Sean Hoare | |
|---|---|
 Hoare in 2002 | |
| Born | 1963[1] Hertfordshire, England |
| Died | July 18, 2011 (aged 47)[2] Watford, Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Sean Matthew Hoare (1963 – July 18, 2011) was a British entertainment journalist. He contributed to articles on show business, from actors to reality television stars.[3] He played a central role in contributing to exposing theNews International phone hacking scandal.
Hoare was described byThe Guardian'sNick Davies as "coming from a working-class background of solidArsenal supporters, always votedLabour, defined himself specifically as a 'clause IV' socialist who still believed in public ownership of the means of production."[4] Hoare was a trainee reporter in the 1980s for theWatford Observer.[5]
Hoare was a reporter forThe Sun before joiningThe Sunday People, under editorNeil Wallis.[4] He moved to theNews of the World in June 2001,[6] under editorRebekah Brooks (then Rebekah Wade) but was sacked in 2005 by then editorAndy Coulson for drink and drug problems.[7][8] He said in regard to his drug taking while employed by theNews of the World, "I was paid to go out and take drugs with rock stars – get drunk with them, take pills with them, take cocaine with them. It was so competitive. You are going to go beyond the call of duty. You are going to do things that no sane man would do. You're in a machine."[4] He claims to have often taken "three grammes of cocaine a day, spending about £1,000 a week" and would drinkJack Daniel's, and then would snort a line of cocaine as part of a "rock star's breakfast".[4] His health deteriorated to the point that the doctor examining his liver remarked that he "must be dead".[4] A former colleague said, "if you could imagine the stereotypical image ofNews of the World hack, it would be he."[8]
In 2001, Hoare was awarded aShafta Award (celebrating "the very worst in tabloid journalism")[9] for his scoop onDavid andVictoria Beckham's purchase of an island off theEssex coast;[10][11] the story, which turned out to be fiction,[11] also won him the 20th anniversary "Shafta of Shaftas" in 2006.[9] He won another Shafta in 2002,[12] two in 2003,[13] and a lifetime achievement Shafta in 2004.[14]
In September 2010Scotland Yard reopened its2006 phone-hacking case[15] againstNews of the World andAndy Coulson, following aNew York Times Magazine piece published that month in which Hoare told reportersDon Van Natta,Jo Becker and Graham Bowley that Coulson had "actively encouraged" him to hack phones.[16][17][18] Hoare had once been a close friend of Coulson.[7] Following his statements forThe New York Times Hoare was interviewed byScotland Yard officers "under criminal caution," meaning that his statements could be used against him in possible future prosecution.[17] Hoare had said of the phone hacking at theNews of the World: "It was always done in the language of, 'Why don't you practise some of your dark arts on this', which was a metaphor for saying, 'Go and hack into a phone'. Such was the culture of intimidation and bullying that you would do it because you had to produce results. And, you know, to stand up in front of a Commons committee and say, 'I was unaware of this under my watch' was wrong."[8]
Following his original statements forThe New York Times and testimony before thepolice, Hoare re-entered the news in July 2011 when he and an anonymous colleague told reporters for theTimes that British police had assisted reporters working forNews of the World withcell-phone tracking, a power ordinarily used "for high-profile criminal cases and terrorism investigations," in exchange forbribes.[19]Times reporterDon Van Natta wrote that he and Jo Becker had dinner with Hoare the night of theNew York Times article's publication, describing him as "ailing but defiant and funny. And no regrets. All-courage."[20]Metropolitan Police CommissionerPaul Stephenson and his deputy commissionerJohn Yates resigned within a week of Hoare's statements.[21][22][23]
Hoare met reporters fromThe Guardian, to confirm the details of the lastNew York Times reports. He explained the appearance of severe injuries to theGuardian reporters, saying he had been injured the previous weekend while taking down a marquee erected for a children's party. He said he broke his nose and badly injured his foot when a relative accidentally struck him with a pole from the marquee. Hoare failed to return phone calls to his home in the week after his dinner withNew York Times reporters.[20] He was found dead at his home in Langley Road,Watford, Hertfordshire, at around 11 am on 18 July 2011.[7] On the same day and within hours of his body being found,Hertfordshire Police stated that his death was "unexplained" but not suspicious,[24][25] and that it could take weeks to establish a cause of death.[26] On 21 July, Hoare's widow issued a statement in which she said that his death had come as a "tremendous shock".[27] According to an inquest into his death, alcoholism resulting from media interest in the phone hacking scandal caused irreversible damage to Hoare's liver. The inquest ruled that he died from natural causes.[28]
InThe Comic Strip Presents... TV special, "Red Top" (2016), the character of Johnny Bristol (played byJohnny Vegas) is based on Hoare.[29][30] Bristol is an alcoholic, shambolic, and sleazySun reporter who, after being fired by Andy Coulson (Russell Tovey), tips offThe Guardian about phone tapping at News International.[31]
He is played bySean Pertwee in the 2025 ITV drama about theNews International phone hacking scandal,The Hack.[32]
