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Scotland Yard is examining new claims that the Prime Minister's chief media adviser was aware of illegal phone tapping while he was editor of the News of the World.
The Yard said today it was “seeking to clarify” some of the latest allegations, in a New York Times article.
The US paper claimed Andy Coulson freely discussed the use of unlawful news-gathering techniques while editor of the paper and “actively encouraged” a named reporter to engage in the illegal interception of voicemail messages.
Mr Coulson, who has denied the new claims, resigned as editor after the paper's royal reporter, Clive Goodman, and a private investigator, were jailed for phone hacking in 2007.
The investigation was originally sparked after Prince William became suspicious two years earlier about a News of the World article concerning his knee injury.
A Yard spokesman would not comment in detail today. He said: “Following the publication of the article by the New York Times the Metropolitan Police are seeking to clarify some aspects of its contents with the newspaper.”
Yard sources told the Standard there are no plans to reopen the inquiry. Police are understood to be examining claims by former News of the World reporters in the New York Times piece, in particular comments by the only named reporter, Sean Hoare.
The Yard statement came as Labour members of the Metropolitan Police Authority called for an inquiry into the Met's handling of the phone-hacking scandal.
The New York Times quoted unnamed detectives claiming they were pressured to cut short their inquiry because of the force's alleged close relationship with the News of The World.
In a letter to Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, Joanne McCartney, Labour's leading MPA member, demanded the allegations be formally probed. “As I know you would agree, it is vital that the public can be confident the Met is investigating crime without fear or favour,” she wrote.
The News of the World today said it had recently suspended a reporter accused of hacking into the voicemail of a woman TV celebrity, a practice the paper banned.
The New York Times is embroiled in a media war against Rupert Murdoch's News International which owns the News of the World. News International is facing lawsuits from more than 20 possible victims of the phone hacking, it is claimed.
There were further claims today about the identity of some of the alleged phone-hacking victims.
They were said to include Sir Ian Blair, the Met Commissioner at the time; former deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick, and Mike Fuller, former Kent chief constable.
Ex-Labour minister Chris Bryant also claimed he was targeted and called for a review of the Met inquiry.
Reader views (5)
Sounds like a Damian McBride production.
- David Hughes, Worthing, England, 06/09/2010 10:45
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There do seem to be a number of reasons why it would make sense for the police to complete their investigation as they didn't fully investigate the case they stopped the case once they were able to "prove" the case against a couple of individuals.
- Mike Melbourne, Bedford, 05/09/2010 10:51
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“Joanne McCartney, Labour's leading MPA member, demanded the allegations be formally probed – pure gutter politics. I cannot abide the complicity of Labour is starting all this. These weasels need to grow up and understand that they, not the News of the World let the genie out of the bottle.
- John, St Albans, 03/09/2010 18:16
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Hold on a minute - didn't the police inform Andy Coulson that "someone" was tapping HIS mobile?
- Ted, Orkney, 03/09/2010 14:16
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What about all the smaller people? We hear of the 'big players' who were tapped, what about the smaller party activists or non 'famous' individuals?
Am sure there are plenty of them who don't know they were illegally tapped too?
Perhaps someone could ask under the FOI to release all the names of those tapped?
- Jim, UK, 03/09/2010 12:53
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