Fresh calls to reopen News of the World phone-hacking inquiry

Nicholas Watt and Vikram Dodd

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/06/news-of-the-world-ed-balls-phone-hacking

Fresh calls to reopen News of the World phone-hacking inquiry

The Metropolitan police today faced calls for an independent review of its investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal as the former home secretary Alan Johnson called for an independent inquiry and Ed Balls branded the affair as increasingly “murky”.

MPs on the cross-party Commons culture select committee, who will discuss the scandal next week after the announcement that a senior News of the World executive had been suspended, said the latest development raised fresh questions about alleged collusion  between the police and News International.

The phone-hacking scandal blew open again on Wednesday after the News of the World announced that Ian Edmondson, the paper’s assistant editor (news), had been “suspended from active duties” before Christmas following a “serious allegation” that he was involved in phone hacking. The alleged hacking took place while Andy Coulson, now David Cameron’s director of communications, was the newspaper’s editor.

Edmondson was suspended shortly after the Guardian obtained court documents which apparently showed he had sanctioned the hacking of phones belonging to the actor Sienna Miller and her staff in 2005 by Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator. The documents raised questions about the Met after the police failed to interview any NoW executives during an investigation that led to the jailing of Mulcaire and the paper’s former royal editor Clive Goodman in 2007. Scotland Yard has held the information about Miller for more than four years.

Balls said the Met commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, might want to decide that an independent review should be carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary. The shadow home secretary told Radio 4’s The World at One: “I think the police need to put all the resources necessary into these new investigations which are happening because of disclosure of individuals who are bringing court cases… It may be that Sir Paul Stephenson will decide that independent review, and HMIC review, is the best next step. Let him decide that in the first instance.”

Johnson said he supported an independent review by the inspectorate. Speaking at a visit to the Oldham East and Saddlewoorth byelection, he said the latest developments increased the pressure on Coulson, who resigned as editor of the News of the World in 2007 after the jailing of Goodman and Mulcaire.

“There is a very long fuse on this and I believe the very long fuse does lead to Andy Coulson,” Johnson said.

Coulson, who hired Edmondson, has always denied any knowledge of wrongdoing.

Johnson’s remarks were echoed by Balls. “The more we see of this matter the more it looks very murky and it does raise a real question: what is David Cameron doing keeping Andy Coulson in No 10?” he asked.

Adrian Sanders, a Lib Dem member of the culture and media select committee, will raise allegations of collusion between the Met and News International when the committee meets on Tuesday.

“Potentially the big issue is alleged collusion between the police and News International,” he said. “I have not been convinced by the Met’s explanations throughout this case. We are only going to get to the bottom of this issue if we have a full judicial review where people can be subpoenaed and questioned under oath and where documents can be called for in a legal setting.”

The committee accused News International executives of “collective amnesia” last year. Sanders said the latest developments raised questions about Coulson. “We could not prove in a select committee that Andy Coulson knew more than he said he did. Under oath, in a judicial review, he may to consider a different answer if the facts were different from those he gave us.”

Scotland Yard made clear last night it is not planning to interview the suspended NoW executive and that the latest revelations would not change its decision that the case remains closed. A source said that privately the Yard did not believe the new details about the apparent role of Edmondson amounted to enough evidence to reopen its investigation: “It means nothing evidentially. The evidence, to a criminal standard, is not there,” said the source.

The Yard may convene a joint panel of its officers and Crown Prosecution Service lawyers to consider if there is enough evidence to restart a criminal investigation.

In a sign that Edmondson is moving to protect his position, he spoke to Max Clifford yesterday. The PR man agreed to see Edmondson for “a cup of tea” when he gets back to London in 10 days, a hint that he could be prepared to act for the tabloid journalist against his former employers if necessary.

murky : suram
Constabulary : kepolisian
disclosure : penyingkapan, pemberitahuan rahasia
fuse : menggabungkan
subpoenaed : diperintahkan
revelations : wahyu
apparent : nyata
amounted : besar
convene : bersidang, berapat