Labour MPs call for hacking probe

Labour MPs have put pressure on the police to reopen the investigation into alleged phone-hacking of prominent figures by News of the World reporters.

But Home Secretary Theresa May told a heated urgent session in Parliament it was up to the police to decide the best course of action.

The Metropolitan Police has said new material on hacking had emerged that would be considered by officers.

Number 10 press chief Andy Coulson has offered to meet police over the claims.

The News of the World, of which he is the former editor, has rejected “absolutely any suggestion there was a widespread culture of wrongdoing” at the newspaper.

Sean Hoare, a former reporter on the paper, has alleged Mr Coulson asked him to hack into phones – a claim Mr Coulson denies.

A spokesman for Mr Coulson, now Downing Street’s communication’s chief, said: “Andy Coulson has today told the Metropolitan Police that he is happy to voluntarily meet them following allegations made by Sean Hoare.

“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.”

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 when police first investigated the case.

In the House of Commons on Monday, Labour MP Tom Watson asked Ms May an emergency question about the latest allegations.

She told the House of Commons the allegations of phone-hacking had been investigated thoroughly before by different parties but this particular case was still a police “operational matter” and the government would wait for the police before making its decision.

She added: “The Metropolitan Police have made it clear if there is fresh evidence, then they will consider it.

“It is for the Metropolitan Police on an operational matter to decide what the right course of action is.”

But Mr Watson responded: “The integrity of our democracy is under scrutiny around the world and the home secretary must not make it a laughing stock”.

Shadow Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the actions of the Metropolitan Police Service had to be subjected to greater scrutiny in light of allegations by the New York Times.

He asked how many people who may have been affected by phone-hacking were informed. And he sought assurances Mr Coulson would not be involved in “any way” in the government’s response to the latest allegations.

“When I was home secretary dealing with this case there was nobody anywhere in government who was implicated. Now there is,” he said.

Mr Johnson told the Commons Mr Coulson’s position was now “untenable”.

Earlier he had suggested there could be an investigation by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary or a judicial review.

Labour MP Chris Bryant, among those affected, urged Mrs May to contact Scotland Yard again as there could be many other MPs also affected.

He said: “Last summer, I wrote to the Metropolitan Police and asked whether I was, to their knowledge, from the material that they’d gained from Mr Mulcaire a person of interest to Mr Mulcaire.

“They replied that I was, and they suggested that I ring my mobile company, who informed me that my phone had indeed been interfered with.

“I told the police this months ago, they have done absolutely nothing about it.”

Earlier, Lawyer Tamsin Allen from Bindmans LLP said her clients, who include Mr Bryant and former senior Met officer Brian Paddick, wanted the police’s decision-making in this case to be “properly scrutinised”.

Her firm said it would issue a judicial review challenging the Met’s decision not to release information to those who were potentially affected by the phone-hacking allegations.

On Monday morning, Met Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’ve always said that if any new material or new evidence was produced then we would consider it.”

He said the New York Times and the Met Police had been in touch for many months regarding the story but Mr Hoare’s interview was the first “new evidence” it had been able to produce. He said officers would now consider the information and consult with the Crown Prosecution Service before taking any action.

In a statement published by the New York Times website, executive editor Bill Keller said Scotland Yard had declined “repeated requests” for interviews and bids for information during that time.

The News of the World’s royal editor, Clive Goodman, was jailed for conspiracy to access phone messages in 2007, along with private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, but the paper has insisted that this was an isolated case.

The House of Commons Culture and Media Committee criticised the conduct of the News of the World’s journalists but found no evidence that Mr Coulson either approved phone-hacking by his paper, or was aware it was taking place.

And in 2009, the Met chose not to launch an investigation following the Guardian’s claims that News of the World journalists were involved in widespread phone hacking of several thousand celebrities, sports stars and politicians.

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.

Lib Dem MP Tom Brake, in charge of his party’s backbench home affairs committee, told the BBC he has “misgivings” about the way the police handled the hacking investigation.

The News of the World has rejected “absolutely any suggestion there was a widespread culture of wrongdoing” at the newspaper.

It said in a statement: “The News of the World repeatedly asked the New York Times to provide evidence to support their allegations and they were unable to do so.”

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