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00:00 July 1st, 2000.
00:20 It's a hot summer's day in West Sussex, England.
00:24 Four young siblings are outside playing hide and seek, in a cornfield near their grandparents'
00:29 home by the coast.
00:31 A short while later, a 999 call is made to police.
00:59 That caller is Sarah Payne, and her daughter, Sarah, did not come home with her brothers
01:05 and sister.
01:06 Two hours later, the police launch a major investigation into the young girl's disappearance.
01:13 This would fast turn into a huge and massively publicised nationwide hunt to find 8-year-old
01:19 Sarah Payne.
01:40 Sarah Evelyn Isabel Payne was the third of four children.
01:44 Her mum Sarah said, "She was the imagination of the family, all pixies and fairies and
01:50 dolls.
01:51 She was very much a girly girl.
01:54 Around her family, she was full of energy, lively and playful.
01:59 But Sarah said she could be quite timid with others.
02:02 Sarah had a big heart, was kind, caring and considerate, loving nothing more than going
02:08 to school and playing with her siblings."
02:14 On the first weekend of July, the Payne family decided to visit Michael's father and stepmother,
02:19 Leslie and Terry, in West Sussex.
02:22 It was the peak of summer and they lived by the coast, with plenty of space outside for
02:27 the kids to play.
02:29 On the evening of July 1st, the family ate dinner together, before they took a walk down
02:34 to the coastline.
02:40 After this, the children, having so much fun, asked to stay out and play.
02:45 Michael and Sarah put the oldest brother, Lee, in charge, and they went to play in the
02:50 cornfield, just metres from their grandparents' house.
02:53 Sarah, Michael and Terry took a stroll themselves.
02:57 They soon headed back home, wanting to settle in for the evening and get the children into
03:01 bed.
03:02 As soon as they approached the house, they realised something was wrong.
03:08 Thirteen-year-old Lee, twelve-year-old Luke and six-year-old Charlotte were stood outside
03:13 with Leslie, but Sarah was not.
03:17 Leslie was clutching Charlotte's hand tightly, panicked, and asked, "Have you got Sarah?"
03:23 "No," they tentatively said.
03:26 The children said that Sarah had fallen over and hit her head while playing.
03:30 She then ran off, crying, heading for a gap in the harvest with the intent of going back
03:34 to the house.
03:36 Her oldest brother, Lee, turned around for a split second and lost sight of her.
03:40 The children had looked for her for a few minutes, before they knew they needed to get
03:44 home.
03:47 Everyone started running around the fields and beach, gathering neighbours along the
03:50 way who wanted to help.
03:53 Throughout the day, local people have joined police officers to search the fields and woods
04:03 around where Sarah Payne went missing.
04:06 Sarah had been playing outside with her younger sister and two older brothers when they became
04:10 separated.
04:11 Once separated from the other children, police believe she may have become lost.
04:15 They say there's no evidence to suggest that she's been abducted.
04:20 As soon as the search started, it became clear that this was not simply a child that had
04:24 run off and become lost.
04:27 This was not in Sarah's nature, and everyone knew it.
04:32 Codenamed Operation Naple, everyone was invested and joining in the search, doing anything
04:38 and everything they could to help.
04:45 By all accounts, from everyone that lived there and knew the place, it was a very safe
04:50 area.
04:51 There was little traffic, lots of countryside, and all the houses were very separated.
04:56 But everyone knew each other.
04:59 One reporter said it was more a place where wealthy holidaymakers would rent out little
05:03 seaside cottages.
05:05 There was no trouble there.
05:06 It's possible she'd moved some distance, that she could still be hidden somewhere.
05:11 But we do have to consider there is a growing possibility that she has been abducted.
05:16 Time is still of the essence, and for that reason we are prioritising that line of inquiry.
05:22 We've got to go to 500 action, so it's 500 different jobs that we're going to have to
05:26 do in trying to find Sarah.
05:29 The last place she was seen had one road in and one road out.
05:36 The reporter said, "You really have to have a reason to need to go down there."
05:41 The police hit the ground running, and along with volunteers in the area, they started
05:46 searching.
05:47 But there was simply no evidence to be found.
05:49 None of her clothing, and nothing she'd dropped on the way.
