction, also won him the 20th anniversary "Shafta of Shaftas" in 2006. He won another Shafta in 2002 two in 2003 and a lifetime achievement Shafta in 2004.
Phone hacking
In September 2010 Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
reopened its 2006 phone-hacking case against News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
and Andy Coulson
Andy Coulson
Andrew Edward Coulson is an English journalist and political strategist.Coulson was the editor of the News of the World from 2003 until his resignation in 2007, following the conviction of one of the newspaper's reporters in relation to illegal phone-hacking.He subsequently joined David Cameron's...
, following a New York Times Magazine piece published that month in which Hoare told reporters Don Van Natta, Jo Becker
Jo Becker
Jo Becker is an award-winning journalist, currently an investigative reporter for The New York Times. Formerly with the Washington Post, she won, with Barton Gellman, the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. Ms. Becker and Mr. Gellman won the prize with a series of articles titled Angler,...
and Graham Bowley that Coulson had "actively encouraged" him to hack phones. Hoare had once been a close friend of Coulson. Following his statements for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Hoare was interviewed by Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
officers "under criminal caution," meaning that his statements could be used against him in possible future prosecution. Hoare had said of the phone hacking at the News of the World: "It was always done in the language of, 'Why don't you practise some of your dark arts on this', which was a metaphor for saying, 'Go and hack into a phone'. Such was the culture of intimidation and bullying that you would do it because you had to produce results. And, you know, to stand up in front of a Commons committee and say, 'I was unaware of this under my watch' was wrong."
Following his original statements for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and testimony before the police
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
, Hoare re-entered the news in July, 2011 when he and an anonymous colleague told reporters for the Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
that British police had assisted reporters working for News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
with cell-phone tracking
Mobile phone tracking
Mobile phone tracking refers to the attaining of the current position of a mobile phone, stationary or moving. Localization may occur either via multilateration of radio signals between radio towers of the network and the phone, or simply via GPS...
, a power ordinarily used "for high-profile criminal cases and terrorism investigations," in exchange for bribes
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
. Times reporter Don Van Natta wrote that he had dinner with Hoare the night of the New York Times article's publication, describing him as "ailing but defiant and funny. And no regrets. All-courage." Metropolitan Police Commissioner
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, classing the holder as a chief police officer...
Paul Stephenson
Paul Stephenson (police officer)
Sir Paul Robert Stephenson, QPM was the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, 2009-2011, the most senior police officer within the United Kingdom....
and his deputy commissioner John Yates resigned within a week of Hoare's statements.
Death
Hoare failed to return phone calls to his home in the week after his dinner with New York Times reporters. He was found dead at his home in Langley Road, WatfordWatford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, at around 11 am on 18 July 2011. A friend and neighbor described him as "physically going downhill" in recent weeks and paranoid that "someone from the Government [was] coming to get him." On the same day and within hours of his body being found, Hertfordshire Police stated that his death was "unexplained" but not suspicious, and that it could take weeks to establish a cause of death. On 21 July, Hoare's widow issued a statement in which she said that his death had come as a "tremendous shock". The inquest into his death noted the irreversible damage caused to Hoare's liver by his alcoholism and his return to drinking brought about by the resurgence of media interest in the phone hacking scandal in December 2010. It ruled that he died from natural causes.