LONDON ? Elle Macpherson fired her business adviser, thinking the woman was leaking secrets, when U.K. journalists were actually getting juicy details about the supermodel by hacking into her phone, a British inquiry was told Tuesday.
Mary-Ellen Field's testimony before the inquiry into British media ethics revealed the human costs of the illegal practice, as Field lost both her job for Macpherson and one at an advisory firm because of the unfounded suspicions.
Field said her once-close relationship with Macpherson fell apart after the model's intimate secrets began appearing in the press. Macpherson became convinced that Field, a fellow Australian, was an indiscreet alcoholic and ordered her to go to an American rehabilitation clinic.
Field said she was shocked by the allegations she was a drunk who'd been blabbing about her employer, but went along with Macpherson's recommendation because she needed her job.
"I have a severely disabled child who can never look after himself, so walking away from a high-paying position is not a good idea," Field said.
The rehab was grueling ? she described it as being "like one of those CIA renditions, except they don't put you in chains" ? but it didn't help the situation.
Even though staff at the clinic said Field was not an alcoholic, Macpherson fired her anyway, and Field lost her job at her firm shortly afterward. She told the inquiry there was no doubt the sacking was the result of what happened with Macpherson.
Field said her employer told her that "I'd been indiscreet, that the clients didn't trust me."
Although it has since emerged that the media leaks were the result of phone hacking by the News of the World tabloid, not any indiscretions, Field said she has not heard from Macpherson in years.
Field was one of several victims of press intrusion testifying Tuesday at Britain's Royal Courts of Justice. The inquiry, headed by Lord Justice Brian Leveson, was set up after the scandal over phone hacking and other underhanded tactics used at the News of the World, which was closed in July amid allegations of widespread criminality.
Soccer player Garry Flitcroft told of his family's harassment by the media after the failure of a judicial bid to block news of his affair, saying that at one point journalists used a helicopter to track his movements.
Flitcroft said journalists "wanted to make a statement to me: 'Never take on the press again.'"
Margaret Watson, whose daughter Diane was stabbed to death at her Scottish school two decades ago, gave emotional evidence about the way in which her child's memory was smeared by crusading journalists. She demanded that English libel laws be extended to cover those who have passed away.
"Just because a person's died, their reputation shouldn't die with them," she said.
British comedian Steve Coogan was due to testify later.
On Monday, the parents of murdered British schoolgirl Milly Dowler and film star Hugh Grant were the first victims to testify to the panel, with Grant being particularly scathing.
He described mysterious break-ins, leaked medical details and hacked voice mails. Grant attacked the Mail on Sunday tabloid, accusing it of spying on his conversations. The paper denies the charge, but lawyers at the inquiry said Tuesday the tabloid's response smacked of an attempt to intimidate witnesses.
David Sherborne and Neil Garnham pointed to an article on the Mail's website describing Grant's allegations as "mendacious smears driven by his hatred of the media."
"(Is) everyone who has the temerity to give evidence critical of the press is going to face this the following morning?" Garnham asked.
Sherborne also invoked the Mail article when he said many witnesses were worried about "the sort of intimidatory tactics that we've seen in the press this morning."
Lawyer Jonathan Caplan defended The Mail, saying the paper's comments were "a response to the fact that (Grant) was commenting freely that there was not a substratum of evidence" to support his allegation.
Leveson had limited sympathy for the Mail's argument, noting that while the paper had defended itself, it had also accused Grant of lying under oath.
"The real issue is whether it's appropriate to go from the defensive to the offensive in that way," Leveson said.
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Online:
http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/
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