05:53 There were no leads, and no clues anywhere.
05:59 As the police started taking more detailed statements, Lee told his mother he had seen
06:03 something but didn't know if he should say or not.
06:06 After encouraging him to tell her anything, no matter how small, he said that he had seen
06:11 a white van on the road.
06:13 He said the driver was a scruffy man, and he had smiled at him and waved as he had gone
06:18 past.
06:19 He remembered and watched the van speed off so fast, the tyres were screeching against
06:24 the ground.
06:27 Lee said he was just seconds behind her, metres away.
06:33 He gave a description of the van, and the man inside.
06:40 Authorities started going door to door, and questioning known paedophiles in the area.
06:45 Over the next 48 hours, two arrests were made.
06:49 But both times, they were swiftly released.
06:55 Michael and Sarah were making every appeal they could, and every media outlet was running
07:00 Sarah's story.
07:01 Thanks for coming to the press conference, Sarah.
07:06 What can we say that we haven't already said, except that we are so determined to find Sarah?
07:14 We'd like you to introduce you to Sarah's teddy.
07:20 He doesn't have a name yet.
07:21 Sarah will name me when she comes home.
07:26 I have some letters from the brothers and sisters that I'd like to read out.
07:35 Please bear with me on this.
07:41 If you're reading this, please come home.
07:44 We miss you, and we want you back.
07:49 We will find you no matter what it takes, and we have a big surprise for you when you
07:53 come home.
07:54 I can't imagine what Sarah means to us.
07:57 We're a strong family, and we don't survive well apart.
08:04 We need a home now, today, as quickly as we possibly can.
08:12 Somebody out there must have seen her.
08:16 They must have seen her on that road.
08:18 They must have seen her.
08:21 Sarah was spearheading the media campaign, making sure everyone was talking about and
08:26 looking for her daughter.
08:28 She wouldn't hear any talk of her daughter being anything other than alive and well,
08:33 and always addressed Sarah directly in the appeals, telling her she would be safe and
08:38 back home soon.
08:39 Sarah, look.
08:40 Look at all these people looking for you.
08:41 And your flowers.
08:42 Look, Sarah, they're sending flowers.
08:43 You'll be home soon, darling.
08:49 Oh, we promise you, you'll be home soon.
08:55 You really will.
08:56 Let her go.
08:57 Let her go.
08:58 Well, if you know that someone's got an extra child somehow, or whatever, get in touch with
09:05 your local police, you know?
09:07 Look around you, everybody.
09:08 Everybody just look around you.
09:09 We're trying to stay as positive as we possibly can, you know?
09:14 And Sarah, if you're watching, mommy loves you.
09:18 And we miss you.
09:21 And we're looking for you, darling.
09:22 And we're going to find you.
09:24 We're going to find you.
09:28 And you'll be home.
09:31 You'll be home, darling.
09:33 Yeah, I'm still hopeful.
09:35 We've got to try and keep our spirits up in some way.
09:39 She's alive.
09:40 The picture of Sarah wearing her red school uniform became a famous and widely circulated
09:49 picture, one many will remember seeing in the papers and on the news to this very day.
09:56 But with nothing turning up, the military was soon brought in as well.
10:00 Everyone was making appeals, including the pop group Steps, Sarah's favourite band.
10:08 Reconstructions were put out, and before long, Sarah's case had become the biggest in Sussex
10:14 Police's history.
10:16 After the appeals and reconstructions, thousands of leads came in, and every single one needed
10:23 to be looked into.
10:24 Someone believed they saw Sarah with a man at a service station getting fuel.
10:29 The girl was in the toilets, crying and saying her name was Sarah.
10:33 But this lead turned out to be false.
10:38 Another witness said she had seen what looked like a white transit van come hurtling down
10:42 the road that day, the same van that Lee described seeing that evening.
10:48 This lead had a lot more weight to it.
10:51 Your 11-year-old Luke asked to say a few words to his younger sister.
11:00 Sarah, if you're watching, please come home.
11:03 Family's not the same without you.
11:06 There's just a massive gap in between everybody.
11:09 Our little princess has been not with us for two whole weeks now.
11:15 We miss her terribly.
11:18 Every day gets a little bit harder.
