The Met has failed on phone hacking

12 April 2012

The scandal over phone hacking by tabloid newspapers

Last night the paper announced that it had sacked its assistant editor, Ian Edmondson, for his involvement. Meanwhile the BBC has reported evidence that suggests that phone hacking was going on as recently as last year.

Yet the obvious question is why, when there appears to have been so much evidence - as well as allegations of phone hacking at other papers - did the Met seek only two prosecutions relating to a handful of hacking cases?

The original investigation in 2006 was triggered by suspicions that members of the royal family had had their voicemail hacked into; the News of the World's royal editor, Clive Goodman, and a private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, were jailed in January 2007 as a result.

Yet police appear to have given the paper an easy ride, declining to force it to hand over internal papers and failing to interview key potential witnesses.

It now emerges that the same investigation threw up evidence of thousands of other mobiles being hacked. Since then it has also emerged that in 2009 the paper paid the head of the Professional Footballers' Association, Gordon Taylor, and two aides more than £1 million to settle their cases against it over alleged hacking. Other public figures have since launched civil actions.

This case has become a serious embarrassment for the Met and for the officers who led its last hacking investigation, former Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman and Acting Deputy Commissioner John Yates.

News International needs to make clear that it has stopped the practice and is punishing those responsible for it. But we now also need a proper explanation from the Met of why it did such a feeble job in tackling what are criminal offences. Its credibility is at stake.

Give heads control

Today's Education Bill is key to the Government's school reform plans. Possibly the most eyecatching element is the proposal to allow heads greater powers of stop-and-search.

At present teachers can search children coming into school without their consent for knives and drugs; under the new proposals, they can also be frisked on suspicion of having pornography, mobile phone cameras or so-called legal highs.

Heads do need greater powers; every school day nearly 1,000 pupils are suspended for assault or abuse.

Much of the emphasis of Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, is on giving heads the power to run their schools. Pupils who have been excluded will no longer be able have that decision overturned on appeal, which undermines the authority of heads. The corollary is that government needs to focus on good alternative provision for the children who are excluded.

Teachers accused of assault or misconduct by pupils will enjoy anonymity until police are involved. All this should bolster teachers' authority.

Mr Gove's reforms are also about ensuring that children are well taught and rigorously examined. The Bill allows for changes to the exam system and teacher training. Giving heads more power to enforce discipline is an overdue reform. As suggested by today's figures on the dwindling numbers of state secondaries requiring pupils to take a foreign language, however, injecting more rigour into the academic system will be the hard part.

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