Q & A - Catch-up on the phone-hacking scandal

 
1 May 2012

Key questions answered on the phone-hacking scandal

Remind me how all this started?

News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed in 2007 over phone hacking after a trial in which it emerged that the messages of royal aides had been intercepted.

Gradually it emerged that journalists at the News of the World and private investigator Mulcaire were involved in hacking the phones of celebrities, politicians and victims of crime - including murdered 13-year-old school Milly Dowler. This was the turning point that caused Rupert Murdoch to “panic”. The News of the World was then closed in July last year after 168 years in circulation.

How many people were involved?

Up to 7,000 individuals are believed to have been targeted by the tabloid phone hackers. They are thought to include relatives of dead UK soldiers and victims of the 7/7 London bombings. Twenty-two people have been arrested under Operation Weeting - the name of the police investigation probing the claims - with 19 still on bail.

How did Rupert Murdoch’s News International react?

Executives at News International, which published the NoTW, initially insisted Goodman was a “rogue reporter” and that there was no evidence that phone hacking was more widespread at the Sunday tabloid. This claim was dramatically undermined when an e-mail emerged - the so-called “for Neville” note. It was a transcript of illegally obtained voicemails belonging to football union boss Gordon Taylor, sent by a junior NoTW reporter to Mulcaire in 2008. It suggested phone-hacking was widespread.

How did the Government react?

David Cameron set up the Leveson Inquiry into press, police and politicians which is carrying out a two-part investigation. Currently it is examining “the culture, practices and ethics” of the UK media and its relationships with police and politicians. It will also probe the scale of unlawful conduct within newspaper groups and the police’s original phone-hacking investigation.

Isn’t the Metropolitan Police involved?

Yes. It decided not to restart its investigation into phone hacking in 2009 following claims that the practice was far more widespread than a “rogue” reporter. This was heavily criticised. Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and Assistant Commisioner John Yates resigned after criticism of the force’s links to former NoTW deputy editor Neil Wallis.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in