Christopher Jefferies Tells Leveson The Media 'Shamelessly Vilified' Him Over Joanna Yeates Murder

Christopher Jefferies

Huffington Post UK   First Posted: 28/11/11 11:32 GMT Updated: 28/11/11 11:51 GMT

Christopher Jefferies, the landlord wrongly arrested over Joanna Yeates's murder, has said the media "shamelessly vilified" him.

He told the Leveson Inquiry on Monday that he was at the centre of a "frenzied campaign to blacken his character".

Rather than being treated as an innocent man, Jefferies said tabloid newspapers had already decided he was guilty.

"The national media shamelessly vilified me. The UK press set about what can only be described as a witch hunt," he said.

"It was clear that the tabloid press had decided that I was guilty of Miss Yeates's murder and seemed determined to persuade the public of my guilt.

"They embarked on a frenzied campaign to blacken my character by publishing a series of very serious allegations about me which were completely untrue," said the former teacher.

Jefferies said his reputation was ruined after his wrongful arrest. Jefferies said he had been "effectively under house arrest"

"There was another suggestion that I was a bisexual. The press were trying to have it every possible way," he said.

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The Inquiry will resume on Tuesday at 10am.

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Leveson made an order demanding Alastair Campbell's witness statement be removed. The owner of the website, Paul Staines, has been summoned to appear before Leveson on Wednesday to explain how he acquired the document.

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Leveson turns his attention to the Guido Fawkes issue for this morning and decides he must give a ruling about the problem.

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@ jamesro47 : Broadcast experience shows proprietors need not fear regulation, Diamond says. Fair point #leveson

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Diamond tells Leveson directly: "It doesn't have to be like this. It's so sad that a handful of journalists have besmirched the press in this way."

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Diamond praises collaboration with The Sun over cot death and relationship with tabloid media in general: "We were a force for good... the popular press is nothing to be ashamed of in this country. It can be a force for good."

"There are two sides to the press. I've no doubt they would pursue me now in the same way as in the past."

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Diamond wrote a 'supportive' article, congratulating the actress Dawn French about her weight loss. Leveson asks how she makes the judgement about what and who to write about after such press intrusuion into her private life. Diamond's reply is that it does come down to 'a judgement call' , personal values as well as 'taste and decency'.

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Diamond says that the broadcast media have to conform to strict guidelines regarding code of conduct without journalism beein negatively affected. She sees no reason why there shouldn't be a similar code for other media.

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@ SkyFixer69 : Other papers then ran spoiler stories that we'd done a deal with the Sun allowing the access to the funeral. #Diamond #Leveson

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http://twitter.com/#!/bargeboards/status/141179639916793857

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http://twitter.com/#!/NatashaSHenry/status/141179397590884353

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http://twitter.com/#!/KJBar/status/141178987278893056

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Media quickly appeared on Diamond's doorstep when they discovered her son was found dead. One rpeorter had to physically ejected from their house. Diamond had rung her local priest to come over but he had felt too overwhelmed by the press presence that he had left.

Diamond wrote to the editors of every national newspaper, begging them not to stay away form the funeral. All of them did except for one photographer 'with a very long lense'.

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@ rosschawkins : Anne Diamond at #leveson : Sun journo offered her nanny 30k for selling story. Sun then phoned AD and said they'd bought her up

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When Diamond was about to give birth, staff told her they had had to throw a journalist out of the hospital who had been posing as a doctor.

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Diamond had a scare in the early stages of her first pregnancy and thought she was going to lose her unborn baby. When contacted the same day by a journalist from the NOTW, she denied she was pregnant. When she confirmed the pregnancy some time later, the paper called her a liar.

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Diamond says there were consistent negative stories about her following an encounter with Rupert Murdoch when Diamond asked the media mogul how he could sleep at night when sections of his empire were intent on ruining people's lives.

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Anne Diamond 'catapulted' into the public eye when she joined Breakfast TV in 1983. She says that as a journalist she has seen both sides of press activities in terms of writing about others as well as being written about.

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Church responds to Paul Dacre comments that newspapers are reporting on the misdeeds of the 'rich, powerful and pompous' by claiming many of these editors are probably rich and powerful (while demurring from adding pompous) and that they could be targets for similar press attention.

Church ends her evidence to Leveson.

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"[The PCC] is totally inadequate. They don't deal with the problems, they don't deal with it at all."

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Church describes how media reports twisted and distorted comments she made following the 911 attacks and how it led to a huge backlash against her in the United States, so much so that her record company sought protection for her chruch was 15 at the time.

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The Daily Mail wrote a story about a holiday she took with a group of girlfriends when when she was 18. The piece was titled "Vice of an angel". Church says it was massively exaggerated.

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Church's first boyfriend sold a story about their relationship when she was 17, revealing "intimate sexual details."

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@ rosschawkins : Charlotte Church at #leveson : says she kept friends out of her life for fear they were leaking. In fact her phone was hacked

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@ benfenton : #Church prefers mags eg Hello! because They do take nice photos and they actually print what you say. Lesser of 2 evils. #leveson

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@ rosschawkins : Charlotte Church at #leveson : threat to kidnap her was published in News o t Wrld asked paper not to say where she lived. They did anyway

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News of the World article published detailing allegations that her father was having an affair. "I see no public interest in this story except to sell papers." Had a huge effect on her mother and a "massive psychological impact on me".

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Church talks about the increase in paparazzi focus on her as she got older between the ages of 16 and 20 and believes the media got hold of the fact that she was pregnant through underhand and possible illegal methods.

