I thought I was due what everyone was due in that kind of situation. Various media stories estimated his salary at between 275,000[26] and 475,000; the party indicated the latter figure was "inaccurate" and that his salary was "substantially less" but refused to provide an exact figure. And I had so much incoming. Thats what we have here and obviously for me Im going to say its an imperfect system, but Im certainly not arguing that it should have been done some other way. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 52 years old? Is that why you resigned? Andrew Edward Coulson (born 21 January 1968)[2][3] is an English journalist and political strategist. It is an audit on your life and your relationships and there were some people, I think, I expected more of them, if I can put it that way. And I think that is a clear lesson, that the what if is as pointless as the why me?. Pic credit: CBS. Almost from the start of the trial, actually, because the profile of the trial was so high. And then youre off and youre into the admission process which, again, is not especially pleasant, I have to say. And it was, it was a much better regime. I knew that Eloise would have read it and I knew that my mum would have read it. My biggest regret was the decision that I took to have my two oldest sons come and visit me in Belmarsh". BirthName, Nickname, and Profession So first, let's take a look at some personal details of Andy, like name, nickname, and profession. When you saw very young men like that in prison, now that your own boys are reaching past adulthood, did you, sort of, connect with them? And although I stand by the position I took in court, in regard to the allegations that I ended up being found guilty of, my view is still that I didnt break the law. You benefit from undiluted, unambiguous one-to-one advice, game changing campaigns and crisis guidance from p He subsequently joined David Cameron's personnel as communications director, until announcing his departure on 21 January 2011 because of continued media coverage of the phone-hacking affair. I didnt accept the verdict but I certainly accepted its consequences. That was a good moment for us because we were then very clear that this was not about me becoming chums, this was about me being a professional advisor to him and him taking that advice seriously and the relationship on that basis went forward. We were doing, it sounds ridiculous, Dragons Den presentations of ideas for what they were going to do when they got released, and mock interviews. Fair enough, really. There are very, very few of them that I continue to feel any sort of disappointment about, because people have got their own lives and you see that very quickly. I had proper moments of depression, without a shadow of a doubt, but I found ways of dealing with that and also I got a lot of help. Find professional Andy Coulson videos and stock footage available for license in film, television, advertising and corporate uses. And Ive got to be honest with you, I think that is a change in me because as a newspaper editor, particularly, you are very judgemental. If thats how he feels, thats how he feels. Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson has been released from prison after serving nearly five months in jail for conspiracy to hack phones. Coulson was name-checked by Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) in an episode of This Time with Alan Partridge (Series 02, Episode 02) during an introduction to a segment about law and order. How can I do that? Andy: Youve got a window next to you and I just sort of turned my back. Heres the full transcript: Jane: Im Jane Moore, a friend of Andys and for a number of years his colleague at The Sun. There were some fights, but never anything directed at me and nothing that caused me to feel scared in Belmarsh and certainly not when I got to Hollesley Bay, which was a different regime altogether. So, I got a lot of that. No one knew that at that stage. Andy: I think if people want to talk about my time at the News of the World, that conversation should always start with an apology and I have apologised several times. And I thought that was very generous of them really. I got told by a couple of prison guards, because I chatted to everyone, again, its the journalist in me, I had lots of conversations with other prisoners and with prison guards, prison officers and two of them actually told me, Youre just being put to the bottom of the pile, Andy. Andy: I dont know. Andrew Edward Coulson (born 21 January 1968) is an English journalist and political strategist. And when you see young men being separated from their families in that way, it is profoundly depressing. The most common refrain was Its not like the House of Commons, is it Andy?. Im a big believer in counselling and therapy and that has helped me enormously, I have to say. Thats why I love podcasting, actually, its that its not a formal interview process, its a conversation. Throughout his career Andy has been, as he puts it, poacher, gamekeeper and game - experiencing crisis from every angle. His pay was 140,000, the highest paid special advisor. I accepted the verdict in the end, or rather its consequences I accepted. I wont ever be at peace with it, I suspect in one sense, because it hurts. And that was partly necessary, just from a practical point of view, but it was also definitely a coping mechanism as well. [36] Kate Robertson of One Young World told the Guardian "He can't do One Young World work at the moment, that is absolutely clear". The judge added that it was for him, and not the jury, to decide on this aspect of the case