Guardian presents evidence against News of the World
By politics.co.uk staff
News International was accused of a “cover up” over phone tapping allegations during a Commons select committee hearing at lunchtime today.
Nick Davies, the Guardian reporter who broke the News of the World story earlier in the week, presented two documents during a Commons select committee which he said back up his allegations.
Mr Davies told the Commons culture, media and sports committee: “News International have been involved in covering up their journalists’ involvement with private investigators who are breaking the law.
“And it’s very worrying that Scotland Yard do not appear to have always said or done as much as they could have done to stop that cover-up.”
However, the News of the World denies the practice was widespread and has accused the Guardian – which claimed up to 3,000 high-profile figures were targeted – of being “selective and misleading”.
The tabloid has rejected claims its reporters regularly hack into the phones of celebrities and politicians to get stories.
Earlier, Tim Toulmin, director of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) said there was no evidence linking Andy Coulson, Tory director of communications and former editor of the News of the World, to the crimes committed by the paper’s former royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glen Mulcaire.
But Mr Toulmin said that the buck stopped with the editor and everyone accepted that it was a “serious oversight” that Mr Coulson did not know what was going on.
The Guardian alleges that private investigator, Mr Mulcaire submitted “regular lists of targets” to justify his payments from the tabloid.
The lists contained three groups of people: those who had their phones hacked, those whose phones Mr Mulcaire was attempting to hack and those who were targets.
Guardian journalist, Mr Davies, said that John Prescott and Tessa Jowell were in the latter two categories.
Metropolitan Police commander, John Yates, had previously said there was no evidence that Prescott’s phone had been tapped, however Mr Davies’ claims suggest this was not from want of trying.
The PCC say they have seen no proof such practices were currently taking place.
There will be another hearing on Tuesday next week, involving News International witnesses, but the committee haven’t announced yet who will be appearing.
