The Metropolitan Police has admitted the decision to close the phone hacking investigation was taken too quickly “with a defensive and closed mindset”. Neil Garnham QC, representing the force at the Leveson Inquiry, said in a closing submission yesterday the force was willing to acknowledge mistakes and learn from its errors. The original investigation –… Read more »
Former Home Secretary Alan Johnson has accused the Metropolitan Police of being “lethargic” in responding to phone hacking allegations. The MP said he was “naively reassured” by former assistant commissioner John Yates that the original phone hacking investigation had been properly reviewed by police in 2009. Johnson, giving evidence to the the Leveson Inquiry today,… Read more »
David Cameron was “too close” to senior media figures, a former cabinet secretary has told the Leveson Inquiry. Lord O’Donnell said he agreed with comments made by David Cameron on his relationships with editors and proprietors. In a BBC interview earlier this year, the prime minister admitted he had become too close to newspaper proprietors and executives,… Read more »
Senior Met officer John Yates “pushed back” against suggestions for a new investigation into phone hacking in 2009, the Leveson Inquiry has heard. Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer, who continued giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry this afternoon, said he thought there should have been an examination of the “for Neville” email, potentially implicating other News of… Read more »
A former assistant Met commissioner attended the wedding of a News of the World crime reporter, the Leveson Inquiry has heard. Lucy Panton, who worked at the paper from 2002 until it shut down last year, said Yates was a working friend who attended her wedding, and the wedding of Jeff Edwards, chair of the… Read more »
The former deputy editor of the News of the World has denied having an “arm lock” on senior figures in the Metropolitan Police. Neil Wallis, who appeared before the Leveson Inquiry in December last year, was recalled today to answer further questions on the nature of his relationships with senior officers in the force. He… Read more »
