Tom Crone has left News International. These are words one would never have expected to type. The sudden closure last week of News of the World was a shock; but to those in the small world of media law this is a development of a similar magnitude. One would have expected the ravens to depart the Tower of London before Tom Crone ceased to be the legal manager of News International.
The remarkable thing about Tom Crone is the high regard he is held by all those who deal with him, journalists and lawyers alike. The phrase “well-respected” invariably accompanies his name both in print and private conversations. Notwithstanding the odours of the Sun and the News of the World in particular, and of the legal and tabloid worlds more generally, his reputation indicated that a lawyer can have a good name in a bad job.
Hence the surprise at his departure. It would be wrong to speculate as to the exact circumstances. No one can tell whether it is part of a damage limitation plan, or that there has been an adverse event. His exact involvement in any high-level strategy in respect of phone hacking or in the dealings with the Met might never be fully known: much of his role may (rightly) be cloaked by legal professional privilege. After all, lawyers advise, but it is their clients that decide.
And from one perspective, the circumstances may not matter. There are certain events the significance of which lies in themselves. This is one such event, for this news means there is perhaps only one individual connected with News International whose departure would be even more unthinkable: Rupert Murdoch.
David Allen Green is legal correspondent of New Statesman. He was a contributor to a previous edition of Crone’s Law and the Media.
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