Phone hacking scandal deepens

[Jan Klimkowski]

Sources said a trawl of Mr Edmondson's emails dating back nearly six years had found a dossier of "highly damaging evidence" which has been passed to the Yard. The Independent understands that detectives will scrutinise the information from thousands of messages found on the machine for any indication that Mr Edmondson or other figures at the newspaper were responsible for instructing Mr Mulcaire to target the phones of celebrities and politicians prior to 2006.


Last night lawyers representing Mr Edmondson did not respond to requests for a comment, but it is believed that he may have evidence implicating other executives on the paper.

In a statement, News International said: "The News of the World has terminated the employment of Ian Edmondson... Material evidence found during the course of the subsequent investigation has led to [his] dismissal. News International has informed the police [and] handed over the material it has found."

The sacking of one of Mr Coulson's most trusted tabloid attack dogs represents a dramatic change in the stance of News International, which as recently as this month was maintaining its stance that the hacking was restricted to a single "rogue reporter" in the shape of the former royal editor Clive Goodman, who was imprisoned along with Mr Mulcaire. Both men were paid money by the NOTW after their convictions, and neither has spoken out.

Black Knight to Queen 6 - Murdoch lackeys send a pile of "highly damaging" emails incriminating Edmondson alone to the Met Police.

White Rook to Bishop 7 - Edmondson reveals existence of "devastating material" in his possession, proving senior Murdoch executives were always in the loop.

Black Queen to Rook 8 Check - Edmondson is found dressed in latex, hanging from from a beam with a noose round his neck, a tangerine in his mouth - a smiling death rictus through smeared purple lipgloss. The rozzers declare it accidental suicide, but they'd quite like to speak to an albino couple with an interest in bondage if that isn't too much trouble.



If Mr Edmondson is a wise man, he should be making multiple copies of his evidence and scattering them across both the real and virtual worlds....