11:20 It was now more than two weeks since Sarah was last seen, and family liaison officers
11:25 arrived at the family home with terrible news.
11:28 Police searching for the missing eight-year-old Sarah Payne have found the body of a little
11:45 girl in Wenner Sussex.
11:46 In Wenner Sussex field tonight, police are examining the body of a little girl found
11:50 just 10 miles from where Sarah Payne went missing at the beginning of the night.
11:54 Just 10 miles from the home of the missing eight-year-old Sarah Payne.
11:58 They've been gathering evidence and DNA samples which are being sent off for analysis.
12:04 The body of a little girl had been found by a farm worker.
12:09 She was naked and buried in a shallow grave.
12:12 Her body was severely decomposed and had been attacked by animals.
12:24 As the liaison officer Sean was telling Michael and Sarah to prepare for the worst, the media
12:30 was already publicising the story, and Sarah's brother and sister came running outside, asking
12:36 their parents if it was true.
12:40 Nothing confirmed, it was Sarah Payne's body.
12:49 Sean offered to go and see her first.
12:53 When he returned to the house, Sarah said he was the shadow of the man who had left
12:57 the house that day, and she said looking at how broken he was, she knew she couldn't
13:02 face seeing her little girl like that.
13:31 The pathologist said that Sarah had suffered a violent death, and it was probably asphyxia
13:36 in a sexually motivated attack.
13:39 But, due to the decomposition, it was impossible to determine any injuries.
13:59 Crime Watch soon ran a story too.
14:07 a killer of Sarah Payne.
14:10 Here's the man who is running perhaps the highest profile investigation in the country,
14:14 Peter Kennett.
14:16 The stretch of the A29 where Sarah was buried is a very non-descript road.
14:20 It's that part that is between the Brinsbury Agricultural College and the Tote Cafe.
14:27 On that Saturday evening at about 11 o'clock, a lorry driver who was driving a 7.5 tonne
14:32 curtain sided truck could well have seen the murderer of Sarah Payne.
14:37 A vehicle pulled out from the exact spot where Sarah had been buried, and it caused this
14:43 lorry driver to brake sharply to avoid it.
14:46 There's little doubt in my mind that the murderer had just buried Sarah.
14:51 That driver could have also taken the registration number of the car down.
14:54 Now, wouldn't that be wonderful?
14:57 It's possible that the killer of Sarah may well have been driving in the area.
15:00 One particular location that is of interest is the Texaco garage at Buck Barn, which is
15:06 at the junction of the A24 and the A272.
15:09 I appeal to any witnesses that were in the area at that time.
15:13 Did you see a man that was nervous, agitated, sweating, perhaps dirty from having dug a
15:19 grave?
15:20 Did you see him in a vehicle?
15:21 If you did, please contact the programme.
15:23 It's vital that we speak to you.
15:24 I've got photographs of him from birth right up to just before she went missing, I think.
15:30 I mean, she loved dressing up.
15:33 She loved writing little notes to everybody.
15:35 And the last note she wrote to us before she went out that door was "Mrs. L. Payne,"
15:41 which is the wife.
15:42 "I love you so, so, so much.
15:44 There is somebody out there who knows what happened to Sarah.
15:49 They know."
15:50 And I plead with all my heart for them to get in contact.
15:57 Please don't let that happen to her, little girl.
16:01 Peter, it must be a hugely emotional inquiry for you and the team.
16:04 As was the reconstruction.
16:06 The first time I saw that was yesterday at a briefing down in Littlehampton Police Station.
16:11 The entire team were there, 40 detectives.
16:14 As soon as that tape started, you could have heard a pin drop.
16:19 I was not the only person to have tears in my eyes and dubbing them with a handkerchief.
16:26 It does highlight the bravery of Terry Payne and particularly the Payne family, who have
16:31 been absolutely marvelous throughout this entire inquiry.
16:33 Now, there have been all sorts of strange sightings as well.
16:37 I know that there's one bonfire in particular you're trying to find out more about.
16:41 Yes, there was some hardboard and MDF wood that was on a bonfire, which had been taken
16:49 from a van.
16:50 It was there for three days.
16:52 The bonfire wasn't lit and the wood was taken.
16:57 Salvaged.
16:58 Probably entirely.
16:59 Salvaged, yes.
