Focus of phone-hacking investigation shifts to Les Hinton

Top aide to Rupert Murdoch faces questions on whether he saw 2007 internal report on widespread hacking Les Hinton, Rupert Murdoch’s lifelong lieutenant and closest adviser, faces questions over whether he saw a 2007 internal News International report, which found evidence that phone hacking was more widespread than admitted by the company, before he testified to a parliamentary committee that the practice was limited to a single reporter. News of the existence of the 2007 report – the conclusions of which were kept hidden from the public, MPs and police – came as Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corporation, arrived in the UK to deal directly with the rapidly developing crisis. The collection of memos that formed the inquiry were sent to the Metropolitan police earlier this year. This step came after executives who had joined NI more recently discovered its existence and sent it to the Operation Weeting team investigating News of the World phone hacking. Despite the alleged conclusions of the memos, News International executives repeatedly went on the record to say hacking was confined to a single “rogue reporter” – and they gave evidence to parliament that that was the case. Hinton who then ran News International, which is owned by News Corp, spoke to the Commons culture committee looking into the Goodman affair on 6 March 2007. He was asked whether the News of the World had “carried out a full, rigorous internal inquiry” into phone hacking and whether he was “absolutely convinced” the practice was limited to a single reporter. The Guardian understands that Hinton was among five NI executives who had access to the report. The then News of the World editor, Colin Myler, and legal counsel, Tom Crone, as senior executives could have been expected to have seen it. Hinton was succeeded by James Murdoch, who it is understood had no knowledge of the 2007 internal enquiry until recently. He joined NI from BSkyB, where he had been chief executive. Also in the dark was Rebekah Brooks, who at the time was editing the Sun. The NI investigation began after Clive Goodman, the News of the World’s former royal editor, and Glenn Mulcaire, its £100,000-a-year private investigator, were jailed for hacking into phones belonging to aides of Prince William and Harry. It was conducted with the help of lawyers Harbottle & Lewis. Lawrence Abramson, managing partner of Harbottle & Lewis, who worked on the instructions of News International, told the select committee that they had examined internal emails and concluded: “We did not find anything in those emails which appeared to us to be reasonable evidence that Clive Goodman’s illegal actions were known about and supported by both or either of Andy Coulson, the editor, and Neil Wallis, the deputy editor, and/or that Ian Edmondson, the news editor, and others were carrying out similar illegal procedures.” The scandal continues to grip Westminster and Scotland Yard. The government was scrambling to find a way to postpone a decision on the BSkyB deal without exposing it to a multimillion pound judicial review, in order to see off a pincer movement by Labour and the Lib Dems to force a vote in the Commons. Labour is threatening to table a motion on Wednesday calling for a delay until after the police inquiries are completed if the prime minister does not take action. Sources close to Nick Clegg said the Lib Dem leadership was willing to back it if it is legally compliant. The government has consistently said it cannot drop the BSkyB deal because it has already satisfied a plurality test and any other reasoning would leave it exposed to judicial review. But it was becoming increasingly clear that it would have to find a way or face a rebellion in the Commons which could result in a standoff between the legislature and the judiciary. Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show: “I say this to the prime minister candidly. Over the next 72 hours I hope he changes his position on this because I don’t want to force this to a vote in the House of Commons. “But I think he’s got to understand that when the public have seen the disgusting revelations that we’ve seen this week the idea that this organisation which engaged in these terrible practices should be allowed to get that 100% stake without the criminal investigation being completed and on the basis of assurances from that self-same organisation, I’m afraid that won’t wash with the public.” His office said that they had until Tuesday night to table the motion, and would use the next 48 hours to get “as much political support as we can” and the correct and proper legal advice. They argued that the government’s insistence that they would face judicial review was a “red herring” as they could already be exposed to challenged because they awarded the deal based on assurances from News International which could now be discredited in a court of law. Government sources privately acknowledged that they now face an almost impossible conundrum of how to delay the deal without facing judicial review. Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary who is in charge of taking the decision on BSkyB, will consult his lawyers to see what impact a parliamentary vote could have on his quasi-judicial role in ruling on BSkyB. There were suggestions from the Lib Dem benches that the Tories could even back the Commons motion if it provided a way out. No 10 sources said that they would not speculate on a motion when they hadn’t yet seen the wording. Such a motion, which would be tabled during Labour’s opposition day debate on Wednesday, would result in a resolution in the Commons, which although not legally binding could put intolerable pressure on the government to postpone the deal. The decision had already been kicked into the long grass after Hunt’s department received a reported 200,000 responses to a consultation. Philip Hammond, the transport secretary, asked on Sky News about the award of the a 100% stake in BSkyB to News International, said: “Well I understand that people would be very concerned about that and I think probably many of us would be very concerned, but we have to operate within the law. The government can’t just change the rules in midstream, if we did we’d undoubtedly be taken to court and we’d probably lose so we have to tread very carefully within the law.” With Labour leading the charge against News International the Lib Dems sought to regain their reputation for standing up to the Murdoch empire. In opposition they had been the only party voicing concerns about journalistic practices at News International. The energy secretary, Chris Huhne, confirmed Clegg had warned Cameron in the days after the coalition was formed against hiring Andy Coulson, the ex-editor of News of the World, to be his director of communications. An aide to Clegg said if the motion resolved the legal issues, he would back it. “If it’s legally compliant then any motion that states the obvious will receive Liberal Democrat support. Nick thinks that it’s preposterous that everything going on couldn’t influence such a decision.” Lord Oakeshott, the Liberal Democrat peer and close ally of Vince Cable, who was stripped of the responsibility for the BSkyB merger after a Telegraph sting recorded him saying he had “declared war” with Murdoch over the merger plans, said: “Liberal Democrats from the cabinet to councillors … are totally united. We want to block the BSkyB bid and then break up the Murdoch empire. He’s far too powerful, we don’t let Tesco have 40% of the market. This is not just about blocking the bid it’s about ending a serious danger to our democracy.” It has also emerged that Sir Paul Stephenson, the head of the Metropolitan police will make an apology over the force’s “institutional” failings in its investigation of the scandal. Phone hacking News of the World Rupert Murdoch Rebekah Brooks Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers Metropolitan police Dan Sabbagh Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 10, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.