MPs set to question police over phone-hacking inquiry

LONDON. July 12. KAZINFORM Two current and two former Metropolitan Police officers will be quizzed by MPs in public later about inquiries into phone-hacking at the News of the World. Assistant Commissioner John Yates, Andy Hayman and Peter Clarke will appear before the Home Affairs Committee.

According to BBC News, MPs are expected to ask them why the initial investigation, started in 2005, failed to uncover evidence of hacking of crime victims' voicemail messages.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers will also appear before the committee.

She is leading the current investigation into phone-hacking, Operation Weeting.

Inquiry scope

Detectives are in the process of contacting nearly 4,000 people whose personal details were stored by private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.

The committee is expected to ask former Assistant Commissioners Mr Hayman and Mr Clarke, the officers who supervised the original police inquiry, why that information was apparently overlooked.

MPs want to know if the decision to close the investigation after Mulcaire and former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman were jailed in 2007 for phone-hacking was influenced by Scotland Yard's desire to maintain good relations with News International.

Assistant Commissioner Yates refused to re-open the inquiry in 2009.

He has said the scope of the first inquiry was restricted because of legal advice from prosecutors, lack of co-operation from those at the newspaper and the need to target resources towards counter-terrorism.

Victims of crime who had their voicemail messages hacked into include murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

For full version go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14116786