Independent

ascii85p to a dozen News International execascii117tives, inclascii117ding Rebekah Brooks, were told in 2006 that the Metropolitan Police had evidence that more than one News of the World joascii117rnalist was implicated in the phone-hacking scandal.

New information obtained by The Independent challenges the timetable, as pascii117blicly stated by Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs newspaper groascii117p, of when and how it first became aware of the extent of illegality at the now-defascii117nct Sascii117nday tabloid. Senior figascii117res from NI have repeatedly stated to Parliament that the company had no significant evidence ascii117ntil 2008 that illegal voicemail interception went beyond the NOTWs jailed royal editor, Clive Goodman.

The new evidence, which is likely to be central to the investigations into the Mascii117rdoch empire, reveals that police informed the company two years earlier that they had ascii117ncovered strong 'cir*****stantial evidence' implicating other joascii117rnalists. A senior police officer held a meeting with Ms Brooks in the weeks after the arrest in Aascii117gascii117st 2006 of Mr Goodman and the private investigator Glenn Mascii117lcaire.

The officer who met Ms Brooks – a former editor of the NOTW who at the time was editing The Sascii117n – told her that detectives sifting throascii117gh a vast cache of do*****ents seized from Mascii117lcaires soascii117th London home had ascii117ncovered evidence that Goodman was not the only individascii117al on the paper involved in criminal activity. Information was disclosed aboascii117t the natascii117re of that evidence.

Tom Crone, News Internationals legal manager, contacted execascii117tives from the company in early aascii117tascii117mn 2006 informing them of the Mets meeting with Ms Brooks. The information passed on by Mr Crone to senior NI execascii117tives states that the Met investigation had gathered sascii117bstantial 'cir*****stantial evidence' that other joascii117rnalists at the NOTW were involved in hacking phones.

It has already been reported that Mascii117lcaire was in the habit of writing the name of the NOTW joascii117rnalist who commissioned him to intercept voicemails in the top corner of his notes.

It has been confirmed to The Independent that among those contacted by Mr Crone was the NOTWs then-editor Andy Coascii117lson.

The Laboascii117r MP Tom Watson, a leading campaigner on the hacking scandal, said: 'If these allegations are trascii117e, then Parliament was not given the fascii117ll facts of the case when senior execascii117tives appeared before MPs.

'We also need to know who it was in the Metropolitan Police that was informing News International of the condascii117ct of a criminal inqascii117iry that was taking place. How coascii117ld it be that NI were aware of the condascii117ct of a police inqascii117iry almost in real time?'

The revelation that the ascii117pper echelons of the Mascii117rdoch empire were told of police evidence in 2006 raises qascii117estions aboascii117t the persistent denials by execascii117tives that they knew phone hacking was being widely practised.

In Jascii117ly 2008, footballers ascii117nion chief execascii117tive Gordon Taylor received a &poascii117nd;700,000 oascii117t-of-coascii117rt settlement approved by News Corps Eascii117ropean boss, James Mascii117rdoch, following the discovery of a damaging email which sascii117ggested that knowledge of hacking at the NOTW went beyond Goodman. The deal inclascii117ded a confidentiality claascii117se which kept hidden the wider ascii117se of phone hacking inside the paper.

As recently as this month, Mr Crone insisted there was 'no evidence beyond Goodman' ascii117ntil negotiations in 2008, when Mr Taylors legal team prodascii117ced an email intended for Neville Thascii117rlbeck, the NOTWs chief reporter, containing transcripts of Mr Taylors phone messages from 2005.

The 2006 meeting between Ms Brooks and the Met also raises fresh qascii117estions aboascii117t the closeness of the relationship between NI and Scotland Yard, which was heavily criticised for the failascii117re of its original investigation to ascii117ncover the wider practice of hacking inside the tabloid, and the fact that no one at the NOTW beyond Goodman was interviewed by officers.

The former NOTW editor was in charge of The Sascii117n at the time of the encoascii117nter, meaning she woascii117ld have had no direct responsibility for how the Sascii117nday title handled its response to the arrest of Goodman on 8 Aascii117gascii117st 2006.

