Dowler family speak out: ‘Senior people must face the consequences’
By Ian Dunt Follow @IanDunt
The family of Milly Dowler has finally spoken out over phone-hacking, demanding that "senior people" face the consequences of the scandal.
The family's solicitor, speaking in a press conference outside the Cabinet Office, said they had had a constructive meeting with deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.
"It's sad it has taken such a tragedy as ours to bring this out in the open," they said in a statement.
"They believe it is vital the people responsible are held to account. There are very senior people who have to take responsibility for what happened."
The scandal spread to the royal family this morning as the BBC reported a royal protection officer had sold information to the News of the World, where phone-hacking is alleged to have been widespread.
Meanwhile News Corp shareholders have filed a complaint in a Delaware court, according to reports, claiming the board had failed to exert proper oversight or take sufficient action since hackings surfaced nearly six years ago.
The Dowler family piled the pressure on Rebekah Brooks, pointing out that they had not received a single apology from anyone at News International over allegations that their daughter's phone had been hacked into.
"They took the view that Rebekah Brooks should do the honourable thing," the solicitor said.
"They don't see why she should stay in her job. She should take editorial responsibility."
The family will meet with Labour leader Ed Miliband tomorrow and David Cameron on Wednesday, as the after-effects of the News of the World scandal continue to ripple through British politics.
Ms Brooks, former News of the World editor and current chief executive of News International, is expected to be questioned by police later this week, although as a potential witness rather than a suspect.
Les Hinton, one of Mr Murdoch's most trusted advisers, is also facing serious questions about an internal 2007 News International report that found phone-hacking was widespread. Critics believe he may have seen the report before he testified to a Commons committee saying phone-hacking was the work of a single rogue reporter.
The damage done to the police's reputation by the affair is being assessed in Scotland Yard. Some reports are suggesting that Sir Paul Stephenson, head of the Met, should apologise for failings at the force.
Sir Paul is expected to offer a blanket apology on behalf of the Met and himself. Observers say the move is a cynical ploy to distance himself from assistant commissioner John Yates, whose two-hour review into the original inquiry in 2009 concluded that there was no need to re-open the investigation.
