It has been alleged that staff and contractors working for the News of the World have historically been hacking into the voicemail messages of people in the public eye in order to find information and stories.
It is thought that the phones were hacked by telephoning the phone number of a target, and, if the call was not answered, using a default PIN number to access the messages. Many phones came with a four digit default PIN number which phone owners didn’t change.
The News of the World had a high circulation selling an average of 2.8m copies every Sunday. It was published by News Group Newspapers, part of News International, which is a subsidiary of News Corporation controlled by the Murdoch family.
Given that there are ongoing enquiries and investigations, the police are properly being quite careful about what information they release, however, it is thought that there is a list of several thousand people whose phones have been hacked including celebrities, sports stars and politicians. The phone hacking also potentially affects those who have left messages on hacked phones as well as the owners of those phones.
Phone hacking can be a criminal offence and also give rise to a civil liability if, essentially, there has been an invasion of privacy.
It is reported that the News of the World have already settled cases brought by actress Sienna Miller, publicist Max Clifford and he family the parents of murdered teenager Milly Dowler.
The Chairman of News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, has issued an apology for the "serious wrongdoing" by the News of the World which was set out in advertisements in the national press.
The Metropolitan Police ran an enquiry regarding allegations of phone hacking in approximately 2006.
News of the World journalist and Royal Editor Clive Goodman, was jailed for four months in January 2007, while private investigator Glenn Mulcaire was jailed for six months, after admitting intercepting voicemail messages on phones belonging to aides to the Royal family.
However, in 2009 following fresh allegations, the Metropolitan Police chose not to re-launch their investigations, but, enquiries were re-launched in 2011 under the operational name “Operation Weeting”.
On 30 July 2011 Scotland Yard announced that it had set up a team of officers to investigate allegations of computer hacking in relation to the activities of the News of the World. This operation, known as “Operation Tuleta” has been reviewing allegations of breaches of privacy received since January 2011.
On the instructions of the Government, Lord Justice Leveson is conducting an enquiry initially looking at "the culture, practices and ethics" of the UK media and its relationships with police and politicians. It will go on to examine the extent of unlawful conduct within newspaper groups and the police's original phone-hacking investigation.
The former Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Elizabeth Filkin, is also to examine the relationship between the police and the press.
In the meantime, the Culture Media & Sport Select Committee is continuing hearings into the phone hacking scandal.
News International have set up a compensation fund to compensate the victims of phone hacking.
Any applications to the fund will be arbitrated by Sir Charles Gray, a former High Court Judge, who will assess the payout based on estimated damages in a civil case. News International has put in place an incentive to use the compensation fund scheme rather than the courts, as they will pay an additional 10% on top of any amount decided by Sir Charles Gray. Applicants to the fund will also have their reasonable legal costs paid.
The compensation scheme is being overseen by the Management and Standards Committee of News Corporation with the assistance of international law firm Olswang.
If you believe that you have been the victim of phone hacking or computer hacking by the media then do not hesitate to contact a member of our Reputation Management team for a free no-obligation consultation.
ALASTAIR REDFERN
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