Lord Fowler alleged there had been a “massive conspiracy” against the public Former minister Norman Fowler has urged the government to hold an inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal.
Police are investigating claims News of the World staff illegally accessed the phone messages of public figures in 2005 and 2006.
The Conservative peer told the House of Lords there should be an inquiry into the “conspiracy against the public”.
Baroness Rawlings responded that establishing another investigation could harm those already under way.
Labour peer Lord Sugar said newspaper editors, owners and directors should face prison sentences over the hacking.
He told the house: “It is ludicrous to suggest that the editor of a national newspaper is not aware of where the information came from.
“In the past a journalist was actually given a custodial sentence for phone hacking. Isn’t it the case that the editor is responsible for what goes in the newspaper and he also should be given a custodial sentence and indeed the proprietor and the board of directors?”
Answering for the government, Baroness Rawlings said: “When it comes to editors, I am afraid I am unaware of what happened there.”
Lord Fowler – a former journalist and newspaper editor – said the hacking had originally been dismissed as the work of one rogue reporter but evidence had since emerged that more than one newspaper had been involved.
Actress Sienna Miller formally settled for £100,000 damages after accepting an apology over hacking He described the affair as “a massive conspiracy against the public”, which the police and the Press Complaints Commission had been powerless to prevent.
Lord Fowler asked Lady Rawlings to give an assurance that the government would set up an independent inquiry into the phone hacking once criminal proceedings were complete.
Lady Rawlings said setting up another investigation risked harming those under way already.
The government would monitor the outcomes of the current inquiries and “consider whether any further action will be necessary”, she added
Former Tory minister Lord Ryder of Wensum said a government inquiry should look into “the very close links” between senior police officers and newspaper executives.
“Indeed it is alleged, during the two inquiries into the main case we are discussing today, police officers were entertained by the executives of that newspaper during those inquiries,” he said.
Lady Rawlings said it was a “very delicate point” but it was hard to see whether another inquiry would be useful.
“There are a number of investigations under way by the police,” she said.
“There are several ongoing court cases as well, two Parliamentary committees, reviews by the Crown Prosecution Service and by the Press Complaints Commission.”
Payouts
In January, the Metropolitan Police reopened its investigation into the News of the World hacking claims after criticism of its initial 2006 inquiry.
Some staff at the newspaper – owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News International – are alleged to have hacked into the phone messages of public figures, including a number of MPs, from 2005 to 2006.
Several of those alleged to have been targeted, including former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott, have called for a public inquiry into the episode.
In 2007, the first police investigation led to the convictions and imprisonment of then News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who was employed by the paper.
Five alleged victims have since reached out-of-court settlements with the newspaper, including celebrity publicist Max Clifford, who received a reported £1m.
Most recently, actress Sienna Miller formally settled for £100,000 damages and costs after accepting an apology from the company for hacking into several of her phones.
The first of the civil cases against the News of the World are due to go to court at the start of next year.
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