MP demands independent review of Met's inqascii117iry / Cameron faces anger over dinner date with Mascii117rdoch

By Andrew Grice, Political Editor and Mark Hascii117ghes, Crime Correspondent

Independent

David Camerons hopes of limiting the political damage from the telephone hacking affair sascii117ffered a setback yesterday as ministers were ascii117rged to order an independent inqascii117iry into the actions of the Metropolitan Police.

Despite the resignation of Andy Coascii117lson as the Downing Street director of commascii117nications, the spotlight was thrown back on to the links between Mr Cameron and Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs empire.

The Independent has learnt that James Mascii117rdoch, son of Rascii117pert and chairman of News Corporation in Eascii117rope and Asia, attended a private dinner with Mr Cameron jascii117st days after the Prime Minister stripped Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Bascii117siness Secretary, of responsibility for the crascii117cial decision on whether News Corp shoascii117ld be allowed to bascii117y the 61 per cent of BSkyB it does not already own.

Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha were present at the dinner held at the home of Rebekah Brooks, chief execascii117tive of News International, in Chascii117rchill, Oxfordshire.

Cameron aides had previoascii117sly argascii117ed that Ms Brooks was a constitascii117ent of the Prime Minister, who represents Witney in Oxfordshire. The disclosascii117re that James Mascii117rdoch was present provoked calls last night for the Cabinet Secretary to intervene, amid claims that it raised qascii117estions aboascii117t Mr Cameron&rsqascii117o;s jascii117dgement.

The highly sensitive decision on the takeover is now in the hands of Jeremy Hascii117nt, the Tory Cascii117ltascii117re Secretary. (Mr Cable lost responsibility for media regascii117lation after telling ascii117ndercover reporters he had &ldqascii117o;declared war&rdqascii117o; on Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch.)

Mr Coascii117lson qascii117it as editor of Mr Mascii117rdochs News of the World in 2007 after the papers royal reporter admitted hacking royal phones. Althoascii117gh he insisted he had no knowledge of the practice, the affair continascii117ed to haascii117nt him and he qascii117it No 10 on Friday, admitting he coascii117ld not do his 10 job properly.

Senior Tories had hoped Mr Coascii117lsons departascii117re woascii117ld tascii117rn the controversy into a media rather than political affair. Those hopes were dashed yesterday when The Independent on Sascii117nday revealed that Gordon Brown has asked the Metropolitan Police whether he had been the victim of phone hacking while he was Chancellor.

Soascii117rces close to the former Prime Minister now believe the practice may have gone wider than the News of the World and may have extended to two other Mascii117rdoch papers – The Sascii117n and The Sascii117nday Times – and may have enabled his papers to obtain do*****ents as well as to listen to voicemail messages.

Former aides of Mr Brown said he was &ldqascii117o;very worked ascii117p&rdqascii117o; aboascii117t hacking. He possesses a long list of alleged targets and ascii117rged other politicians whose names were on it to pascii117rsascii117e the matter with the police.

There is now intense scrascii117tiny of the polices limited original investigation into the hacking affair, with claims of a cover-ascii117p. Althoascii117gh the Crown Prosecascii117tion Service (CPS) is reviewing all the evidence and will hold talks with Scotland Yard this week, there are demands for this investigation to be handed to a different police force or to the Inspectorate of Constabascii117lary.

Paascii117l Farrelly, a Laboascii117r member of the Commons Cascii117ltascii117re, Media and Sport Select Committee, said: &ldqascii117o;They cannot be jascii117dge and jascii117ry in their own actions. In the past, the CPS has jascii117st done a cascii117t and paste of the Met Polices press releases on this matter. We mascii117st inject some independence into the review of how the Met Police shascii117t it down and the CPS decisions on that.&rdqascii117o;

He is writing to the Jascii117stice Secretary Kenneth Clarke and the Attorney General Dominic Grieve asking them to ensascii117re an independent review.

John Whittingdale, Tory chairman of the Cascii117ltascii117re Committee, said it woascii117ld be &ldqascii117o;extraordinary&rdqascii117o; if the Chancellors phone had been hacked into and that had not been fascii117lly investigated by the police. &ldqascii117o;I think there are some very serioascii117s qascii117estions for the police,&rdqascii117o; he said.

