BRITISH PRIME minister David Cameron has backed a key aide accused of involvement in phone-hacking during his time as editor of one of Britain’s most powerful tabloid newspapers, despite signs that police could reopen the investigation.
The charges against ex- News of the Worldeditor Andy Coulson, who is now Mr Cameron's head of communications, continued to flow yesterday in the face of Conservative criticism that Labour was trying to exploit the issue.
In the Commons, home secretary Theresa May defended the original Metropolitan Police investigation, even though many suspected cases were never investigated, saying that it had been “proper and appropriate”.
Defending the investigation, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner John Yates said the fact that scores of names had been found on a list kept by Glen Mulcaire, a private investigator hired by the paper and jailed for his role in hacking into the mobile telephone messages of British royalty, did not mean that their messages had been intercepted.
The ex- News of the Worldjournalist now making the charges, Sean Hoare, who was sacked by the newspaper for his alleged drug-taking and drinking habits, was not interviewed at the time by detectives, who focused their attention on a reporter covering the royals, Clive Goodman, who was jailed for his role.
However, Mr Yates said Mr Hoare’s allegations did amount to new evidence: “This is the first time we’ve heard of Mr Hoare. He did not appear in our line of inquiry. We will be considering it with the Crown Prosecution Service,” he said.
Another ex- News of the Worldjournalist, Sharon Marshall, confirmed to the New York Times– which conducted a five-month investigation into the story – that she had witnessed hacking while she worked there, while a number of others who were said to have transcribed intercepted messages were not spoken to either by the police, then or since.
Mr Coulson, who is one of prime minister Cameron’s closest confidants, yesterday said he would be happy to meet detectives if they decided to reopen the investigation: “Mr Coulson emphatically denies these allegations. He has, however, offered to talk to officers if the need arises, and would welcome the opportunity to give his view on Mr Hoare’s claims.”
Questioned yesterday, Mr Cameron’s spokesman said: “Andy has made the position clear, and there have been a number of reports over the past few days but none of those reports change anything as far as the prime minister is concerned. He has full confidence in Andy Coulson. And he continues to do his job.”
During angry exchanges in the Commons, Labour MP Tom Watson asked the home secretary to confirm reports that former prime minister Tony Blair had written to the Metropolitan Police seeking to know if there was anything to indicate that his mobile telephone had been hacked.