and that the Crown's legal submissions had failed to satisfy him that Coulson's evidence had been sufficiently relevant to the Sheridan trial. And politics is an hourly crisis, right? Monty was 12? Dont try and solve it all. A bemused local cabbie found himself sitting in the middle of a cornfield and off we went to the station. Now, she already knew about it, but having it made public was not easy, of course, and then you went to prison. Andy: Hindsight yeah, but honestly hindsight is pointless in my view, particularly when you are trying to get through the crisis. [48], However, the Crown Prosecution Service said in December 2010 that it had determined that there was insufficient evidence to charge Coulson over allegations that he was aware of phone-hacking at the publication. What did crisis teach you about friendship? Jane: OK, and finally you asked this of all your guests, the three crisis cures, if you like, and you know the rules; it cant be a person. I thought that was pretty unusual and unfair, but it happened so I had to deal with it. [32] It later emerged that he was still being paid by News International while working for the then opposition leader. - Delivered a Conduct-focused approach and embedded cultural change focused on . That moment when I spoke to my lawyers from prison. And then before you know it, I live a way away from London, finally we got in and I had a final meeting with my lawyers. People were being genuinely kind to me. They used to say about the News of the World, the old marketing slogan for the News of the World was all human life is here and thats true of Dickens. I was treated perfectly decently and fairly but its just something that you think to yourself, I cant quite believe this is happening to me. But this kind of disconnection from family, whatever the circumstances, is just a fundamental negative. So, what are yours? So I did. View the profiles of professionals named "Andy Coulson" on LinkedIn. I felt it was a bit on the steep side but it was within the parameters, so its up to the judge, the sentencing in technical terms. [15] Other defendants were cleared. And as a result of that I met a large number of prisoners because I was helping them put their CVs together. In 2005, Andy Coulson was the award-winning editor of the News of the World, presiding over a culture of ruthless exploitation. And they were nothing short of incredible. Jane: Are you still friends? They were to work within the PCC code at all times". I left and David didnt want me to go. That was very difficult. Everything is there in that book and its a cracking read. But I didnt have that because I knew that there would be one, possibly two more trials when I came out of Belmarsh. And I thought, this is just hopeless, Im his Director of Communications and Im learning things in the paper. Jane: As you say, its high security for a reason, because there are some pretty serious criminals in there. I was pretty unhappy about being put through a public enquiry on television before I got to trial. As director of communications for the Conservatives he does an excellent job in a proper, upright way at all times. Jane: So, youre packing your bag. "[53] These charges were made about 1 year after the Metropolitan Police Service reopened its dormant investigation into phone hacking,[54] about 3 years after the then Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service told the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee that "no additional evidence has come to light,"[55] 5 years after Coulson and News International executives began claiming that phone hacking was the work of a single "rogue reporter,"[56] 10 years after The Guardian began reporting that the Met had evidence of widespread illegal acquisition of confidential information,[57] and 13 years after the Met began accumulating "boxloads" of that evidence, including sources for News of the World journalists while Coulson was editor, but kept it unexamined in trash bags at Scotland Yard. [37], In January 2016 Coulson launched a new corporate PR agency offering communications strategy services in partnership with Henry Chappell, Coulson Chappell. Was there ever a point through all of this, the trial or prison or any of it, that you cried? Andy: There were moments when I felt utter despair. I had no complaint about it. I mean, there were lots of theories at the time. [19], Coulson grew up in Wickford, Essex. Actually, in the conversation with Chris Lewis we were discussing this. So, when you came back after being found guilty and before going back to be sentenced, you had that time at home. Thats basically where you spend yourself emotionally as an editor, in between those two things. [20], He became deputy editor of the News of the World, the Sunday sister paper of The Sun, in 2000. Im absolutely sure that Im a better advisor as a result of what happened. And that just didnt happen. Eloise and the boys have to take the gold medal, if you like, for getting me through but there are a whole load who get the silver medal and Im very grateful for it. And I thought to myself, Serco are rubbish at security but absolute bloody masters of irony. And keep the smile on my face and move myself and my family forward every day, which is exactly what we do, its exactly our attitude. And then we got closer to it and as it looked likely that we were going to succeed, David sat me down and said, I need you and I want you to stay. But there are a whole bunch of mistakes from a leadership point of view, I was the boss. It is a fact of my life and it is an upsetting fact of my life. Coulson is pictured leaving the court earlier. Andy