Charlotte Church

Charlotte Church gives evidence at the Leveson inquiry this afternoon

Credit: Still from Leveson inquiry stream

The singer Charlotte Church told the Leveson inquiry today that she was offered a choice when she sang at Rupert Murdoch's 1999 wedding between a fee of £100,000 or the option to be looked upon favourably by his newspapers.

Church was 13 when the alleged deal, which News International denies, is said to have been offered.

Church told the court that she took the latter option after being advised that Murdoch was a "very powerful man".

The singer was asked by the inquiry's junior counsel Carine Patry Hoskins to describe the experience.

"I remember being told that Murdoch had asked me to perform at his wedding to Wendi Deng in New York on his yacht.

"I remember being told of the offer of the favour to get good press, and I also remember being 13 and thinking why would anyone take a favour instead of £100,000?

"But I was advised by my management and a member of the record company that he was a very, very powerful man and that I could certainly do with a favour of this magnitude."

News International denied that the offer could have been made, claiming that Murdoch had not known in advance that Church had been booked to sing.

Church mainly spoke about the sustained press coverage of her during her teenage years, telling the inquiry that it had had a "massive impact on everyday life" and that "even nowadays" she was regularly followed, despite rarely working.

She also said that there was a "shadow network" operating to assist the tabloid press to track celebrities, including hotel concierges, and restaurant and airline staff.

"I haven't been on a holiday since I was 16 where I haven't been found and photographed. Much of that, I believe, is bought information."

Echoing the testimony given last week by Harry Potter author JK Rowling, Church told the court that she had been photographed on holiday with her children.

Asked why she had volunteered to give evidence to the inquiry, she told barrister David Sherbourne she wanted to highlight the impact of heavy press attention on children in general.

Church also went over the News of the World's exposure of her father's extra-marital affair in 2005 with a story alleged to have been obtained by phone hacking.

The article, headlined "Church three in a bed cocaine shock", was printed next to an image of the singer, giving the impression that it was about her, she said.

Sherbourne told the inquiry last week that the News of the World had run the story despite being aware – via phone hacking, he alleged – that Church's mother had attempted suicide shortly before.

The singer told the hearing that the coverage was "horrific" and had a "massive impact" on her family.

"They knew how vulnerable she was and still printed this story, which was just horrific. I see no public interest at all, other than to sell papers.

"It just had a massive impact on my mother's health, her mental health, her hospital treatment – the only way they know about that was either through the hacking or the bribing of hospital staff.

"They knew how vulnerable she was but still published the story, which was horrific."

Church was also asked by Hoskins about a "countdown clock" that appeared in News of the World stablemate the Sun in 2002, in the run up to her 16th birthday. She said the idea was based on "an innuendo of my passing of the age of consent".

"It was horrible, I was a 16-year-old girl and I was really uncomfortable with it."

Describing some of the tactics used by the press, she claimed that a camera had been placed in a shrub outside her house to track her movements, and said that a book belonging to a private investigator that she had been shown by the police contained DVLA records, criminal records, and mobile and home phone numbers.

"It all feels like they put you through this psychological grinder and you come out the other end and it just keeps on happening," she said.

Chris Jefferies, who was arrested in connection with the murder of Bristol landscape architect Joanna Yeates, told the inquiry this morning of the "vilification" he was submitted to despite being innocent.

Also appearing to give evidence today are former British military intelligence officer Ian Hurst and former TV presenter Anne Diamond.

It was announced yesterday that political blogger Guido Fawkes had been summoned to appear before the inquiry after he leaked the written statement submitted by Alastair Campbell.
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