News of the World Drama Continues

Problems continue to surface from the phone hackings that were conducted by News of the World. Just this past weekend, London police chief Sir Paul Stephenson resigned and former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks was arrested.

Brooks was arrested a mere two days after she resigned as the chief executive of News International. The company had published News of the World until it had been forced to fold due to the hacking scandal. According to ABC News, Brooks was arrested in London on suspicion of both corruption and conspiring to hack the cell phones of crime victims and celebrities. From 2000 to 2003, Brooks was an editor at News of the World. She then moved up to being an editor for The Sun, and there she remained until she was promoted to her position with News International in 2009.

"I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis," Brooks said in a Friday statement. "However, my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate."

So far, News Corp. has not released a statement concerning Brooks’ arrest; however, they have named her successor, the CEO of Sky Italia, Tom Mockridge.

It was earlier this month that News of the World was accused of hacking into the cell phone of a murder victim while her disappearance was still being investigated. Allegedly, whoever hacked into the young woman’s phone deleted voicemail messages. This gave her parents a false hope that she was accessing her phone and therefore was still alive.

There were also reports that the company had hacked into the phones of individuals who were affected by the July 2005 London terrorist bombings, as well as the phones of celebrities.

This was not the first time that News of the World was caught hacking into individuals' cell phones. Several years ago, the newspaper was punished for phone hacking. The incident even led to a debate in the House of Commons, allegations surrounding bribery of the police and talk of shutting down the newspaper entirely.

All of the media attention that has surrounded the recent events is what Metropolitan police chief Stephenson claims prompted his resignation.

"Let me state clearly, I and the people who know me know that my integrity is completely intact. I may wish we had done some things differently, but I will not lose sleep over my personal integrity," he said in a Sunday statement. "Nevertheless, I must accept that the intense media coverage, questions, commentary and indeed allegations, as demonstrated by this weekend's attempt to misrepresent my arrangements for my recovery from illness, not only provide excessive distraction both for myself and colleagues but are likely to continue for some time."

"This is not a 12 months that can afford any doubts about the Commissioner of the Met," he concluded.

Recently, Stephenson has been scrutinized for his hiring of former News of the World executive Neil Wallis as a consultant. Stephenson claims that he did not have any idea that Wallis had anything to do with the phone hacking scandal.

"I have heard suggestions that we must have suspected the alleged involvement of Mr. Wallis in phone hacking. Let me say unequivocally that I did not and had no reason to have done so," Stephenson said. "I do not occupy a position in the world of journalism; I had no knowledge of the extent of this disgraceful practice and the repugnant nature of the selection of victims that is now emerging; nor of its apparent reach into senior levels. I saw senior figures from News International providing evidence that the misbehavior was confined to a rogue few and not known about at the top."

Stephenson and Brooks are not the only people who have been affected by the scandal and have been forced to resign from their positions. Just last week, Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton also resigned. "That I was ignorant of what apparently happened is irrelevant and in the circumstances I feel it is proper for me to resign from News Corp. and apologize to those hurt by the actions of News of the World," Hinton said in a statement.

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News of the World Accused of Phone Hacking

An incident surrounding a phone hack involving the News of the World absolutely exploded Wednesday, June 6. The allegations against the company included accusations that the newspaper’s hacking activities were much more widespread than was first believed and that the newspaper had paid police officers for some of the information that they used.

All of this recent news prompted a debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday morning. While in session, the members called for an in-depth investigation of the matter. All of this began just earlier this week when the News of the World was accused of hacking the voicemail of a young woman who was murdered. They had hacked the woman’s voicemail while the investigation of her disappearance was being conducted. Allegedly the newspaper deleted voicemail messages when they hacked into the murder victim’s phone. This gave her grieving parents a false hope that she was alive and accessing her phone when this was far from the case.

According to the Daily Telegraph, there are now reports that the newspaper also violated the privacy of the family members of individuals that were either killed or injured in the London bombings that occurred on July 7, 2005 by hacking their phones as well.

"It is thought that journalists were seeking to access voice messages left on family members' phones as they desperately waited for information about their loved ones in the aftermath of the bombings in 2005," according to the Telegraph. "It is unclear if they were aware at that stage that their relatives had died in the bombings."

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the News of the World has been accused of violating the privacy of individuals by hacking their phones. Just this April, the newspaper published an official apology for the voicemail hacks that had occurred between 2004 and 2006.

The other issue involved with this case involves the payment of Metropolitan Police for information.

On Wednesday the Metropolitan Police confirmed that there have been emails handed over by News International on June 20 that "include information relating to alleged inappropriate payments to a small number of MPS officers."

"At this time we have not seen any evidence requiring a referral to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) in respect of any senior officer," Sir Paul Stephenson, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said in a statement. "Operation Elveden will be equally thorough and robust. Anyone identified of wrongdoing can expect the full weight of disciplinary measures and appropriate action through the criminal courts."

Since January 26, 2011, the MPS has been investigating the phone hacking that has been taking place.

A spokesman from News International confirmed that they did hand over the emails to the police. "The emails in question were passed over to police some time ago," the spokesman said. "This story came about as a result of an article that was being proposed to be written in which it was going to be said that we had these emails and we had not handed them to the police."

Members of Parliament are expecting a full investigation of all of the allegations that have been brought forward. They also decided that News Corps.’s currently pending takeover of BSkyB should be put on hold until everything has been settled one way or another.

"We have let one man have far too great a sway over our national life," said MP Chris Bryant, referring to News. Corp chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch. The BSkyB deal should be "put on ice," he said.

"The very idea of targeting families in their darkest hour is shameful, sickening, and cruel," said Rt Hon Yvette Cooper.

Attorney General Dominic Grieve commented during the debate that the phone hackings that have occurred "must fill any right-thinking person with revulsion."

Grieve went on to say that Prime Minister David Cameron has committed to a "fully independent public inquiry into those matters," but warned that the "burning desire for people to see finality ... may take some time."

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