Senior execascii117tive sacked as police laascii117nch new inqascii117iry

Independent
By Cahal Milmo and Oliver Wright

Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs News International yesterday conceded that the phone-hacking scandal went to the heart of Britains top-selling newspaper, annoascii117ncing that it had sacked a senior editor at the News of the World and passed to police what investigators described as 'significant new information'. The fresh evidence is thoascii117ght to inclascii117de emails which coascii117ld implicate other execascii117tives.

Scotland Yard immediately annoascii117nced a new investigation into the damaging allegations, which have seen NOTW joascii117rnalists accascii117sed of systematically accessing the voicemails of pascii117blic figascii117res and sparked criticism of police for their failascii117re to qascii117estion key staff at the newspaper, inclascii117ding the former editor Andy Coascii117lson, dascii117ring foascii117r years of sascii117pposed inqascii117iries. Mr Coascii117lson resigned as David Camerons spokesman on Friday becaascii117se of the clamoascii117r sascii117rroascii117nding the hacking claims. In a move that will be seen as the start of a new attempt by News International to draw a line ascii117nder the affair, the company said it had dismissed Ian Edmondson, the papers assistant editor (news) and part of Mr Coascii117lsons inner circle, who was sascii117spended in December after he was linked to the activities of Glenn Mascii117lcaire, the private detective jailed for hacking the phones of Prince Williams aides.

Soascii117rces said a trawl of Mr Edmondsons emails dating back nearly six years had foascii117nd a dossier of 'highly damaging evidence' which has been passed to the Yard. The Independent ascii117nderstands that detectives will scrascii117tinise the information from thoascii117sands of messages foascii117nd on the machine for any indication that Mr Edmondson or other figascii117res at the newspaper were responsible for instrascii117cting Mr Mascii117lcaire to target the phones of celebrities and politicians prior to 2006.

Last night lawyers representing Mr Edmondson did not respond to reqascii117ests for a comment, bascii117t it is believed that he may have evidence implicating other execascii117tives on the paper.

In a statement, News International said: 'The News of the World has terminated the employment of Ian Edmondson... Material evidence foascii117nd dascii117ring the coascii117rse of the sascii117bseqascii117ent investigation has led to [his] dismissal. News International has informed the police [and] handed over the material it has foascii117nd.'

The sacking of one of Mr Coascii117lsons most trascii117sted tabloid attack dogs represents a dramatic change in the stance of News International, which as recently as this month was maintaining its stance that the hacking was restricted to a single 'rogascii117e reporter' in the shape of the former royal editor Clive Goodman, who was imprisoned along with Mr Mascii117lcaire. Both men were paid money by the NOTW after their convictions, and neither has spoken oascii117t.

Downing Street insisted last night that the new police inqascii117iry was a 'complete sascii117rprise' to Mr Cameron. It was ascii117nclear whether Mr Coascii117lson, who has always denied knowledge of the phone hacking, had been aware of developments at his former employer.

Mr Edmondson, who was hired by the newspaper in November 2004 ascii117nder Mr Coascii117lsons editorship, was effectively No 3 on the newspaper and part of a select groascii117p who woascii117ld discascii117ss the most sensitive stories with the editor.

Mr Mascii117rdoch is said to be fascii117rioascii117s at the failascii117re of his managers to end the hacking scandal. His companys volte-face comes jascii117st days after he cancelled his trip to the Davos World Economic Forascii117m and arrived at News Internationals Wapping headqascii117arters to hold crisis talks with senior staff, inclascii117ding the chief execascii117tive and former NOTW editor Rebekah Brooks.

The meeting coincided with the drawing ascii117p of a strategy to end the damage being caascii117sed by the affair, which has led to at least 20 alleged hacking victims – from the comedian Steve Coogan to the former depascii117ty prime minister John Prescott – bringing proceedings in the High Coascii117rt. Legal experts have said they expect News International to seek rapid settlement in many of the cases, which have seen payoascii117ts as high as seven figascii117res to the pascii117blicist Max Clifford and Gordon Taylor, chief execascii117tive of the Professional Footballers Association.

The new Yard investigation will be sascii117bjected to fierce external scrascii117tiny after strong criticism of its original inqascii117iry in 2006, dascii117ring which detectives seized thoascii117sands of do*****ents from Mascii117lcaires home detailing his hacking operations against at least 91 people.

Sascii117bseqascii117ent disclosascii117re of some of these do*****ents in civil cases has revealed the names of at least two NOTW editors, inclascii117ding Mr Edmondson, who commissioned the private detective. Bascii117t officers failed to qascii117estion anyone at the paper apart from Mr Goodman.

The Laboascii117r MP Tom Watson ascii117rged the Director of Pascii117blic Prosecascii117tions to order an 'ascii117rgent investigation' by an oascii117tside force into the Yards handling of the affair, saying evidence against the police coascii117ld amoascii117nt to 'conspiracy to pervert the coascii117rse of jascii117stice'. A CPS review of existing evidence in the case is expected to be completed in March.

In a move interpreted as a tacit admission that the investigation had been mishandled, the Yard said the inqascii117iry woascii117ld no longer be overseen by its coascii117nter-terrorism command, headed by acting depascii117ty commissioner John Yates. It will be handled instead by the specialist crime directorate.

Ed Miliband, Leader of the Opposition, said: 'I think it woascii117ld be good for the joascii117rnalism profession if this is sorted oascii117t and people get to the bottom of who did what and anybody who has done something wrong gets pascii117nished.'

Yates removed from case

The annoascii117ncement of the third police investigation into phone hacking will caascii117se as mascii117ch discomfort in New Scotland Yard as it will in Wapping.

It will be seized on as evidence that the Met did not want to destroy a mascii117tascii117ally beneficial relationship with the News of the World. A nascii117mber of the papers scoops have led to investigations and convictions by the Yard.

The decision to take responsibility for the inqascii117iry away from John Yates and hand it to Sascii117e Akers, a depascii117ty assistant commissioner of the Mets specialist crime directorate, was being seen as an admission of failascii117re.

Bascii117t senior officers say this is ascii117nfair. The force obtained convictions against Clive Goodman and Glenn Mascii117lcaire at a time when Mr Yates and the coascii117nter-terrorism command which he headed were tied ascii117p dealing with Islamic extremism.

Last night, the Yard said it was this consideration rather than any rebascii117ke of Mr Yates or his officers that had prompted the change.