Phone hacking scandal deepens

[Jan Klimkowski]

Ah, what have we here?

Yes, it's a :flypig::flypig:


Looks like the Labour government, particularly that part associated with the military-multinaitional-intelligence complex, did know about the phone hacking of ministers back in 2006.

Despite desperate denials.

Will Leveson draw the obvious conclusions?

Phone-hacking documents 'confirm that Labour government was briefed'

Leveson inquiry told of Met briefing and internal memo after former home secretary denies he was told MPs were targeted

David Leigh
guardian.co.uk, Monday 5 March 2012 13.59 GMT

Documents have been discovered that apparently confirm police claims that the Labour government was secretly briefed about the significance of the phone-hacking arrests at the News of the World in 2006, the Leveson inquiry has been told.

Two Metropolitan police reports were sent to the Home Office on 9 August 2006, one of which was prepared for the home secretary, the inquiry heard when it resumed on Monday morning.

This followed the police discovery that Labour cabinet ministers were having their voicemail messages targeted. Both Tessa Jowell and John Prescott, at the time culture secretary and deputy prime minister, respectively, were known to have been targets.

One police report was handed over to Leveson over the weekend, and the second, written by Richard Riley, private secretary to the permanent secretary, "prepared by a senior civil servant for the home secretary personally" was being sought.

"It's obviously very important," Lord Justice Leveson told Neil Garnham QC, counsel representing the Met at the inquiry.

The existence of the reports appears to clash with claims by former home secretary John Reid to the Guardian at the weekend that he was never made aware that Labour MPs were being targeted by the News of the World.

He said on Friday evening: "I can categorically say that I did not receive any briefing from the Met suggesting that there was widespread hacking including MPs and the deputy PM."

Clarke told the inquiry under oath on Thursday: "I am absolutely clear in my mind that HM government was fully aware of this case at the time .... I recall discussing the case with Dr John Reid, the then home secretary, shortly after Goodman and Mulcaire had been arrested. This was in the margins of a meeting about broader counter-terrorism issues ... the Home Office had been informed of the arrests and the broad nature of the case that was alleged against Goodman and Mulcaire."

He was asked: "Did you make is clear to him that although the investigation had clearly and conclusively implicated Goodman and Mulcaire, (a) the range of victims was far wider than the royal household, and (b) that other journalists might well have been involved?"

He answered: "I think it did. I don't remember the exact content of that discussion. I know that a briefing paper went from the Metropolitan police to the Home Office and that Dr Reid was aware of it and it was on the basis of that that he asked me some questions."

Asked about police failure to brief Prescott that he was a hacking target, Clarke testified: "It wouldn't be for me to go direct to Lord Prescott. I discussed this with the then home secretary, Dr Reid. He was aware of the investigation."

Leveson also called on the police on Monday to find documentation about their dealings with Jowell. Sara Mansoori, the lawyer representing the "core participant" victims, raised the issue on behalf of the former culture secretary on Monday challenging police allegations that she had been unwilling to sign a witness statement to assist with the prosecution of News of the World journalists.

Jowell was the first cabinet minister who it was discovered was a News of the World target, prior to the arrest of private detective Glenn Mulcaire on 8 August 2006. Leveson asked for records to be found of which senior police officer visited Jowell at the time, to discuss possible prosecutions.