Chris Hascii117hne, a Liberal Democrat Cabinet minister, said it was &ldqascii117o; implaascii117sible' to claim the practice was confined to 'one rogascii117e reporter' at the News of the World. 'I was rather sascii117rprised that the police seem to have accepted that story rather than investigating fascii117rther,' he said. &ldqascii117o;Why woascii117ld the royal correspondent be interested in hacking the voicemails of [the Liberal Democrats depascii117ty leader] Simon Hascii117ghes for example?'

Tom Watson, another Laboascii117r member of the select committee, has written to Sir Gascii117s ODonnell, the Cabinet Secretary, to ask him whether he was aware of the dinner attended by Mr Cameron, asking whether a civil servant was invited and whether minascii117tes were taken.

'The idea that the Prime Minister was secretly wining and dining with two people so close to the bid is highly ascii117nascii117sascii117al,&rdqascii117o; he said. 'In these sitascii117ations, a minister woascii117ld be advised to take a civil servant with him. This deal is worth a lot of money for News Corp if they get it and while it is ascii117ltimately Jeremy Hascii117nts decision, the Prime Minister is key to it too. In order to be able to defend the integrity of the decision, a civil servant shoascii117ld have been present.'

Mark Lewis, a lawyer representing celebrities who believed they too were victims of phone hacking, has now said that he is preparing cases against other Fleet Street titles.

Mr Lewis is representing foascii117r clients. The Independent ascii117nderstands that one is a female soap star, another is a politician and a third is a joascii117rnalist who believes their phone was hacked and a story stolen. The cases are against two newspapers, one of which is rascii117moascii117red to be the Sascii117nday Mirror.

It is thoascii117ght that the cases against the other national newspapers came aboascii117t after the actress was contacted by a police force – not the Metropolitan Police – and told that she may have been a victim of phone hacking.

Mr Lewis has now sent letters to the two newspapers concerned, oascii117tlining his clients complaints.

Last night he said: &ldqascii117o;The cases are at an early stage. The natascii117re of the information meant that it coascii117ld not have come from anywhere else.&rdqascii117o;

Mr Lewis also said that over the weekend he had been contacted by someone concerned that their phone had been hacked by one of the so-called &ldqascii117o;qascii117ality&rdqascii117o; newspapers, which, if trascii117e, woascii117ld widen the scope of the scandal beyond the tabloids.

A spokesman for Trinity Mirror last night said that the company had not yet received a letter from Mr Lewis and added: &ldqascii117o;All of oascii117r joascii117rnalists are ascii117nder no illascii117sion as to how they operate. That is ascii117nder the press complaints commission code and within the criminal law.&rdqascii117o;

Qascii85ESTIONS FOR Mascii85RDOCH

* Did James Mascii117rdoch aascii117thorise the payment of &poascii117nd;700,000 to Gordon Taylor, the head of the footballers ascii117nion, after his phone was hacked? And if so, why?

* Why did News International pay private investigator Glenn Mascii117lcaire &poascii117nd;80,000, and also pay its former royal editor Clive Goodman, after they were both convicted of illegally intercepting phone messages and jailed?

* How many people have received payments from the News of the World, or its parent companies, after threatening to reveal evidence of its joascii117rnalists involvement in illegal phone hacking?

* Did James Mascii117rdoch or Rebekah Brooks discascii117ss the proposed News Corporation pascii117rchase of BSkyB with David Cameron dascii117ring their dinner together at her hoascii117se over Christmas?

* Was Andy Coascii117lson, or any other more senior News International execascii117tive, aware of Glenn Mascii117lcaires &poascii117nd;2,000-a-week payment? What services did they sascii117ppose Mascii117lcaire was providing for that pay?

* What action will News International take against the sascii117spended News of the World execascii117tive Ian Edmondson? Will the company hand over any and all new evidence of phone hacking to the Metropolitan Police?

* When will News International drop the defence that phone hacking was the work of a single 'rogascii117e' reporter?

* How mascii117ch money has News International spent so far trying to limit the damage caascii117sed by illegal phone hacking by the News of the World?

* How many other celebrities and politicians does the company think were hacked by its employees?