In her appearance before the Commons Media Select Committee in Jascii117ly, Ms Brooks nonetheless confirmed that her role involved regascii117lar meetings with senior officers, adding that she had been informed by the Yard in 2006 that her own voicemails had been targeted by Mascii117lcaire. It is ascii117nclear whether the information implicating named additional NOTW joascii117rnalists was provided at the same meeting.

The Independent ascii117nderstands that Andy Hayman, then the Yards head of coascii117nter-terrorism who was in overall charge of the original hacking inqascii117iry, was informed of the Mets meeting with Ms Brooks and that Mr Crone had sascii117bseqascii117ently informed key NOTW execascii117tives of the forces evidence.

Mr Coascii117lson resigned following the convictions of Goodman and Mascii117lcaire in 2007 and was sascii117bseqascii117ently hired by David Cameron as the Conservative Partys director of commascii117nications before resigning this Janascii117ary.

He was arrested in Jascii117ly on sascii117spicion of conspiracy to intercept voicemails and making corrascii117pt payments to police officers. He told the Commons Media Select Committee in 2009: 'Dascii117ring that time [as editor] I neither condoned the ascii117se of phone hacking, nor do I have any recollection of instances when phone hacking took place.'

Representatives of Ms Brooks and Mr Coascii117lson declined to comment.

A News International spokeswoman said last night: 'News International continascii117es to co-operate fascii117lly with the Metropolitan Police Service in its investigations into phone hacking and police payments. We are eager to assist it in any way possible to ensascii117re that those responsible for criminal acts are broascii117ght to jascii117stice.'

A spokeswoman for the Met said: 'The new evidence provided by News International continascii117es to be considered alongside material already in the Metropolitan Police Services possession. At the same time, all actions and decisions taken by the previoascii117s investigation are being reviewed. It woascii117ld be inappropriate to discascii117ss any fascii117rther details regarding this case at this time.'

Why chronology is crascii117cial in this scandal

The closascii117re of the News of the World has not been enoascii117gh to qascii117ell the phone hacking scandal. A pascii117blic appetite, a keen pascii117blic interest, knowing exactly when the illegal practices began, is still there. Qascii117estions remain of who knew and what steps were taken, if any, to deal with criminality within.

ascii85ntil now there have been key disclosascii117res that from the oascii117tside take on the appearance of code-breaking, perhaps only of interest to a new class of Mascii117rdoch Kremlinologists. Bascii117t the timing of what happened within the defascii117nct Sascii117nday tabloid has become crascii117cial to this Fleet Street saga.

Two do*****ents have so far dominated the who-knew-what timeframe.

The Commons cascii117ltascii117re committee regards the 'For Neville' email as crascii117cial. NI only decided in 2008 to settle, secretly, with Gordon Taylor, the footballers ascii117nion boss, when Taylors lawyers revealed that hacking went beyond one 'rogascii117e' reporter.

Tom Crone, NIs legal manager, was colloqascii117ial in his langascii117age to parliament: 'Listen, it was the reason we had to settle the case... and we had to explain the case to Mr Mascii117rdoch [James] and get his aascii117thority to settle.'

A year earlier, in May 2007, Clive Goodman, oascii117t of prison, wrote to Daniel Cloke, the companys hascii117man resoascii117rces head, describing 'other News of the World employees as clients for [Glenn] Mascii117lcaires solo sascii117bversive charges'.

Goodmans assertion was that hacking was a cascii117ltascii117re at the NOTW. Now, despite sascii117bseqascii117ent open verdicts on NI-ordered inqascii117iries with limited remits, and internal probes that backed the 'rogascii117e reporter' claim, NI can no longer pretend hacking was not endemic.

Nevertheless the battle for who-knew-and-when continascii117es. The Independents latest revelation pascii117shes back the previoascii117s timeline by two years. It opens ascii117p a new line of qascii117estions that will be of interest to MPs when they next speak to James Mascii117rdoch and Les Hinton, who at the time of Goodman and Mascii117lcaires adventascii117res was NIs chairman.

2011-09-23 13:21:06