17:00 So you want whoever salvaged that plywood or whatever it was to let you know, where
17:04 is that wood now?
17:05 Absolutely.
17:06 It might be connected, might have forensic clues on it, of course.
17:10 If it did come from a van, somebody would have refitted the interior of a van or a vehicle
17:14 like a van on the first or second of July.
17:16 Yes, in that Littlehampton, Angering, Rustington area.
17:19 Anybody was asked to do that, please call.
17:21 Absolutely.
17:22 OK, there's a substantial reward as well.
17:25 £150,000.
17:26 So, please, any way that you can help this, but leave this to the Sussex area, please,
17:32 and try and be specific about calls.
17:34 Please ring us in the studio on our free phone number.
17:35 A lady came forward and told police that she had seen a shoe at the side of the road, near
17:39 to where Sarah's body was found.
17:42 This was the lead they were looking for.
17:45 The shoe was collected and they started searching that area for more clues.
17:50 Police have circled back round to a man they had spoken to just a day after Sarah went
17:54 missing - convicted paedophile, 41-year-old Roy Whiting.
18:01 Roy was described as a loner and an outcast.
18:04 He had a string of past convictions and he had given them a false alibi.
18:10 He had scratches to his body and answered no comments to everything he was asked.
18:15 How far away from her were you in your vehicle when you first saw her?
18:21 No comment.
18:22 What side of the road was she walking on?
18:27 No comment.
18:30 At what stage did you decide that you were going to take her?
18:35 No comment.
18:36 I mean, was it a planned thing or was it an instantaneous act?
18:44 No comment.
18:45 Is there anything that you don't understand about what I've asked you over the past few
18:52 days?
18:53 No.
18:54 Roy Whiting was suspect number one.
18:57 Back in 1995, Roy had abducted and sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl in Crawley.
19:03 He was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison.
19:07 A psychiatrist assessed him and said that he was likely to re-offend once released,
19:12 and could possibly even kill his next victim.
19:16 He was released after serving just half of his sentence, and in 1997, he became one of
19:22 the first people in Britain to go on the newly launched Sex Offenders Register.
19:27 He moved to Littlehampton on the West Sussex coast and started renting a flat, a flat just
19:32 miles from where Sarah was last seen.
19:35 As he was on the Sex Offenders Register and lived in the area, he was one of the first
19:40 people to be questioned in Sarah's case.
19:43 When the police went to his flat, he said he was out all day at a fair 21 miles away.
19:50 His flat was forensically searched, but nothing turned up.
19:55 And with this, the officers left.
19:58 They did, however, keep him under surveillance over the next few weeks, monitoring everything
20:03 he did and everywhere he went.
20:05 At one point during the surveillance, police saw him get into a white van.
20:15 A van they didn't know he owned.
20:18 They asked him to step out and did a quick search.
20:21 It turned out he had purchased the van just a week before Sarah was last seen.
20:26 Inside, they found a receipt for fuel that was purchased on the day Sarah went missing,
20:33 and this completely exposed his alibi.
20:37 Other items in the van included children's blankets and toys.
20:41 [MUSIC]
21:04 Sarah's body was discovered within three miles of the service station where Roy had
21:09 bought the fuel and near to his flat, but there was still insufficient evidence to charge
21:15 him.
21:16 What had drawn police to Roy Whiting for a second time was that he had stolen a car and
21:21 taken off.
21:23 Police chased him at about 70 miles an hour before he crashed.
21:26 [MUSIC]
21:46 [INAUDIBLE]
21:56 [INAUDIBLE]
22:18 He was arrested for theft and dangerous driving, and this gave them more time to question him
22:24 about Sarah again.
22:26 Police believe that no matter how well he thought he had covered it all up, Roy Whiting
22:30 was behind what had happened to Sarah Payne, but he still wasn't talking and was released
22:37 pending his court date for the car theft.
22:43 One of the officers leading the investigation said something about Sarah's abduction and
22:47 death touched a nerve throughout the body of the United Kingdom.
22:51 I think since that time, there's been some really notable cases that have followed suit,
22:56 but this was really the very first that was so enormous in the eyes of the public, he
23:01 recalled.
23:03 A funeral was finally held for Sarah.
