Phone hacking scandal deepens

[Jan Klimkowski]

Last night, watching BBC2's Newsnight, I briefly stirred from slumber when their film used first hand insider sources (unidentified) to reveal how Met Police corruption went down.

The problem for any rozzer seeking to sell information to a hack is the electronic audit trail. Every key stroke on a police computer is recorded and can be accessed retrospectively by Professional Standards/Internal Affairs cops.

So, how did these corrupt cops get round the electronic audit trail?

Allegedly, they set the NOTW hacks up as Confidential Informants. This automatically took all activity outside all standard electronic audit.

If this allegation is true - again, that Met Police officers set up NOTW journalists as Confidential Informants (ie protected intelligence sources) - then the Met is in deep deep trouble.

The more humorous colour is that the payments would often take place in a drive-thru McDonalds near Wapping, where the cash would be handed over in a brown paper bag over a Royale with Cheese.

Some things change.

Some things stay the same.

If it's true that Met Police officers set up NOTW hacks as Confidential Informants (ie protected intelligence sources), then Scotland Yard and British policing is in deep trouble.

Only officers with appropriate secruity & intelligence clearance can set up Confidential Informant (CI) accounts, and then run those CIs outside of senior officer and other oversight. Using such means to sell sensitive police information for money, and allegedly even obstruct active police investigations, would mean deliberate subversion of police systems by highly vetted officers.

This is not about a hack buying a pint for a neighbourhood bobby in exchange for a piece of information (as corrupt as that would be). It is several times more serious and pernicious.