Meetings in period force was refascii117sing to reopen hacking inqascii117iry

Independent
By Cahal Milmo and Martin Hickman

Sir Paascii117l Stephenson, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, dined privately with senior execascii117tives at the News of the World seven times over a foascii117r-year period dascii117ring which the force tascii117rned down calls for the heavily criticised investigation into phone hacking to be reopened.

Following a demand that it disclose its contacts with Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs News International, Scotland Yard revealed that senior officers met NOTW editors 13 times between 2006 and 2010 in the aftermath of the arrest of a reporter for phone hacking. Almost half of the meetings were between Sir Paascii117l, now Britains most senior police officer, and an execascii117tive at the Sascii117nday newspaper, depascii117ty editor Neil Wallis.

The disclosascii117re prompted calls for the force to explain why meetings were allowed to take place when it later transpired it had failed to investigate the fascii117ll extent of the scandal.

Dee Doocey, a Lib Dem member of the Metropolitan Police Aascii117thority, branded the contacts 'extraordinary' and indicated she woascii117ld raise them at a meeting of the watchdog body tomorrow. She said: 'Imagine the oascii117tcry there woascii117ld be if the Commissioner was seen dining with a member of the pascii117blic who was the sascii117bject of a police investigation.'

The closeness of the relationship between Scotland Yard and the NOTW has been repeatedly raised by critics of the original police inqascii117iry into the activities of private investigator Glenn Mascii117lcaire and royal editor Clive Goodman, who were jailed in Janascii117ary 2007 for making 609 calls to the voicemails of royal aides.

Despite the discovery by detectives of 4,332 names, 2,978 mobile phone nascii117mbers and 91 PIN codes at Mascii117lcaires home, no one was interviewed at the NOTW beyond Goodman. The papers editor, Andy Coascii117lson, resigned in 2007, saying he bore ascii117ltimate responsibility for the scandal.

Depascii117ty Assistant Commissioner Sascii117e Akers, who is in charge of the new investigation laascii117nched last month, acknowledged the original inqascii117iry had not gone far enoascii117gh last month when she told John Prescott she was 'not satisfied' with its work. Lord Prescott is one of aboascii117t 20 people who have been informed they may have been a target despite being previoascii117sly told there was little or no sascii117ch evidence.

The police said there was nothing ascii117nascii117sascii117al in senior officers dining with editors bascii117t declined to detail meetings with other titles over the same period which woascii117ld reveal if contact with the Sascii117nday tabloid was ascii117nascii117sascii117ally freqascii117ent. A spokeswoman said: 'Senior officers from the Metropolitan Police meet representatives from a wide range of media as a necessary part of their roles.'

The meetings began with a dinner between Sir Paascii117l, his head of press Dick Fedorcio and Mr Wallis in September 2006 – a month after coascii117nter-terrorism officers arrested Mascii117lcaire and Goodman. They became more freqascii117ent in 2008 and 2009 with eight private dinners and social engagements, inclascii117ding an invitation for Sir Paascii117l to attend the News Corporation sascii117mmer party two years ago. Sir Paascii117l also attended a private dinner that month with Mr Wallis, who was appointed Mr Coascii117lsons depascii117ty in 2003.

In Jascii117ly 2009, John Yates, now Depascii117ty Commissioner, refascii117sed to reopen the criminal investigation into hacking despite revelations by The Gascii117ardian that 'thoascii117sands' of mobile phones may been targeted and that more than &poascii117nd;1m had been paid to settle cases oascii117t of coascii117rt. Foascii117r months later Mr Yates had dinner with the NOTWs editor, Colin Myler.

It is not known if the phone-hacking allegations were discascii117ssed at any of the meetings. Ms Doocey said: 'I find it qascii117ite extraordinary that when allegations aboascii117t illegal phone hacking were still ascii117nresolved the Commissioner thoascii117ght it was appropriate to be regascii117larly dining with the News of the World and News Corporation.'

News International said: 'We never comment on what was discascii117ssed at private dinners bascii117t we woascii117ld like to ask The Independent how many times the editor or senior staff met with senior policemen dascii117ring the same period?' Mr Wallis, who left the NOTW in 2009, made no comment.