23:06 Sarah said when they buried her, they gave her the funeral a princess should have, because
23:11 she could never give her the wedding a princess should have.
23:14 Sarah said she owed it to the public and everyone that had been there supporting, searching
23:19 and appealing since July.
23:21 It's very hard when the entire country has ownership of your daughter, she said.
23:26 You want to go away to a little corner and just mourn and deal with life.
23:30 But knowing how much this meant to everyone else, many a mourner flocked to say goodbye
23:35 to Sarah.
23:36 I didn't know what to write, so I just wrote to Sarah.
23:41 Dear Sarah, ever since you came bounding into our lives at two in the morning, with no phone
23:49 in the house, one tooth in your head and a smile that could melt ice, we loved you.
23:56 You were a joy that made our lives full.
24:00 Daddy called you princess because that's just what you are.
24:04 Sarah and Michael believed early on that Sarah had been snatched and killed by a sex offender,
24:10 although they had no idea who.
24:12 Sarah started channelling her energy into researching the laws on sex offenders, and
24:17 they vowed that they would change the system.
24:21 When the News of the World newspaper gave their backing too, they all started calling
24:25 on law enforcement to adopt the British version of what is known as Megan's Law in America.
24:31 This law would require police to make information about known local sex offenders available
24:36 to the public.
24:37 It would allow parents, carers or guardians to formally ask the police for information
24:43 about a person who has had contact with their child, or a child close to them, if they are
24:47 concerned the person poses a risk.
24:51 A decision was made to publish the names and faces of 50 paedophiles convicted of offences
24:56 against children in the News of the World.
25:08 It was an extremely controversial decision.
25:12 Critics accused the newspaper of inciting vigilante justice.
25:17 There were many attacks off the back of this.
25:20 But things got confused, and people that shared the same names as those in the paper found
25:25 themselves attacked.
25:29 More than one million people signed the petition to make Sarah's law happen.
25:37 In September 2000, two months after Sarah went missing, Roy Whiting pleaded guilty to
25:43 stealing the car, and he was sentenced to 22 months in prison.
25:48 22 months gave police a substantial amount of time to forensically analyse as much as
25:53 they could, and build a good case against Roy.
25:56 They started running tests on his van.
25:59 The van was made to carry furniture and was full of plywood that went around the inside.
26:04 The plywood was easy to strip out and burn, and it was clear that any evidence that may
26:09 have been inside could be long gone.
26:12 But the fear of not finding anything quickly dissipated when a single, blonde hair was
26:19 discovered on a red sweatshirt.
26:22 It was a strand of Sarah's hair.
26:26 The shoe found on the side of the road was soon confirmed to be Sarah's as well, and
26:30 the Velcro strap on the shoe had picked up fibres.
26:34 That linked to the inside of the van as well.
26:39 On the 6th of February 2001, following seven months of testing and gathering evidence,
26:45 Roy Whiting was finally charged with the abduction and murder of Sarah Payne.
26:50 I'm William Whiting, I'm Detective Sergeant Hinchcliffe, and I'm going to charge you that
26:56 you murdered Sarah Evelyn Isabel Payne.
27:00 Soon after being arrested in Kent this morning, Roy Whiting was driven in a people carrier
27:05 back to Sussex.
27:07 As he arrived at Bobna police station, an egg was thrown at the vehicle by one of several
27:11 onlookers.
27:13 Shockingly, he pled not guilty, and the family were faced with the pain of a trial that could
27:19 end up presenting more evidence and facts than they ever wanted to hear.
27:24 During the trial, Roy Whiting's previous convictions were withheld from the jury and media.
27:30 Police worried that, although absolutely relevant to Sarah's case, any knowledge of these convictions
27:35 could jeopardise the outcome of the trial, and if he was convicted, Whiting could appeal,
27:41 claiming he had been tried on the evidence of earlier crimes and not the ones linking
27:45 to Sarah.
27:46 But, in December 2001, after a four-week trial, Roy Whiting was found guilty on all counts.
27:55 "He said he'd be recommending that Whiting be kept in prison for the rest of his life.
28:01 This was met by the loudest cries of 'yes' in court.
28:05 Whiting was taken away to begin that sentence tonight."
28:09 And sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 50 years.
28:14 "Roy Whiting will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of little Sarah Payne
28:18 who disappeared in July last year."
