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Police call over phone tap claims Prescott calls for hacking probe
(about 3 hours later)
John Prescott is to contact police over claims private investigators allegedly working for News of the World reporters intercepted his mobile phone messages. Former deputy PM John Prescott is calling for inquiries into claims of mobile phone hacking by the News of the World to be reopened.
The Guardian alleges News Group Newspapers paid £1m in out-of-court settlements after its journalists were accused of involvement in phone tapping The Guardian says the paper's reporters paid private investigators to hack into thousands of phones, including his and those of other public figures.
It claims the Professional Footballers' Association's head received £700,000. Mr Prescott asked why, if the police and authorities knew of the alleged bugging, they had failed to tell him.
The paper alleges the former deputy prime minister and thousands of public figures were targeted. He called for MPs to reopen an earlier inquiry into the affair.
A Commons select committee has said it will investigate the claims. The Guardian alleges News Group Newspapers - owner of The News of the World, the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times - paid £1m in out-of-court settlements after its journalists were accused of involvement in phone hacking.
We were given an absolute assurance when we carried out an inquiry that only one journalist on the News of the World had any knowledge of interceptions John Whittingdale MPWe were given an absolute assurance when we carried out an inquiry that only one journalist on the News of the World had any knowledge of interceptions John Whittingdale MP
Mr Prescott told the BBC he would be contacting the police to ask if his phone had indeed been tapped, why was he not informed and why was no action taken. It claims the Professional Footballers' Association's head, Gordon Taylor, was hacking into by News of the World-paid investigators and received £700,000 in damages and court costs last year, but on condition that details of the case were not made public.
"I had no evidence of this, though frankly a lot of the stories in the paper were coming from information that was highly private," he said. "It's quite staggering really." The paper alleges Mr Prescott and "two or three thousand" other public figures were targeted, but evidence about the bugging operation was suppressed by the police and the High Court.
And writing in his blog, he questioned the role of the News of the World editor at the time, Andy Coulson, who now works as director of communications for Conservative party leader David Cameron. A spokesman for News Group's parent company, News International, said: "This particular case means nothing to anyone here, and I've talked to all the people who would be involved."
"This really does call Cameron's judgement into question in hiring Coulson," wrote Mr Prescott. "The question Cameron must answer is 'do you back him or sack him?'" Mr Prescott told the BBC the allegations "raised many many questions".
Mr Coulson resigned when the phone-tapping allegations first surfaced in 2006 check but denied being aware of what was going on. 'Rogue reporter'
He said: "This story relates to an alleged payment made after I left the News of the World two and a half years ago. I have no knowledge whatsoever of any settlement with Gordon Taylor." He said: "First of all, those of us that had our phones tapped and the police were aware of it - why were we not told? Why were they [the News of the World] not prosecuted?
"Why was a separate deal done in the court and then put away, and not made available to us? To the legal authorities [I would ask] why did you do this?
He said News Group newspaper executives had convinced MPs on the House of Commons culture committee that the case of the News of the World's royal editor Clive Goodman, who was jailed two years ago for hacking into the voicemail messages of royal staff, was an a "one-off" example of a "rogue" reporter.
"That was clearly untrue if these allegations are to be believed," Mr Prescott said.
He said both the committee and the Press Complaints Commission, which also investigated the Goodman case and found no evidence of a wider hacking operation, should reopen their inquiries.
The culture committee is due to discuss the new allegations when it meets on Thursday.
Its chairman, Conservative MP John Whittingdale, said: "I have to say I'm extremely surprised if it is the case that a payment of a million pounds has been made by News International to people who allegedly have had their phones intercepted by an investigator.
"We were given an absolute assurance when we carried out an inquiry that only one journalist on News of the World had any knowledge of interceptions - Clive Goodman."
Writing in his blog, Mr Prescott also questioned the role of former News of the World editor, Andy Coulson, who now works as director of communications for Conservative Party leader David Cameron.
"This really does call Cameron's judgement into question in hiring Coulson," wrote Mr Prescott.
"The question Cameron must answer is: 'Do you back him or sack him?'."
Mr Coulson resigned over the phone-hacking allegations in 2007 but denied having been aware of what was going on.
He said: "This story relates to an alleged payment made after I left the News of the World two-and-a-half-years ago. I have no knowledge whatsoever of any settlement with Gordon Taylor."
'Ramped-up'
A spokeswoman for David Cameron said the Conservative leader was "very relaxed" about the story.A spokeswoman for David Cameron said the Conservative leader was "very relaxed" about the story.
"The ramping up of this story is ridiculous - this is about a payment made well after Andy (Coulson) left the News of the World," she said."The ramping up of this story is ridiculous - this is about a payment made well after Andy (Coulson) left the News of the World," she said.
The allegations stem from a court case involving the News of the World's royal editor Clive Goodman, who was jailed two years ago for tapping into the voicemail messages of royal staff. During the prosecution of Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire - also jailed in January 2007 - the court heard how they had hacked into the phones of celebrities, including supermodel Elle Macpherson, publicist Max Clifford and Mr Taylor.
A private investigator - Glenn Mulcaire - was also jailed in January 2007. The Guardian says News Group Newspapers has secretly paid more than £1m in out-of-court settlements in three similar cases.
'No knowledge' According to the paper, £700,000 of that was paid to Mr Taylor, who sued on the basis that News Group must have known about the phone hacking.
The court heard how he had hacked into the phones of well-known names, including supermodel Elle Macpherson, publicist Max Clifford and the Professional Footballers' Association's Gordon Taylor. The Guardian alleges up to 3,000 high-profile figures were targeted, including London Mayor Boris Johnson and former Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell.
The Guardian says News Group Newspapers, the Rupert Murdoch company which publishes the Sun and the News of the World, has secretly paid more than a million pounds in out-of-court settlements in three similar cases.
According to the paper, £700,000 of that was paid to Mr Taylor, who sued on the basis that News Group must have known about the phone taps.
A spokesman for News Group's parent company, News International, said: "This particular case means nothing to anyone here, and I've talked to all the people who would be involved." The BBC has yet to receive a response from News International.
John Whittingdale, Conservative chairman of the Commons culture committee, said it would consider the alleged revelations when it meets on Thursday.
"I have to say I'm extremely surprised if it is the case that a payment of a million pounds has been made by News International to people who allegedly have had their phones intercepted by an investigator," he said.
The Guardian alleges up to 3,000 high-profile figures were targeted including London Mayor Boris Johnson and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.