Assistant Commissioner John Yates is considering reopening the case The Metropolitan Police has said it may reopen the investigation into claims of phone hacking by the News of the World if it uncovers new evidence.
Assistant Commissioner John Yates said officers would consider any new information – and examine if further action should be taken.
A former reporter on the paper has claimed the paper’s former editor, Andy Coulson asked him to hack into phones.
Mr Coulson has denied using or condoning the practice while editor.
Mr Coulson – who is David Cameron’s director of communications – has received strong backing from No 10 which says he “totally and utterly” rejects claims he was aware of any wrongdoing.
Mr Coulson came under fresh pressure last week after former journalists told the New York Times that the practice of phone hacking was far more extensive than the newspaper acknowledged at the time.
One reporter – Sean Hoare – said he had been personally told by Mr Coulson to intercept phone messages. In a statement, Mr Yates said the Met has asked the New York Times to provide officers with any new material it has relating to the case.
He said the Met had been clear on its stance and so far had seen no new evidence which would merit reopening the case but it would consider changing its position if that situation changed.
He said: “The New York Times contacted the Metropolitan Police Service about their investigation. Our stance remains as before. We have repeatedly asked them for any new material that they have for us to consider.
“We were never made aware of the material from Sean Hoare before the article’s publication. We have sought additional information from them and will consider this material, along with Sean Hoare’s recent BBC Radio interview, and will consult the Crown Prosecution Service on how best to progress it.”
The News of the World’s royal editor, Clive Goodman, was jailed for conspiracy to access phone messages in 2007, but the paper insists it was an isolated case.
“”The police looked into it and decided there were no grounds for taking the issue further and I thought that was pretty conclusive at the time”
Theresa May Home Secretary
In 2009, the Metropolitan Police chose not to launch an investigation into claims that News of the World journalists were involved in widespread phone hacking of several thousand celebrities, sports stars and politicians.
Home secretary Theresa May told the BBC on Sunday there were no grounds for a public inquiry.
She told Radio 5 Live: “It was thoroughly looked into at the time when it was raised and what was clear was that it wasn’t just politicians looking into it.
“The police looked into it and decided there were no grounds for taking the issue further and I thought that was pretty conclusive at the time.
Earlier on Sunday Education Secretary Michael Gove told the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme that the New York Times allegations “seem to be a recycling of allegations we have heard before” and said it may have been a product of newspaper “circulation wars” in the US.
There has been speculation that the New York Times’ decision to send a team of reporters to the UK to investigate the hacking story may have been linked to media rivalry with the Wall Street Journal – which like the News of the World is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.
Mr Gove said a House of Commons committee also found no evidence last year that Mr Coulson either authorised or was aware of any illegal activity by reporters in his time as editor.
He said it was often “overlooked” that Mr Coulson, by resigning as editor in 2007, had taken responsibility for what had happened over the Goodman case even though there “was no evidence he knew what was going on”.
Andy Coulson told MPs last year that he did not “use or condone” phone tapping Labour leadership contender Ed Balls, former Labour minister Tessa Jowell, who says her phone was hacked 28 times, and former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott, who also believes he was targeted, have all called for action.
Mr Balls said Mr Coulson’s role at the heart of No 10 meant that the government’s “integrity” was under question.
Lord Prescott threatened legal action in his bid to gain access to documents relating to his records.
But in his statement on Sunday Mr Yates said: “There remains to this day no evidence that his phone was hacked by either [Glenn]Mulcaire or Goodman. This is a matter of public record.”
He said that Lord Prescott had been given the information the police had in its possession that were relevant to him but added: “However, we are not permitted to supply the actual documents except under a court direction.
“This is because the material was obtained for the purpose of a criminal investigation and cannot be used for another purpose, i.e. a civil action. Lord Prescott and his solicitors will be aware of this.”
The News of the World has said the latest allegations were “unsubstantiated” and the claims of “disgruntled” former employees should be treated with “extreme scepticism”.
The newspaper said it rejected absolutely suggestions “of a widespread culture of wrongdoing”.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.