28:20 After the trial was over, his previous convictions were laid bare, and the jury and media now
28:26 knew the full truth.
28:30 "This doesn't make us happy, but justice has been done.
28:46 Sarah can rest in peace now.
28:49 But let's make sure that this stops happening time and time again.
28:56 People are being let out of prison when everybody concerned knows that this is going to happen
29:02 again."
29:03 "Sarah, Michael, can you describe that moment when you heard the verdict?"
29:07 "I thought of Sarah and nothing else."
29:10 "Come along, Kat."
29:21 Michael and Sarah sadly announced their separation in September 2003.
29:26 They both said that the stress and emotional turmoil brought on by what had happened to
29:30 Sarah had put too much strain on their relationship.
29:35 Sarah gave birth to another daughter shortly after this, giving them four surviving children
29:40 together.
29:45 All of Sarah and Michael's hard work with Sarah's law finally started to make tracks.
29:51 It was trialled in 2008, and Sarah was awarded an MBE for her tireless efforts in making
29:57 this happen.
29:58 In 2009, just a week before Christmas, Sarah had a stroke brought on by a brain aneurysm.
30:06 She underwent two brain operations in less than two days and was given a 50% chance of
30:11 survival.
30:12 "I've got no illusions here.
30:13 This is going to be a tough, tough mountain to climb.
30:14 I've got a long way to go.
30:15 I've got a lot of work to do.
30:16 I'm going to have to work really hard in rehab every single day for the foreseeable future.
30:23 If I get into the rehab unit, it means I'm going to be working every single day on just
30:27 getting all those normal muscles that everyone uses every day, working in a normal way."
30:32 She made it through it all and didn't ever slow down.
30:35 Continuing her campaigns after she recovered, she endured relentless abuse and harassment
30:40 from online trolls, including a convicted paedophile, but she never once wavered.
30:46 And Sarah's law, also known as the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, was finally
30:51 extended across England and Wales.
30:55 But another blow for the family came after Roy Whiting successfully appealed his sentence,
31:01 and it was lowered to 40 years instead of 50.
31:05 "It's 40 years, right?
31:07 The guy's going to be in his 80s.
31:09 Is he going to make it to his 80?
31:11 But then is he going to be allowed out?
31:13 He's got to go for parole.
31:14 Are they going to let him out after that?
31:18 He's got to prove himself.
31:19 They ain't going to let him out.
31:20 He ain't coming out.
31:21 He ain't going to walk out streets again.
31:22 Of course it's outrageous, isn't it?
31:23 I mean, of course it is.
31:24 I mean, David Blunkett gave him that sentence.
31:25 He should have stuck with it.
31:26 The guy, he shouldn't even have got a sentence.
31:27 He should have just been told.
31:28 That's it."
31:29 "Well, all the time it was 50 years, my family and I could relax that he wouldn't
31:34 – wasn't anywhere near children to hurt them.
31:38 And there was no chance of him getting parole, so that was something that we could relax
31:40 about.
31:41 Right now, obviously, we're a little bit reeling from this.
31:45 We expected it to be cut, and to be honest, it could have been a lot worse than it was.
31:49 So he's still got his life sentence.
31:53 The family obviously doesn't get a parole date.
31:55 There is no parole date for the family.
31:56 There is no end to this.
31:59 This is our lives from now on."
32:02 He is now eligible for release in 2041 and will be 82 years old.
32:08 He is despised in prison and continues to face multiple attacks from other inmates.
32:13 Eleven years after her death, the man sentenced to life for her murder, back in the headlines.
32:19 Reports that Roy Whiting has been attacked by an inmate.
32:23 The alleged incident at Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire saw one man hospitalised.
32:29 Police have confirmed they were called to the jail on Friday morning following an altercation
32:33 between two inmates.
32:38 In 2010, a huge story hit the headlines.
32:41 The chief reporter and former news editor of the News of the World were arrested today
32:45 by police investigating the phone hacking.
32:47 The police investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World sprang back into
32:51 life today.
32:52 The humbling of a billionaire media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, a man who is not used to grovelling,
32:57 is on an apology tour this morning trying to contain the damage from that massive phone
33:02 hacking.
