UK tabloid owns up to phone hacking
Source: Agencies |
April 10, 2011, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
One of Britain's biggest-selling newspapers admitted Friday it was responsible for hacking into the phones of high-profile figures and eavesdropping on their voicemails - its first admission of liability in a case that has shaken the country's political, police and media establishments.
The News of The World tabloid said in a statement it had approached some of those suing the paper with "an unreserved apology and an admission of liability."
"We have also asked our lawyers to establish a compensation scheme with a view to dealing with justifiable claims fairly and efficiently," the paper said.
A spokeswoman for the paper, Daisy Dunlop, refused to say how many people were receiving an apology. Critics of the paper say that hundreds or even thousands of people were targeted by scandal-hungry reporters.
It's a humiliating turnaround for the Sunday tabloid, which long insisted that the hacking was limited to a single rogue reporter and the private investigator he worked with. The pair was jailed in 2007 for eavesdropping on voicemail messages left for royal staff, including some by Princes William and Harry.
The paper, owned by Rupert Murdoch, is famous for its titillating revelations and lurid tell-alls, but critics say the tabloid routinely got its sensational scoops by breaking the law.
Rival media organizations, former News of The World journalists and alleged victims have detailed a well-organized system of espionage in which tabloid employees hacked into their targets' cell phones and listened in on voice mails.
Earlier this week, police arrested and questioned the newspaper's chief reporter and its former head of news.
The News of The World tabloid said in a statement it had approached some of those suing the paper with "an unreserved apology and an admission of liability."
"We have also asked our lawyers to establish a compensation scheme with a view to dealing with justifiable claims fairly and efficiently," the paper said.
A spokeswoman for the paper, Daisy Dunlop, refused to say how many people were receiving an apology. Critics of the paper say that hundreds or even thousands of people were targeted by scandal-hungry reporters.
It's a humiliating turnaround for the Sunday tabloid, which long insisted that the hacking was limited to a single rogue reporter and the private investigator he worked with. The pair was jailed in 2007 for eavesdropping on voicemail messages left for royal staff, including some by Princes William and Harry.
The paper, owned by Rupert Murdoch, is famous for its titillating revelations and lurid tell-alls, but critics say the tabloid routinely got its sensational scoops by breaking the law.
Rival media organizations, former News of The World journalists and alleged victims have detailed a well-organized system of espionage in which tabloid employees hacked into their targets' cell phones and listened in on voice mails.
Earlier this week, police arrested and questioned the newspaper's chief reporter and its former head of news.
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