In January 2003, Andy Coulson took over as editor of the News of the World following the move of editor Rebekah Brooks (then Rebekah Wade) to sister paper The Sun. Brooks had been News of the World editor since May 2000, during which time allegations would later surface that the tabloid accessed the voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. Later in 2003 Brooks and Coulson appeared before a parliamentary committee, where Brooks admitted to paying police for information.[1]
In August 2006, Clive Goodman, royal editor at the News of the World, and his associates Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator, and Davy Craig, editor of the Weekly News, were arrested over allegations of phone hacking made by the British Royal Family in 2005. Goodman and Mulcaire were subsequently charged; they pleaded guilty and were imprisoned on 26 January 2007 for four and six months, respectively. The paper’s editor Andy Coulson resigned while insisting that he had no knowledge of any illegal activities.[3] In March of that year, a senior aide to Rupert Murdoch told a parliamentary committee that a “rigorous internal investigation” found no evidence of widespread hacking at the News of the World; two months later the Press Complaints Commission exonerated the paper in a report on phone hacking.[1]
In 2009 and 2010, further revelations emerged regarding the extent of the phone hacking and the number of News of the World employees who may have been aware of the practices. By March 2010, the paper had spent over £2 million settling court cases with victims of phone hacking. In July 2009,[4] The Guardian made a series[5] of allegations of wider phone hacking activities at the News of the World newspaper, that were aimed at other individuals, including television presenter Chris Tarrant.
This led to several prominent figures who were covertly snooped upon bringing legal action against the News of the World’s owner and Mulcaire. Amongst those who began legal action were Tarrant, football agent Sky Andrew, actors Sienna Miller and Steve Coogan, and sports presenter Andy Gray
Interesting !
And will all these informations be highlighted and aired ?
Is it already largely known?