Guardian Reports On News of the World Phone Hacking

A big story being reported by the Guardian about News of the World.  According to its accounts, the News Group newspapers, which owns News of the World, has reportedly paid enormous sums, up to one million pounds, to keep certain cases involving its journalists from going to trial. Those cases would have revealed evidence that reporters working for the paper had violated the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 by hacking into the phone messages of the subjects of its high profile stories. The Home Office now says the Metropolitan Police is now considering an investigation into these allegations. Among more Guardian reports: the NotW managing editor resigned just before the Guardian story appeared, and the Prime Minister noted that the government did not know of phone hacking allegations until the Guardian’s article. Here: links to stories about former NotW editors Rebekah Wade and Andy Colson, who is now Tory Director of Communications, and currently being questioned by MPs.

Here’s background on the story from the Guardian’s James Robinson. It starts as far back as 2006, with the involvement of News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman, who was arrested and eventually convicted and jailed for intercepting phone calls concerning the family of the Prince of Wales.

Here’s more from CNN.