talks about confronting his mistakes and the . Shes just not got a bitter bone in her body. There have been the odd conversations. But we had a two-week crisis in our life, after Monty was born, in terms of the emotional impact of it, it was far greater because we felt we were going to lose him not long after he was born. Andy: Yeah, it is, it is hard. I just wanted to see them. Speaking outside the court, Coulson said: "I'm just delighted that after four pretty testing years my family and myself have finally had a good day". Do you feel the need to sometimes wear that like a badge, to own it in certain situations? So part of the evidence presented at the trial revealed that you had had an affair. A Stratford employment tribunal upheld a claim of unfair dismissal claimed by senior sports writer Matt Driscoll, and stated "We find the behaviour to have been a consistent pattern of bullying behaviour". He added that the case against him had been a "waste of money". Were going to put you to work. So thats how I spent quite a bit of my time there. There were mistakes made during my time at the News of the World, without any shadow of a doubt, but my 20s were professionally rewarding, fascinating and fun and newspapers were I cant speak for now because Ive been out of them for so long a very exciting place to be. Andy: No, I was acutely aware of that, having published so many of those pictures. Ask me where all the bad decisions are and there are quite a few, you might argue thats one of them. When did you last speak to him? permanent tsb. Jane: Between the jury verdicts at your trial, David issued an apology for hiring you and said it was wrong. Andy Coulson, the former newspaper editor and Downing Street spokesperson jailed on phone hacking charges, revealed that he has built a new career as a crisis strategy consultant - and "business. My brother was there and one of my best pals, Kris, and there was a lot of manly hugging and goodbyes. "[45], A report aired on Channel 4's Dispatches in October included remarks made by an unnamed source, said to have been a former senior journalist at the News of the World who worked alongside Coulson. And its going to be Groundhog Day and actually the consequences of that trial could be even worse in Scotland and then a whole load of politics attached to that and theres a whole load of new agendas. Business City Spy: PR Week unveils its top spinners of the year. And I managed to get down just in time and before you know it youre off driving through the city and I just remember looking at the bright blue sky really. But Ive got some good techniques now. (listen here). Certainly, when you find yourself in crisis and thats also, more importantly, just not how I see it. I wasnt released on good behaviour, thats the system. The source alleged that Coulson had personally listened to messages obtained through phone hacking. The two others, well one of them got dropped and one I was acquitted, but thats the system. . "[41], On 1 September 2010 The New York Times printed new allegations from former News of the World reporters alleging that Coulson had "actively encouraged" reporters to illegally intercept voicemail messages, and that he "was present during discussions about phone hacking". Andy: Yeah, my view was that they had absolutely every right to be at the end of my drive and they had every right to try and get a picture of me and I had every right to avoid it. I have to say, everyone through that process, the prison officers down in the cells at the Old Bailey, could not have been, frankly, more friendly. Hoare speaking on Five Live, Drive, 3 September 2010. Its constantly incoming and my job, in fact, was to manage those crises. Andy: Dangers of drug smuggling and all manner of other suggested uses for books. And then I was told its 18 months and before you know it, youre through that green door and youre handcuffed and youre taken down to the cells. So, wed had lots of conversations but then, yes, we had to have a conversation about what it meant. Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, remunerated by the newspaper, was given a custodial sentence of six months. No one wants to spend two months of their life in a high-security prison, certainly, but I was mainly concerned about my boys because I wanted to see them and I didnt want them to visit me in a high-security prison. It was the wrong decision and I am very clear about that." Jane: We talked a bit, obviously, there about family and knowing the value of your family. And I managed to get there. On 21 November 2014, Coulson was released from prison having served less than five months of his 18-month prison sentence. Jane: And when they came to visit Belmarsh, because a lot of people listening to this will never have been to a Category A prison, even to visit, why is that your regret? Its definitely true of The Pickwick Papers because youve got politics, youve got the law, youve got prison, youve got journalism. Simple as that, and theres a lot of that that goes on. Those were my choices and when you take jobs like that, people are going to form a view. [23], In 2008 an employment tribunal upheld a claim of bullying by Coulson whilst he was at the News of The World. Take control of what you actually have control over and, of course, the main thing that you have control over is your own mind-set and your own attitude. In 1988, he moved to The Sun, working with Piers Morgan on the showbiz column Bizarre. Lots of people were sending me books and I wasnt allowed to have them because they were, I thought rather ridiculously, banned at that stage by a former colleague of mine, Chris