The
News International phone-hacking scandal is an ongoing controversy involving mainly the
News of the World but also other British
tabloid newspapers published by
News International, a subsidiary of
News Corporation. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in
phone hacking,
police bribery, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of publishing stories. Investigations conducted from 2005–2007 concluded that the paper's phone hacking activities were limited to celebrities, politicians and members of the
British Royal Family. However, in July 2011, it was revealed that the phones of murdered schoolgirl
Milly Dowler, relatives of deceased British soldiers, and victims of the
7/7 London bombings were also accessed, resulting in a public outcry against News Corporation and owner
Rupert Murdoch. Advertiser boycotts contributed to the closure of the
News of the World on 10 July, ending 168 years of publication.
[1]
British prime minister
David Cameron announced on 6 July that a public inquiry would look into the affair after police investigations had ended. On 13 July, Cameron named
Lord Justice Leveson as chairman of the inquiry, with a remit to look into phone hacking and
police bribery by the
News of the World, while a separate inquiry would consider the culture and ethics of the wider British media.
[2] He also said the
Press Complaints Commission would be replaced "entirely".
[1] The inquiries led to several high-profile resignations, including
Dow Jones chief executive
Les Hinton; News International legal manager Tom Crone; and chief executive
Rebekah Brooks. The
commissioner of London's
Metropolitan Police Service,
Sir Paul Stephenson, also resigned his post. Former
News of the World managing editor
Andy Coulson, former executive editor
Neil Wallis, and Brooks were all arrested. Murdoch and his son,
James, were
summonsed to give evidence before a parliamentary media committee.
The negative attention garnered by the scandal eventually
reached the United States, where News Corporation is headquartered and operates multiple media outlets. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a probe on 14 July to determine whether News Corporation accessed voicemails of victims of the
9/11 attacks. On 15 July, U.S. Attorney General
Eric Holder announced an additional investigation by the
Department of Justice, looking into whether the company had violated the
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
