News tried to 'deliberately thwart' hacking probe

Updated July 20, 2011 16:25:31

A cross-party British parliamentary committee has criticised News International's attempts to "deliberately thwart" a 2005-06 phone hacking investigation and says British police committed a "catalogue of failures".

The Home Affairs committee, which questioned two of Britain's former top policemen over the phone hacking firestorm, also said more resources had to be invested in informing other potential phone hacking victims.

"There has been a catalogue of failures by the Metropolitan Police, and deliberate attempts by News International to thwart the various investigations," Keith Vaz, the committee's chairman and a former Labour government minister, said.

The committee's report, which detailed the police investigation and the phone hackers' methods, was particularly critical of former assistant police commissioners John Yates and Andy Hayman.

It said Mr Yates' 2009 review of the investigation - in which he decided there was no need to reopen the inquiry - was "very poor" and that he was guilty of a "serious misjudgement".

Mr Hayman, who led the initial investigation, had a "cavalier attitude" towards his News International contacts which risked undermining public confidence in police impartiality.

News International, the British arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, is at the centre of a phone hacking scandal rocking his business empire, British politicians and senior police.

Mr Murdoch, his son James - chairman of News International - and Rebekah Brooks, who resigned as chief executive of News International on Friday, appeared before a different parliamentary committee on Tuesday to answer questions about phone hacking.

Following his appearance Mr Murdoch issued a message to staff at his global empire, saying he is determined to put things right.

On Wednesday (British time) prime minister David Cameron will be grilled by parliament over his decision to employ former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his communications chief.

Mr Coulson quit News International's flagship tabloid in 2007 after two people employed by the paper were convicted of phone hacking.

Mr Coulson, who denied any wrongdoing, stepped down from his government post in January 2011.

On Mr Hayman, the committee also accused him of "deliberate prevarication" in order to mislead the committee when he gave evidence, and urged for a swift and thorough investigation of allegations that police officers received payments from the media.

Mr Hayman obtained a job as a columnist for News International's Times newspaper after he left the police force.

Mr Yates resigned on Monday, saying he could not stay in his role amid "innuendo and speculation" about his conduct.

The committee also called for greater support to be given to deputy assistant commissioner's Sue Akers's efforts to inform all potential phone hacking victims, as well as a means for phone hacking victims to seek formal advice.

Reuters

Topics: fraud-and-corporate-crime, media, industry, business-economics-and-finance, law-crime-and-justice, england, united-kingdom

First posted July 20, 2011 15:35:48

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-20/committee-critical-news-murdoch-inquiry/2803136

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