33:03 Ian Edmondson's home with materials in bags and a box.
33:06 The News of the World's former assistant editor had already been arrested after going to a
33:11 South London police station.
33:12 "No, I'm not committing further.
33:13 I just said that I'm founder of the company.
33:14 I was appalled to find out what had happened.
33:15 I had a plan out."
33:16 It used to be a powerhouse of tabloid journalism.
33:29 But this place, once the News of the World's newsroom, was where the seeds of a scandal
33:34 were sown.
33:35 The dawn raids, the arrests of journalists, the editors questioned in parliament.
33:39 "If a rogue reporter decides to behave in that fashion, I'm not sure that there's an
33:45 excuse for that."
33:46 "I would just like to say one sentence.
33:48 This is the most humble day of my life.
33:51 Thank you."
33:55 The News International phone hacking scandal involved the now defunct News of the World
33:59 and other British newspapers, owned by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
34:05 Various employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police bribery
34:10 and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of stories.
34:14 Thousands of people were targeted and hacked.
34:18 Victims and their families.
34:21 Actors and performers.
34:25 Politicians and members of the royal family.
34:28 Sports stars.
34:29 Solicitors in high-profile cases.
34:32 And high-ranking members of the police force, among many others.
34:37 Almost 5,000 victims were identified.
34:41 In 2002, Millie Dowler was abducted and killed by serial killer Levi Belfield.
34:48 In 2011, Scotland Yard discovered Millie's voicemail had been accessed by journalists
34:53 working for the News of the World, and the newspaper's private investigator, Glen Malkare.
34:59 "Hello?"
35:00 "Good afternoon, is it?"
35:02 "Yeah."
35:03 "Hello, it's Glen."
35:04 "Glen, how are you?"
35:05 "Hello mate, just a very quick one.
35:09 I've got a reset on Gordon Taylor and it's got Tottenham related issues on there."
35:14 "Great, that'd be the same number."
35:15 "The same number, do not delete anything."
35:18 It was also reported journalists had deleted some of her messages on the phone, in order
35:22 to free up space for new messages, so they could obtain those as well.
35:26 The deletions of the messages had actually led her family and police to believe she was
35:30 still alive and active on her phone.
35:34 They also deleted what could have been potential evidence.
35:38 The Leveson Inquiry was a judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics
35:43 of the British press, and over the following years a series of public hearings were held,
35:49 and the truth about what had been happening over the years started to unravel.
35:54 Many came forward to speak at the Leveson Inquiry, including Kate and Gerry McCann,
35:59 Christopher Jeffries, who had been wrongly accused of the murder of Joanna Yates back
36:03 in 2011, numerous powerful and public figures, and those accused of crimes.
36:10 Sarah Payne was also amongst those told by Scotland Yard that there was evidence to suggest
36:15 that she was targeted as well.
36:18 She was given a phone by Rebecca Brooks, so she could contact her supporters, and it is
36:23 thought that this phone was hacked.
36:25 Rebecca Brooks was the editor for the News of the World at the time.
36:29 Sarah said if this was true, it was "devastating and disappointing", but she said the News
36:34 of the World had been a force for good in her daughter's case, and helping with Sarah's
36:39 law.
36:40 Rebecca Brooks said "The idea that anyone on the newspaper knew that Sarah or the campaign
36:45 team were targeted by Mr Mulcair is unthinkable.
36:48 The idea of her being targeted is beyond my comprehension.
36:52 It is imperative for Sarah and the other victims of crime that these allegations are investigated
36:57 and that those culpable are brought to justice."
37:00 Rebecca herself was soon charged with five different counts; conspiracy to hack voicemails,
37:06 two counts of conspiracy to pay public officials, and two counts of conspiracy to pervert the
37:11 course of justice.
37:13 She was cleared of all charges in 2014 and resigned as the chief executive of News International,
37:18 but was later reappointed CEO of the company, which is now named News UK.
37:27 The phone hacking scandal brought down the News of the World and saw the resignation
37:31 of a number of senior members of the Metropolitan Police Force, as well as many people working
37:36 for the News of the World and News International.
37:39 Rupert Murdoch resigned as News International's director, and his son James resigned as executive
37:45 chairman.
37:47 But those affected were undoubtedly left in incomparable positions, and forever will be.
