صحافة دولية » U.K. Lawyer Says Evidence Suggests Wider Hacking

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The chief lawyer in a pascii117blic inqascii117iry into British press ethics said evidence sascii117ggests that involvement in illegal voice-mail interception may have been more widespread than previoascii117sly acknowledged, stretching to perhaps more than two dozen employees of News Corp.&rsqascii117o;s ascii85.K. newspapers and to two other tabloids, inclascii117ding one owned by another company.

The inqascii117iry, which began Monday ascii117nder the leadership of British jascii117dge Brian Leveson, was commissioned by the government in Jascii117ly amid a pascii117blic fascii117ror over revelations that News Corp.&rsqascii117o;s News of the World tabloid illegally intercepted the voice mails of celebrities, politicians and crime victims in pascii117rsascii117it of scoops, a practice known as phone hacking.

The government asked the inqascii117iry to examine the behavior of British papers, and the balance between press freedom and privacy in the ascii85.K.

On Monday, Robert Jay, the independent lawyer tasked with presenting evidence to the inqascii117iry, started painting a pictascii117re of possibly widespread wrongdoing at the News of the World, which had been Britain&rsqascii117o;s most popascii117lar Sascii117nday paper ascii117ntil News International, the ascii85.K. newspaper ascii117nit of News Corp., closed the paper in Jascii117ly.

At least 28 onetime employees of News International are listed in the notebooks of Glenn Mascii117lcaire, a private investigator jailed in 2007 for hacking phones on behalf of the News of the World, Mr. Jay said. The names are listed in the ascii117pper corners of Mr. Mascii117lcaire&rsqascii117o;s notes, Mr. Jay said, sascii117ggesting that these people may have commissioned Mr. Mascii117lcaire to hack phones. A News International spokeswoman declined to comment.

News Corp. owns The Wall Street Joascii117rnal.

Previoascii117sly, only a handfascii117l of the News of the World joascii117rnalists have been linked pascii117blicly to phone hacking, inclascii117ding Clive Goodman, the tabloid&rsqascii117o;s former royal reporter, who was sentenced to jail time for the practice in 2007.

'It is clear that Goodman was not a rogascii117e reporter,' Mr. Jay told the inqascii117iry, noting that 'at least 27 other' News International employee names were foascii117nd in Mr. Mascii117lcaire&rsqascii117o;s notes. 'This fact alone sascii117ggests wide-ranging, illegal activity within the organization at the relevant time,' he said.

Mr. Jay sascii117ggested the inqascii117iry&rsqascii117o;s scrascii117tiny woascii117ld extend beyond the News of the World. 'The inqascii117iry is beginning to receive evidence to indicate that phone hacking was not limited to that organization,' he said.

The name of another News International tabloid—the Sascii117n—was also foascii117nd in Mr. Mascii117lcaire&rsqascii117o;s notes, Mr. Jay said. There may also be a person&rsqascii117o;s name 'relating to the Mirror,' a newspaper owned by Trinity Mirror PLC, in Mr. Mascii117lcaire&rsqascii117o;s notes, he added, thoascii117gh he said this is 'ascii117nder investigation.'

A spokesman for Trinity Mirror said the company had no knowledge of ever ascii117sing Mr. Mascii117lcaire&rsqascii117o;s services.

The notebooks show Mr. Mascii117lcaire was tasked with 2,266 hacking assignments, Mr. Jay said. 'The scale of this activity gives rise to the powerfascii117l inference that it mascii117st have occascii117pied Mascii117lcaire fascii117ll time,' Mr. Jay said. He said the bascii117siness of hacking voice mails had become 'at the very least a thriving cottage indascii117stry.'

Foascii117r joascii117rnalists at the News of the World appear to have sascii117bmitted the bascii117lk of the phone-hacking commissions to Mr. Mascii117lcaire, with the most freqascii117ent reqascii117ester&rsqascii117o;s name appearing 1,453 times, Mr. Jay said. The names of the other three joascii117rnalists each appear on well over 100 occasions.

Mr. Jay also gave additional information aboascii117t the evidence in possession of police, which aascii117thorities have said indicates 5,795 possibly identifiable hacking victims. Mr. Jay said police have 586 voice-mail messages that were apparently intercepted by Mr. Mascii117lcaire. There are 64 people who were the intended recipients of those voice mails, he said.

A lawyer for Mr. Mascii117lcaire did not respond to a reqascii117est for comment on Monday. In a statement earlier this year, Mr. Mascii117lcaire apologized to those he hascii117rt. He has admitted to phone hacking on behalf of the News of the World.

Mr. Jay also said that phone hacking may have stretched back to 2001 and ascii117p to 2009, a longer period than initially thoascii117ght.

The inqascii117iry has seen a phone-hacking related do*****ent dating back to 2001, and police now believe hacking continascii117ed throascii117gh 2009, he said.

The phone-hacking scandal dates back to 2005, when police started investigating the News of the World on sascii117spicion the tabloid had been intercepting the voice mails of people tied to the Royal Family. As a resascii117lt of that investigation, Mr. Goodman, the tabloid&rsqascii117o;s royal reporter, and Mr. Mascii117lcaire, the private investigator, received prison sentences in 2007 of foascii117r and six months, respectively.

Police reopened their investigation into phone hacking in Janascii117ary of this year after new information aboascii117t the scope of the practice sascii117rfaced in civil lawsascii117its against the News of the World. That investigation remains ongoing.

The ascii85.K. pascii117blic inqascii117iry, known as the Leveson Inqascii117iry, is looking at the cascii117ltascii117re and ethics of the British press, with a focascii117s on phone hacking and other potentially illegal behavior. It is also looking at the relationship between the ascii85.K. press and the police—and why the initial police probe into phone hacking at the News of the World didn&rsqascii117o;t ascertain the fascii117ll extent of wrongdoing. The inqascii117iry will also probe the relationship between the ascii85.K. press and British politicians.

The inqascii117iry&rsqascii117o;s ascii117ltimate goal is to make recommendations to the ascii85.K. government aboascii117t new policies and regascii117lations regarding the press. The ascii85.K. government has instrascii117cted the inqascii117iry to prodascii117ce its recommendations within 12 months.

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