Jonathan Ross: I was a phone-hacking victim

Chatshow host says his name was found on list by police – but he does not believe the News of the World was involved Jonathan Ross has said he is convinced his phone was hacked – but by a paper other than the News of the World. The chatshow host said he was told by police that his number and that of his wife, Jane Goldman, had been found by officers investigating the phone-hacking scandal at the News International paper. “I know I had my phone hacked, the police contacted us and told us that my number, my wife’s number was on the list of one of the guys’ information,” Ross told Richard Bacon on BBC Radio 5 Live on Wednesday . He said the list also included numbers of his friends, and his agent, and people that he had been calling. “It’s a horrible feeling,” said Ross. “Were they listening? Were they playing back messages?” But the presenter said there was no evidence that the News International paper had written a story based on information gathered from phone hacking. However, he thinks other newspapers did. “I think there might have been some stuff from that [phone hacking] but I think in other newspapers than in the News of the World,” said Ross. “I don’t think the News of the World did. I think other newspapers did.” He added: “I can’t say [which newspapers] because I can’t prove it. I’m pretty certain, so is Jane they were and we are hopefully going to find out one day. Some of the other newspapers have perhaps been a little more conscientious in covering their tracks.” Ross said he was “quite excited” to see News International be called to account for the phone-hacking scandal “for things which we all knew they had been doing but for whatever reasons had been getting away with”. “I didn’t like the News of the World as a newspaper, I didn’t particularly want to see it survive,” he said. “I don’t like to see anyone lose their jobs, even if they are doing something I don’t like but at the same time you reap what you sow.” Asked if he would consider legal action, Ross said: “If I could prove that there was a story … If I could actually call to account someone who had broken the law and involved me in that way then I would because it’s just wrong. “If I break the law I expect to be punished for that. I would pursue that as strong as I could. I wouldn’t maybe be as quite excited as Steve Coogan or Hugh Grant, but I would want to see it to its end.” •

Posted by on August 31, 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.