London, July 20(ANI): News International, the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of Rupert Murdoch-led News Corporation, was guilty of attempting to "deliberately thwart" the 2005-06 phone hacking investigation, a cross-party British parliamentary committee has concluded in its report.
The Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, which questioned two former London Metropolitan Police officials over the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, also said that more resources had to be invested in informing other potential phone-hacking victims.
"There has been a catalog of failures by the Metropolitan Police, and deliberate attempts by News International to thwart the various investigations," the Telegraph quoted Keith Vaz, the committee's chair, as saying.
The committee's report, which detailed the police investigation and the phone hackers' methods, was particularly critical of former assistant police commissioners John Yates and Andy Hayman.
It said Yates' 2009 review of the investigation, in which he decided there was no need to reopen the inquiry, was "very poor" and that he was guilty of a "serious misjudgment".
Hayman, who led the initial investigation had a "cavalier attitude" toward his News International contacts.
The committee also accused Hayman of "deliberate prevarication" in order to mislead the committee when he gave evidence, and urged for a swift and thorough investigation of allegations that police officers received payments from the media.
It further suggested that as many as 12,800 people may have been victims or affected by phone hacking by the News of the World.
They also raised concerns that only 170 potential victims have been contacted by police so far, warning that it could now take a decade to inform all the possible victims. (ANI)
|
|
Comments:
