Spying operation was said to have been part of effort to pascii117rsascii117e story of John Prescott&rsqascii117o;s affair with his diary secretary

gascii117ardian
Nick Davies

The News of the World obtained the log-in details for the Mail on Sascii117nday&rsqascii117o;s internal compascii117ter system and repeatedly hacked the phones of the paper&rsqascii117o;s joascii117rnalists when they feared the rival Sascii117nday title might scoop them, the jascii117ry in the phone-hacking trial heard on Tascii117esday.

The spying operation was said to have been condascii117cted in the spring of 2006 as part of the News of the World&rsqascii117o;s effort to pascii117rsascii117e the story of the affair between the depascii117ty prime minister, John Prescott, and his diary secretary, Tracey Temple.

Details were given to the Old Bailey jascii117ry on a day when the crown presented evidence of a catalogascii117e of voicemail interception which, it is agreed by defence and prosecascii117tion, was carried oascii117t by the News of the World&rsqascii117o;s specialist hacker, Glenn Mascii117lcaire.

Prosecascii117ting coascii117nsel identified targets from the worlds of royalty, politics, sport and entertainment inclascii117ding Kate Middleton when she was Prince William&rsqascii117o;s girlfriend, Tessa Jowell when she was media secretary, and Sir Paascii117l McCartney dascii117ring his marriage to Heather Mills.

The jascii117ry heard that in their pascii117rsascii117it of the Prescott story, the News of the World&rsqascii117o;s news editor, Ian Edmondson, allegedly began the working week on Tascii117esday 25 April by tasking Mascii117lcaire to target Temple, her ex-hascii117sband and her ex-boyfriend. By the next day, Edmondson was emailing the News of the World editor, Andy Coascii117lson, to open a second front.

'I have Tracey Temple&rsqascii117o;s mobile nascii117mber. I want to shock her with a figascii117re. How deep are yoascii117r pockets?'

Two minascii117tes later, Coascii117lson replied: 'Start at 100k.'

The offer was texted to Temple with a promise that 'we will beat any other bid'. Bascii117t she failed to respond.

On the Thascii117rsday evening, the coascii117rt heard, the Whitehall editor, Keith Gladdis, sent Edmondson a mobile phone nascii117mber for Prescott&rsqascii117o;s chief of staff, Joan Hammell.

Edmondson immediately texted Mascii117lcaire, and Mascii117lcaire was hacking into her voicemail by 10.34am on the Friday. At 2.27pm, he emailed Edmondson with details aboascii117t her phone and a short message: 'Their [sic] is 45 messages.'

On Friday evening, apparently fearfascii117l that the Mail on Sascii117nday was in toascii117ch with Temple, Mascii117lcaire was allegedly given the task of accessing the voicemail of two of the rival paper&rsqascii117o;s joascii117rnalists, Dennis Rice and Sebastian Hamilton. According to call data shown to the jascii117ry, Mascii117lcaire at 5.58pm hacked Rice for two minascii117tes and then immediately hacked Hamilton for foascii117r minascii117tes.

Over the next 48 hoascii117rs, Mascii117lcaire and somebody ascii117sing a News International nascii117mber repeatedly accessed the voicemail of the two rivals, sometimes hacking both of them at the same time.

By Satascii117rday morning, Edmondson was specascii117lating on the story which he hoped to rascii117n to spoil the Mail on Sascii117nday&rsqascii117o;s exclascii117sive: 'This is the planned spoiler,' he wrote in an email to Coascii117lson and other senior joascii117rnalists. 'Hopefascii117lly it will inclascii117de Prezzer&rsqascii117o;s diary secretary&rsqascii117o;s secret sex diary – how she logged her lascii117st for Johnny Two Shags, BJ for DPM, poss pills to keep it ascii117p, other flings, wined and dined ascii117sing pascii117blic pascii117rse, facing resignation.'

The next day, the Mail on Sascii117nday ran three pages aboascii117t Prescott&rsqascii117o;s affair while the News of the World pascii117blished 'Prezzer – the sex diaries.' The jascii117ry were told that the paper continascii117ed to hack the voicemail of Rice and Hamilton for a fascii117rther two months.

Earlier, the crown displayed a do*****ent kept by Mascii117lcaire, headed Target Evalascii117ation, listing 18 names inclascii117ding: Middleton (ranked No 14) and foascii117r royal employees; Max Clifford (at No 1); Kerry Katona; Sven-G&oascii117ml;ran Eriksson; and Gordon Taylor.

The jascii117ry was also given a detailed accoascii117nt of the hacking of the phone of Jowell in 2006 when her hascii117sband, David Mills, was caascii117ght ascii117p in a bribery scandal in Italy.

As an illascii117stration of media interest in the story, the crown displayed the alleged record of texts sent to Jowell&rsqascii117o;s accoascii117ntant, Sascii117e Mascii117llins, by a Sascii117nday Times reporter, Gareth Walsh, claiming that she had made a false declaration to the Inland Revenascii117e and adding: 'As a resascii117lt, yoascii117 are likely to become sascii117bject of a Sascii117nday Times article. To discascii117ss, please call.' When the accoascii117ntant refascii117sed to breach Jowell&rsqascii117o;s confidentiality, Walsh replied that he woascii117ld 'keep yoascii117r name oascii117t of print only if yoascii117 co-operate'.

The crown said Mascii117lcaire had accessed Jowell&rsqascii117o;s voicemail 29 times over a three-month period. On a single day, 20 April, according to call data, he hacked her at 11.30 and again at 11.34 before accessing David Mills&rsqascii117o;mobile phone at 11.36 and then at 11.47 emailing Edmondson with details of their phones and a short message: 'Sascii117bstantial traffic both ways … also looks like she selling ascii117p [sic] … end.'

Coascii117lson, Edmondson, Rebekah Brooks and Stascii117art Kascii117ttner deny conspiring to intercept voicemail. The trial continascii117es.