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Tells Leveson about a 'countdown clock' in The Sun running down to Chuch's 16th birthday with the innuendo of her reaching the age of (sexual) consent. "It made me feel horrible... I was really uncomfortable with it."

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Church claims that she was asked to sing at Rupert Murdoch's wedding in New York. She was offered a £100,000 fee or assurances that his media organisations' would look 'favourably' on her.

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Christopher Jefferies, the landlord wrongly arrested over Joanna Yeates's murder, has said the media "shamelessly vilified" him. He told the Leveson Inquiry on Monday that he was at the centre of a...
Christopher Jefferies, the landlord wrongly arrested over Joanna Yeates's murder, has said the media "shamelessly vilified" him. He told the Leveson Inquiry on Monday that he was at the centre of a...
 
 
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Vapula
Failure is not an option
05:45 PM on 11/28/2011
That's what the press do: shamelessly vilify people. You are dealing quintessential low life when you deal with the press. They will say and do anything if it sells their papers. The solution is not to buy papers.
03:29 PM on 11/28/2011
For a while the tabloids could escape scrutiny because the London riots
obviously were a welcome detraction.
While now it is possible that the UK newspapers experience a crisis similar
to that in the US.
http://newspaperlayoffs.com/
03:16 PM on 11/28/2011
blah
This comment has been removed.
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AlanDente
Noses: made to hold glasses
12:56 PM on 11/28/2011
He wasn't wrongly arrested, he was falsely accused.

The term 'wrongly arrested' suggests that the police acted improperly, when they did not. Tabak slurred him, hence the arrest.

I said at the time to people I work with that it's important we assume he's innocent until proven otherwise, but I remember basically everyone had already decided the weird-looking dude had done it...
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minimemo
Can I be your friend...if they let me out...
12:56 PM on 11/28/2011
Would be interesting to see how far Tony Blair's tentacles reach into the era of press power - you don't get to be the godfather to a media moguls grandchildren unless there's something going on and has anyone ever known Tony Bliar to do anything that didn't directly benefit him???? Would be chilling to discover if the press were involved in mass manipulation of the public re Blair's invasion of Iraq....
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Tony Booth
02:46 PM on 11/28/2011
what do you mean "if"? it was a done deal.
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minimemo
Can I be your friend...if they let me out...
02:59 PM on 11/28/2011
'if, maybe, perhaps, might, could, should, all political words used the most!! Keeps the lawyers away with downright open allegations - ps are you his father-in-law ;)
12:52 PM on 11/28/2011
The comments on AOL at the time, many calling for summary execution & so on, were disgraceful.
No ! That is not AOLs problem for allowing comment, quite the reverse. The problem lies with those prepared to blabber off about this, that & the next without being able to substatiate it.
Not allowing comments, however, in my view, is not an option
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rabidrightwatch
Green lefty & active environmentalist
04:17 PM on 11/28/2011
I agree with you, although your 'not allowing comments' I don't..

There were comments on AOL which were disgraceful & libellous, in which case, AOL had every right - and duty - to censor comments.
There is, thankfully, such a thing as 'freedom of speech', although it should more accurately be referred to as 'freedom of speech within the law' - there's an ocean of difference...

Many overstepped the mark, and the newspaper coverage encouraged it by their irresponsible 'reporting' and name-calling... we'll see if this enquiry makes a difference; I for one hope fervently that it reins in the gutter press.
08:11 PM on 11/28/2011
Ty for that: You misunderstand my point though.
While I agree that libellous comment should not being allowed I refer to topics on AOL & indeed here on Huffington Post being disbarred from Any comment.
If there are to be comments columns at all.... Then might I suggest if comment is not to be allowed Dont Publish the Story at all......
12:50 PM on 11/28/2011
Anyone who has ever had to face up to horrendous corruption in the workplace, the law, the Church or in regular society knows what remarkable tenacity and strength this man has. Having experienced something mildly akin to it myself, I can tell you that it takes a heart of absolute fire to keep going when you know justice has failed. Few people have the ability to cope.

To see him up there today, speaking his truth quietly but firmly is testament to the unshakable power of the human spirit to fight evil and injustice. We make heroes of the most absurd characters in life, yet here is a man who not only survived, but fought back and won. A true hero in such a corrupt world of papers and politics.

God bless him, and a debt of gratitude we all owe him for playing his part in cleaning up the disgusting mess the Murdochs and Maxwells created in our country.

We salute you, Christopher Jefferies.
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Theatrixnyc
Remember John Lennon:Power To The People!
03:34 PM on 11/28/2011
(Raises glass) "Cheers!"
03:49 PM on 11/28/2011
(Clink!) "Another beer for the dude at the bar!!"
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12:42 PM on 11/28/2011
I felt very sorry for that guy. Who knows -- maybe he was a bit of an eccentric. But so what? The tabloids had already decided he was guilty before he was even charged. So they dredged up every possible negative about his life, including anecdotes from disgruntled former pupils, and even stooped to ridiculing his dress sense (he allegedly once "dyed his hair blue" -- gasp! shock! horror!") to bolster their case against him. Gosh, I hope I'm never suspected of a high-profile crime. They'd have a field day.
Makalha
Opinions are not facts.
03:18 PM on 11/28/2011
Many posters on here decided he was guilty because of his hair and thought up the most evil punishments for him . Britain was once proud of its eccentrics and characters but now unless you conform to a certain stereotype it seems you are automatically a suspect .