Mae'n bwysig casáu'r News Of The World

Mae'r scandal ynglyn ag arfer "newyddiadurwyr" y News Of The World o hacio ffonau symudol yn parhau i waethygu. Yn enwedig yng ngoleuni'r datguddiadau diweddaraf ynglyn ag achos Milly Dowler, mae dau beth yn sicr, sef bod llawer iawn mwy o'r scandal eto i ddod i'r wyneb, a bod rhaid i nifer o bobl gael eu carcharu. Fel mae'r Guardian yn ei ddweud,

But the journalists at the News of the World then encountered a problem. Milly's voicemail box filled up and would accept no more messages. Apparently thirsty for more information from more voicemails, the paper intervened – and deleted the messages that had been left in the first few days after her disappearance. According to one source, this had a devastating effect: when her friends and family called again and discovered that her voicemail had been cleared, they concluded that this must have been done by Milly herself and, therefore, that she must still be alive. But she was not. The interference created false hope and extra agony for those who were misled by it.

The Dowler family then granted an exclusive interview to the News of the World in which they talked about their hope, quite unaware that it had been falsely kindled by the newspaper's own intervention. Sally Dowler told the paper: "If Milly walked through the door, I don't think we'd be able to speak. We'd just weep tears of joy and give her a great big hug."

The deletion of the messages also caused difficulties for the police by confusing the picture when they had few leads to pursue. It also potentially destroyed valuable evidence.

According to one senior source familiar with the Surrey police investigation: "It can happen with abduction murders that the perpetrator will leave messages, asking the missing person to get in touch, as part of their efforts at concealment. We need those messages as evidence. Anybody who destroys that evidence is seriously interfering with the course of a police investigation."

Hollol syfrdanol. Mae'n anodd canfod y geiriau i fynegi erchylltra'r peth. Dw i'n snob sy'n gweld y tabloids yn atgas beth bynnag (gweler y blog ardderchog Tabloid Watch) ond mae'r NOTW wedi plymio dyfroedd newydd sbon bellach. Mae'n hawdd rantio ymlaen am yr erthyl o racsyn, ond yn hytrach dw i am ofyn ychydig o gwestiynau.

1) Mae Private Eye wedi bod yn adrodd am yr helynt yma ers dros 4 blynedd. Pam ei fod wedi cymryd cymaint o amser i'r stori gael ei sylw haeddiannol?

2) Ddwy flynedd yn ôl, wrth sôn am yr honiad bod y NOTW wedi talu rhai o'u targedau i gadw'n dawel, fe fe ddywedodd Rupert Murdoch "If that had happened I would know about it". Gan ei fod yn hysbys bellach bod hynny yn wir wedi digwydd, gawn ni felly dderbyn y dyfyniad yna fel cyfaddefiad gan Murdoch ei fod yn gwybod yn iawn am y peth?

3) O'r un erthygl yn y Guardian, "It was Surrey detectives who established that the call was not intended for Milly Dowler. At the time, Surrey police suspected that phones belonging to detectives and to Milly's parents also were being targeted." Hacio ffonau'r heddlu? Ac roedd yr heddlu'n gwybod? A dydyn nhw heb ymchwilio ymhellach ac erlyn? Pam?

Mae Murdoch yn ymdebygu mwy a mwy i Elliot Carver, y dihiryn yn y ffilm James Bond, Tomorrow Never Dies. Mae'n hanfodol nad yw'n cael prynu gweddill BSkyB; mae gwasg wedi'i dominyddu gan un cwmni'n syniad digon ofnadwy ar yr amser gorau, ond pan mae'r cwmni yna'n un sydd i bob pwrpas yn credu mai rhywbeth ar gyfer pobl eraill yw'r gyfraith, mae'n wallgof. Arwyddwch y ddeiseb yma. Dw i'n amheus o werth deisebau fel modd o ddylanwadu ar benderfyniadau pobl bwysig, yn enwedig rhai ar-lein, ond mae'n safiad pwysig felly gwnewch beth bynnag. Ac mewn difri calon peidiwch â meiddio prynu'r NOTW. A syllwch yn flin ar unrhyw un arall y gwelwch yn cario copi. Mae angen sicrhau bod cael eich gweld yn yr un ystafell â chopi o'r NOTW yn rhywbeth i fod â chywilydd mawr ohono.