UK announces inquiry into phone hacking

Print Email Australian Broadcasting Corporation Broadcast: 06/07/2011 Reporter: Philip Williams

British newspaper News of the World is facing an independent inquiry and the loss of advertisers after a public backlash against phone hacking. Transcript TONY JONES, PRESENTER: The British prime minister, David Cameron, has promised an independent inquiry into allegations of phone hacking by the News of the World.

In the latest revelations, police have warned families of those killed in the 2005 London bombings that their mobile phone messages may also have been hacked by the newspaper.

The scandal has provoked a public backlash and a number of high-profile companies have withdrawn advertising from the newspaper.

With the latest developments, Europe correspondent Philip Williams.

PHILIP WILLIAMS, REPORTER: When it was just the rich and famous being hacked, there was interest but not anger.

All that has changed with allegations the practice was widespread and included murder victims Milly Dowler and Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells, killed in the village of Soham in 2002.

Their parents have been warned they were targeted.

As were relatives of some of the victims of the 7/7 London bombings, that news coming just a day before the sixth anniversary of those attacks.

GRAHAM FOULKES, FATHER OF LONDON BOMBING VICTIM: My mind went back to 2005 and the real emotional turmoil and state that we were in, and that somebody was listening to that. It's a violation, isn't it?

HUGH GRANT, ACTOR: So many of the victims of phone hacking were rich or famous or whatever, ... but these stories, I think, do hit people in the gut.

VOX POP: Highly illegal. Shouldn't be done. Should be brought to justice. And that's a jail sentence. Has to be, has to be. Would you like it?

VOX POP II: It's an abuse of a system by those people who feel they can act with impunity. I think it's unkind and a sad statement about how we treat other people, I'm sorry.

PHILIP WILLIAMS: What started as a limited scandal with a Royal reporter and private investigator jailed, has now spiralled into a full-blown crisis for the News of the World and its parent company, News International.

SIMON GREENBERG, NEWS INTERNATIONAL SPOKESMAN: We are under no illusion that she's absolutely determined that if things went wrong, that we will correct them and that justice will be done.

PHILIP WILLIAMS: That internal investigation is being led by News International boss Rebekah Brooks. She was the editor of the News of the World when some of the phone hacking took place. Presumably, she's now investigating herself.

Here's what she admitted to a parliamentary committee back in 2003.

REBEKAH BROOKS, EDITOR, NEWS OF THE WORLD (2003): We have paid the police for information in the past.

PHILIP WILLIAMS: She was followed as editor by this man, Andy Coulson. He's always denied any knowledge of the hacking, but media reports allege he approved payments to police while editor.

After resigning in the wake of the early hacking scandal in 2007, he went on to become the prime minister David Cameron’s communications director until he left that job in January, again over the hacking.

TERRESA MAY, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: Obviously, we have been absolutely clear in relation to all the allegations that have come about phone hacking. This is a matter for the police to investigate and they should take those investigations wherever the evidence leads them.

PHILIP WILLIAMS: But the police too have questions to answer.

Why, despite thousands of pages of seized notes and an admission payments were made to police by Rebekah Brooks, did they shut down an earlier inquiry saying there was no case to answer.

The then Assistant Commissioner, Andy Hayman, was in charge of that inquiry. He's now a columnist for News International.

STEVE HEWLETT, MEDIA COMMENTATOR: The questions for the police get more serious by the day.

All that we've learnt about Milly Dowler, and now we appear - about Soham and all the rest of it - the information necessary to come to the conclusion that this might have happened has been with the police since 2006.

PHILIP WILLIAMS: That's not good enough for the opposition, Labour calling for a full judicial inquiry. The prime minister, David Cameron, agrees, but not yet.

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We cannot start all those - all that sort of inquiry immediately because you must not jeopardise the police investigation.

PHILIP WILLIAMS: Already there's a commercial cost to be paid by the News of the World. The Ford Motor Company has pulled its advertising; other companies are thinking of doing the same. But the financial cost may end up being the least of their worries.

Philip Williams, Lateline.