37:53 Although she spoke of her upset at the affair, Sarah Payne contributed to the final issue
37:57 of the News of the World.
37:59 She said in part, "It's easy to forget in these times that the News of the World has
38:03 been a force for good, and it has something to do with the people who worked on it.
38:07 I do not pretend they are perfect or always got things right."
38:11 She also said Rebecca was always in the foreground of the campaign.
38:14 "I did not sleep.
38:16 I could call at two o'clock in the morning, and she would pick up the phone."
38:22 The Payne family was soon struck with yet more heartbreak.
38:27 Sarah's dad Michael sunk into severe depression and alcohol abuse after the loss of his daughter.
38:33 He would have recurring nightmares and blamed himself every day for what happened to Sarah.
38:38 Tragically, in 2014, Michael was found dead in his flat in Kent.
38:44 He was just 45 years old.
38:47 He spent his final days alone, drinking, telling everyone and anyone he spoke to that he should
38:53 have been able to save his daughter that day.
38:56 The coroner reported he had died of natural causes, and his father said, "We don't know
39:01 exactly what he died of, but we think it was drink-related."
39:12 The siblings also bear an emotional burden.
39:14 "I'm scared to sleep at night half the time.
39:18 So I work myself solid until I'm pretty much dropped, because there's fears of what's there
39:24 when I close my eyes.
39:25 I create things that didn't happen, or things that could have happened.
39:29 I make scenarios up in my head.
39:33 It just eats me away.
39:36 So I don't get a lot of sleep, really.
39:41 In fact, I dread the night time when it comes to that point, when I put my head on that
39:46 pillow, because it's just you and your thoughts."
39:49 "I did, for a few years, beat myself up about it, thinking that if I'd maybe run faster
39:55 or not run through the corn, I might have caught up with her.
39:59 Thinking that if I'd had my head on that day, realised that she was in the back of that
40:06 van, then ultimately, as a 13-year-old kid, there's not much I would have been able to
40:10 do."
40:11 "Hard to say how you move on from something like that.
40:15 I don't think it's a process you can put into words.
40:18 I think it's literally just something that happens day by day.
40:24 And it's not something that ever really fully happens, I think.
40:27 Yeah, there's never going to be a day when you're going to turn around and be like, 'Oh,
40:32 I'm over that now,' because it's just not going to happen."
40:35 "After something like that has happened in your family, I think everyone feels a bit
40:40 of guilt.
40:41 And how, 'Why was it her?
40:44 Why not me?'
40:46 I think that's gone through mine and my brother's minds.
40:50 Because it is, it's 'Why her?
40:52 Why not one of us?'
40:54 I think you kind of feel guilty for even, when something bad like that's happened to
41:00 someone you love, you almost feel guilty for just even being alive and they're not."
41:08 Sarah's family have always been determined that her death would not be in vain.
41:12 Officers described Sarah as one of the most resilient and extraordinary women they had
41:16 ever met, handling every second of the painful case with nothing but control, strength and
41:23 grace.
41:25 She has gone on to win numerous awards for her work in child protection and became Britain's
41:29 first ever Victims' Commissioner.
41:31 She was then academically acknowledged for her work in social engineering with an honorary
41:36 doctorate, becoming Dr Sarah Payne MBE.
41:40 "I talk to her every day, always, as an eight-year-old.
41:45 She will always stay eight forever.
41:47 I can see through my other children what she would look like.
41:50 And I have a good idea of what she would be like personality-wise," Sarah said.
41:55 "Writing letters to her has helped to make up, in a small way, for the teenage years,
42:01 and beyond that I didn't get with her.
42:03 It has made her more real.
42:05 I can hear her giggling.
42:07 I can see her mischievous smile.
42:09 For me, I want to always remember her as that lovely, sweet eight-year-old girl."
42:15 A statue stands in Sarah's old primary school in memory of her.
42:19 It symbolises childhood, happiness and innocence.
42:24 A beautiful and fitting tribute that reflects the happy, loving and kind-hearted little
42:29 girl that Sarah Payne was.
42:31 Her family work hard to make sure Sarah will never be forgotten, and the hope is always
42:36 that Sarah's lore will continue to help protect children and their families for many
42:42 years to come.
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