Police arrest PM's former aide in UK phone hacking scandal
Source: Agencies |
July 9, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
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Prime Minister David Cameron's former communications chief and an ex-royal reporter were arrested yesterday in a phone hacking and police corruption scandal that has already toppled a major tabloid and rattled the cozy relationship between British politicians and the powerful Murdoch media empire.
The 168-year-old muckraking tabloid News of the World was shut down on Thursday after being engulfed by allegations its journalists paid police for information and hacked into the phone messages of celebrities, young murder victims and even the grieving families of dead soldiers. Its last publication day is tomorrow.
The hacking revelations horrified both ordinary Britons and advertisers, who pulled their ads en masse.
News International, the British arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, killed the paper in hopes that a deal to take over satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting could be saved. But the British government yesterday signaled the deal would be delayed as a result of the crisis.
Police in London said a 43-year-old man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of corruption and "conspiring to intercept communications." They did not name him, but offered the information when asked about Andy Coulson, Cameron's once-powerful aide and a former editor of News of the World.
Police also arrested Clive Goodman, the former News of the World royal editor who was jailed in 2007 for hacking into the phones of royal aides. This time the arrest was on suspicion of making illegal payoffs to police for scoops.
Detectives searched Coulson's home in London and Goodman's home south of the city, as well as the newsroom of a second tabloid, the Daily Star Sunday. Goodman has done work for the paper since his release from jail.
The Daily Star Sunday said detectives spent two hours at its offices and took away a disc containing a record of Goodman's computer activity.
The paper said police were "carrying out these routine checks at all places where Mr Goodman has worked as a freelance since he left the News of the World." It said there was "no suggestion whatsoever" that he acted improperly during his shifts at the Star.
Cameron, realizing that the crisis was knocking at his door, moved quickly to distance himself from it. He acknowledged that politicians and the press had become too close and promised investigations into the tabloid's actions and future media regulation.
Cameron told reporters: "Party leaders were so keen to win the support of newspapers that we turned a blind eye to the need to sort this issue. The people in power knew things weren't right but they didn't do enough quickly enough."
Coulson quit as editor of News of the World after Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed in 2007 for hacking into the phones of royal aides. Coulson maintained he knew nothing of the hacking, and was hired in 2010 as Cameron's director of communications, but resigned in January as it became clear hacking at the tabloid had been far more widespread.
Cameron said press self-regulation by the Press Complaints Commission had failed and a new body, independent of the media and the government, was needed to properly enforce standards.
The police investigation of phone hacking years ago has now been criticized as incomplete and compromised by new bribery allegations.
Cameron suggested his friend Rebekah Brooks, a former editor of the tabloid, should have resigned as chief executive of News International. He also said there were questions to be answered by James Murdoch, heir-apparent to his father's media empire.
"I want everyone to be clear: Everything that has happened is going to be investigated," Cameron said.
He said a judge will lead a thorough investigation of what went wrong at the News of the World, including alleged bribery of police officers.
The scandal exploded this week after it was reported the News of the World had hacked the mobile phone of 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler in 2002 while her family and police were desperately searching for her.
News of the World operatives reportedly deleted some messages from the phone's voicemail, giving her parents false hope she was still alive.
The 168-year-old muckraking tabloid News of the World was shut down on Thursday after being engulfed by allegations its journalists paid police for information and hacked into the phone messages of celebrities, young murder victims and even the grieving families of dead soldiers. Its last publication day is tomorrow.
The hacking revelations horrified both ordinary Britons and advertisers, who pulled their ads en masse.
News International, the British arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, killed the paper in hopes that a deal to take over satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting could be saved. But the British government yesterday signaled the deal would be delayed as a result of the crisis.
Police in London said a 43-year-old man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of corruption and "conspiring to intercept communications." They did not name him, but offered the information when asked about Andy Coulson, Cameron's once-powerful aide and a former editor of News of the World.
Police also arrested Clive Goodman, the former News of the World royal editor who was jailed in 2007 for hacking into the phones of royal aides. This time the arrest was on suspicion of making illegal payoffs to police for scoops.
Detectives searched Coulson's home in London and Goodman's home south of the city, as well as the newsroom of a second tabloid, the Daily Star Sunday. Goodman has done work for the paper since his release from jail.
The Daily Star Sunday said detectives spent two hours at its offices and took away a disc containing a record of Goodman's computer activity.
The paper said police were "carrying out these routine checks at all places where Mr Goodman has worked as a freelance since he left the News of the World." It said there was "no suggestion whatsoever" that he acted improperly during his shifts at the Star.
Cameron, realizing that the crisis was knocking at his door, moved quickly to distance himself from it. He acknowledged that politicians and the press had become too close and promised investigations into the tabloid's actions and future media regulation.
Cameron told reporters: "Party leaders were so keen to win the support of newspapers that we turned a blind eye to the need to sort this issue. The people in power knew things weren't right but they didn't do enough quickly enough."
Coulson quit as editor of News of the World after Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed in 2007 for hacking into the phones of royal aides. Coulson maintained he knew nothing of the hacking, and was hired in 2010 as Cameron's director of communications, but resigned in January as it became clear hacking at the tabloid had been far more widespread.
Cameron said press self-regulation by the Press Complaints Commission had failed and a new body, independent of the media and the government, was needed to properly enforce standards.
The police investigation of phone hacking years ago has now been criticized as incomplete and compromised by new bribery allegations.
Cameron suggested his friend Rebekah Brooks, a former editor of the tabloid, should have resigned as chief executive of News International. He also said there were questions to be answered by James Murdoch, heir-apparent to his father's media empire.
"I want everyone to be clear: Everything that has happened is going to be investigated," Cameron said.
He said a judge will lead a thorough investigation of what went wrong at the News of the World, including alleged bribery of police officers.
The scandal exploded this week after it was reported the News of the World had hacked the mobile phone of 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler in 2002 while her family and police were desperately searching for her.
News of the World operatives reportedly deleted some messages from the phone's voicemail, giving her parents false hope she was still alive.
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