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1 October 1996: Following the collapse of Ian Greer & Neil Hamilton's libel actions, The Guardian prints in total over 8,200 words in 9 articles with a rekindled emphasis on the supposed corrupt exploits of the lobbyist Ian Greer.  The articles imply overtly that The Guardian had proved its story of 20 October 1994 alleging that Ian Greer had bribed Tory MPs Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith.
    These articles included seven main articles listed below:
                                A liar and a cheat (principal targets: Neil Hamilton & Ian Greer)
                                The rise and fall of a double act caught in a web of greed (principal targets: Neil Hamilton & Ian Greer)
                                Midnight meeting where the bluff began (principal targets: Neil Hamilton & Ian Greer)
                                Lobby links turned in handsome profit (principal targets: Neil Hamilton & Ian Greer)
                                Tim Smith (principal targets: Tim Smith & Ian Greer)
                                Unpicking the web (principal target: Ian Greer)
                                The witnesses (principal targets: Neil Hamilton & Ian Greer)

    All of these articles focus on Ian Greer's supposed corruption of Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith.  In these articles The Guardian misconstrues repeatedly why Tim Smith resigned following its 20 Oct '94 story, creating the false impression that Smith had resigned because he had taken cash from the lobbyist Greer as The Guardian had alleged.  In fact Tim Smith had resigned because he had taken unregistered payments from Mohammed Al Fayed himself (the evidence shows that The Guardian did not learn about Smith's private arrangement with Fayed until several weeks later in mid-Nov. '94).
    Most significantly, The Guardian mentions in only one of the above articles the supposed key involvement of Fayed's three office staff in processing bribes to Hamilton & Greer.  The article in question, entitled "The witnesses", which is unsigned, does not name these employees either but merely refers to them obliquely by their job titles.  The Guardian does not mention either the fact that these three staff had first emerged just three days earlier with the new story of their claimed involvement.  Nor does The Guardian offer any explanation as to how Fayed's three office staff emerged so late in the day with their new story.  The Guardian also fails to mention that, in his witness statement of June 1995, Mohamed Fayed had expressly denied the possibility of there being any witnesses to his alleged payments. 

2 October 1996: The Guardian publishes 5 articles focusing on the alleged corrupt activities of lobbyist Ian Greer and the Conservative MP Neil Hamilton.
    There is no mention of the supposed key roles of Fayed's three office staff in processing bribes to the lobbyist and the MP.

3 October 1996: The Guardian publishes 8 articles focusing on the alleged corrupt activities of lobbyist Ian Greer and the Conservative MP Neil Hamilton.
    There is no mention of the supposed key roles of Fayed's three office staff in processing bribes to the lobbyist and the MP.

4 October 1996: The Guardian publishes 4 articles focusing on the alleged corrupt relationship between the lobbyist Ian Greer and Conservative MP Neil Hamilton. 
    There is no mention of the supposed key roles of Fayed's three office staff in processing bribes to the lobbyist and the MP.
    Most significantly, one of these articles confirms the lobbyist Ian Greer as being "at the centre of the scandal".  The article in question is entitled: "Blair sacks Greer supporter" by David Hencke and Michael White.  Within the article it stated:
            'The cash-for-questions scandal crossed party political lines last night when Tony Blair dismissed a frontbench
        spokeswoman in the Lords, Baroness Muriel Turner, after she defended the lobbyist Ian Greer over his role in the affair… 
            Mr Hamilton and Mr Greer are at the centre of the scandal…  Mr Blair's decision on Lady Turner of Camden came
        after she told 'Channel 4 News': "While I believe Ian acted in an honourable way, I will stand by him."  She joined the
        board of Ian Greer Associates, at the centre of the scandal with Mr Hamilton, in 1991.

5 October 1996: The Guardian publishes 2 articles focusing on the alleged corrupt relationship between the lobbyist Ian Greer and Conservative MP Neil Hamilton.
    No mention is made of the supposed involvement of Fayed's three office staff in processing bribes to the lobbyist and the MP.

6 October 1996: The Guardian's Sunday paper, The Observer, publishes 4 articles focusing on the alleged corrupt relationship between the lobbyist Ian Greer and Conservative MP Neil Hamilton.  One of these, written by David Leigh, contains the first explanation for the eleventh-hour emergence of Fayed's three 'corroborating' employees.  Leigh writes:
            "In recent weeks, extensive corroboration has surfaced of Fayed's assertion that he felt the need to "rent MPs as one
            hails a taxi".  A willing Fayed, as the libel case against the Guardian neared trial, engaged a lawyer to search his
            papers and trace witnesses.  He obtained statements from a trainee solicitor in a City firm who had been Fayed's
            assistant at the time and recalled Hamilton's envelopes of money; so did Fayed's present assistant and a security guard.'

7 October 1996: The Guardian publishes 3 articles focusing on the alleged corrupt relationship between the lobbyist Ian Greer and Conservative MP Neil Hamilton.
    No mention is made of the supposed involvement of Fayed's three office staff in processing bribes to the lobbyist and the MP.
    One of the articles refers to Ian Greer as being at the centre of the cash for questions affair.  Hencke states:

            'Ian Greer, the parliamentary lobbyist at the centre of the cash-for-questions scandal involving disgraced ex-minister
        Neil Hamilton, last night revealed that Tory MPs, including junior ministers, had approached him for money to fight the
        next general election.'

[The Guardian's press campaign continues up to 13 December 1996.]

8 October 1996: The Guardian's editor, Alan Rusbridger, writes to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Sir Gordon Downey enclosing The Guardian's draft defence to Ian Greer's & Neil Hamilton's stymied libel actions.

14 October 1996: Parliament gives the go-ahead to Sir Gordon Downey to conduct an inquiry into The Guardian's allegations.

16 October 1996: Sir Gordon Downey writes to The Guardian's editor, Alan Rusbridger, requesting clarification of the newspaper's complaints. 

18 October 1996: Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger replies to Sir Gordon Downey, indicating that The Guardian's solicitor, Geraldine Proudler, would need more time to prepare the newspaper's complaints.

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