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IPCC to scrutinise claims former Met police assistant commissioner secured job for daughter of former NoW executive The police watchdog said on Wednesday it was opening an independent inquiry into allegations John Yates might have secured a job for the daughter of a former News of the World executive. But the Independent Police Complaints Commission effectively cleared Yates, Sir Paul Stephenson, the former commissioner, Peter Clarke, former deputy assistant commissioner, and Andy Hayman, former assistant commissioner, of carrying out any conduct that breached police disciplinary codes over their roles in the original phone-hacking inquiry and its review by Yates in 2009. Deborah Glass, deputy chair of the IPCC, said a clear distinction had to be made between what was a “recordable conduct matter” – conduct that was either criminal or amounted to a disciplinary offence – and the public concerns over phone hacking which would be investigated during the Leveson inquiry. She said however there were “serious issues that need to be scrutinised” about the links between top police officers and the media. The only allegation referred to the IPCC by the Metropolitan Police Authority which it will investigate fully and independently, she said, was the claim Yates secured a job at Scotland Yard for the daughter of Neil Wallis. Yates said in a statement on Wednesday: “I strongly deny any wrongdoing and I am completely confident that I will be exonerated. I have been entirely open about this matter and I will cooperate fully with the investigation which I hope will be conducted swiftly.” He said he was pleased the IPCC had found that an inquiry into him was not required in relation to his involvement in the phone-hacking review. The IPCC said in the case of Yates’s role in reviewing the original hacking inquiry his alleged conduct was not a matter which it was within their remit to investigate as it did not amount to recordable conduct. Glass said there would be no further investigation by the watchdog into the allegation. Yates had been questioned about this “over many hours in six separate parliamentary sessions” and she said “it is difficult to see what further investigation would achieve”. She added that the current investigation which started in January 2011 made any further IPCC inquiry unnecessary. “We would agree that he made a poor decision in 2009. He himself has acknowledged that… he made a poor decision for which he has now taken responsibility,” she said. The same was true of the allegations against Stephenson over his alleged oversight failure of Yates during his review in 2009 of the original hacking inquiry and his alleged reluctance to take responsibilty for it. In a statement released on Wednesday, the IPCC said that Stephenson could not be said to have committed misconduct in public office “because one of his officers may have carried out a poor investigation”. In the case of Clarke, who was in charge of the original investigation into phone hacking, the IPCC said: “He has explained the parameters of the investigation, as well as the reasons why the huge volume of material seized at the time was not subject to analysis. “Had a complaint been made about the original investigation, fairness would require any investigation to consider whether his decision to set narrow parameters was reasonable and proportionate in all the circumstances as they existed at the time, which included some 70 live operations relating to terrorist plots.” Glass said Hayman was not responsible for the original phone-hacking investigation although it was in his command. She said: “Although not referred to us by the MPA, his social contacts with News International and subsequent employment by the Times have been criticised. “While there are serious issues that need to be scrutinised about the extent of contact between senior police officers and the media, and particularly around hospitality, in the absence of any actual evidence of impropriety these are, in my view, for the inquiry to explore.” Stephenson said the outcome was what he expected. “I regret resources have had to be expended on this matter,” Stephenson added. He criticised the IPCC for looking into his decision to accept hospitality – which they decided not to investigate further after their initial consideration. “The IPCC’s comments about my acceptance of assistance from a friend through my family unconnected with my professional life, of services form Champneys Medical Services which they chose to examine under their powers without any external referral does in my view fall a little short of full and proper context. However this is a matter for their judgment.” The prime minister, David Cameron, said during a visit to Cheshire on Wednesday, in relation to the phone-hacking scandal: “Clearly if I had known then all the things I know now, then obviously I would have taken different decisions.” • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook . Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers News of the World John Yates Police News International Josh Halliday Sandra Laville guardian.co.uk