Grayling. I say that because I have been so completely blown away by the support and friendship that Ive had from people who, frankly, owed me nothing. Andy: Well that didnt happen immediately, because theres a period of time between verdict and sentencing. As a newspaper editor, its a weekly crisis, daily crisis when youre working on The Sun, which is of course where I spent most of my time, most of my career. Never mind my resilience and my crisis, the truth of the matter is it was as much a crisis for them and for Ellie as it was for me. [21], Coulson resigned on 26 January 2007 over the News of the World phone hacking affair which would several weeks later see the jailing for four months of the paper's Royal correspondent Clive Goodman. [4][5] The overall impact from his tenure came to be known as the "Coulson effect". And, of course, we became friends because we worked together a long time and David and his family went through, as everyone remembers, some truly appalling times during the period. And before I knew it, because its down underneath the Old Bailey where you get on the bus, you then go up a ramp and it was a gloriously sunny day, July the fourth, ironically enough, Independence Day 2014. Jane: I mean, in fairness, Ive known you, what, 25 years and you were like that before you had a crisis. Its a very long Victorian corridor full of very old Victorian cells in which there have been some very famous and very notorious criminals over the years. I think that the danger with this conversation, if Im brutally honest with you, as we sit here right at the start of it, is that it somehow comes off as woe is me. Andy: Well because Belmarsh is a high-security prison for a reason. Discover Andy Coulson's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. And I made mistakes in my personal life as well, and so Ive never at any point felt why me? about it because thats just not how I feel. And what I understood quite quickly is that theres two routes to violence in prison. And thats absolutely not how I feel. So its just too easy, I think, either for him or for me to say, I wish it had never happened, because you make decisions in the moment. The way I choose to deal with it and the way Ive chosen to deal with it is be positive and go and build a business and employ some brilliant people, which I now do and go and work with a fantastic set of clients, which I do. There were elements of my crisis that were entirely self-inflicted. On one level its fundamentally depressing to find yourself there. [34], On 7 February 2011, Coulson and his wife established 'Elbrus Consultants Ltd'. Normally youre packing to go on holiday, but youre packing to go to prison. But no, certainly not in this kind of context. [1] He follows Tottenham Hotspur. And share he has about Colton Underwood from the world of The Bachelor. [9][10][11][12], In June 2014 at the Old Bailey, Coulson was found guilty of a charge of conspiracy to intercept voicemails (phone-hacking). [2], Coulson started work at 18 as a junior reporter on the Basildon Echo in 1986. It was that sort of combination of mind-numbing boredom, an awful lot of frustration because I was told that I would be in Belmarsh for a couple of days and then Id be categorised, given the nature of my conviction, be categorised as a D-Cat pretty swiftly, and then Id be off to an open prison. You can be walking along the landing and someone walking the other way, for whatever reason, decides that the answer to their problem that day is to attack you. As every step forward you take, again without trying to get too poetic about it, that rucksack, which is how I see it, its a rucksack with a bunch of rocks in it and every six months or so it gets significantly lighter. [22], On 21 July 2009 Coulson appeared in front of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and denied any knowledge of the phone hacking scandal, saying "my instructions to the staff were clear we did not use subterfuge of any kind unless there was a clear public interest in doing so. Six former members of staff from the now defunct. But I accepted the system. So your boys did come to Belmarsh? Jane: I remember coming to see you with Eloise and the boys and you all sort of sit in a gymnasium, dont you? And, in fact, the last words from one of those prison officers to me as I was about to get on the bus were, Keep your head down, youll get through it, life moves on. Responsibility for the monitoring, control and mitigation of Conduct Risk for the Group. Coulson's parents moved from their Basildon council house to nearby Wickford during his childhood. I can tell you that Belmarsh is not a holiday camp by any measure. There are probably people out there who maybe even think worse, but there is nothing I can do about that. I have to say I managed to get to that point reasonably quickly and I ran it as a campaign. Theres a lot of kind of, Ill help you out here and you help me, and I knew I wasnt going to engage in any of that. There are dogs and there are searches and its another one of those sort of movie scenes. But Ive never done it in any detail other than, of course, over a very long period in a witness box in the Old Bailey. And actually, I dont feel much right now at all, life is good. Suddenly youre on trial at the Old Bailey and youre hearing the word guilty; tell us about that moment. In David Cameron: The Conservative-Liberal Democratic coalition government Andy Coulson, Cameron's communications chief, had already left that post in January of the same year in the wake of the growing evidence tying him to the scandal. 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