NOTW did hack Milly Dowler`s phone: Police

Murdoch`s company apologised and paid large sums for out-of-court settlements to many whose phones had been hacked.

London: In new evidence made public on Monday,
the British police has said that journalists from the now
defunct News of the World tabloid not only hacked into the
phone of the murdered school girl Milly Dowler but also
interfered with their investigation.

The report by the Surrey police investigating the Dowler
case comes on the day when media baron Rupert Murdoch tweeted:
"No excuses for phone hacking. No argument. No excuses either
for copyright stealing, but plenty of ignorant argument!"

In a letter to the Culture, Media & Sport Select
Committee, Jerry Kirby, deputy constable of the Surrey Police
detailed a series of interactions with journalists of the News
of the World that showed that they had hacked into Dowler`s
phone.

The letter was released by the committee today.

Dowler, 13, was abducted in March 2002 and murdered. Her
body was found in September 2002.

The Surrey police contradicted the suggestion that they
could have been the source of the Dowler voice mails which
were published in the News of the World at the time.

It was the revelation last summer by The Guardian that her
phone had been hacked by the News of the World that set off a
chain of events and inquiries that continue to impact on
British press, politics and the police.

Last week, Murdoch`s company apologised and paid large
sums for out-of-court settlements to several individuals whose
phones had been hacked.

More such settlements running into millions of pounds are
likely since there are 742 such victims, according to Scotland
Yard.

Kirby`s letter sets out a timeline based on police logs
from 2002, which depicts a news organisation that tried to
bully detectives into backing its theories about the crime.

The Surrey police, it said, did not provide information to
the tabloid, but and added that the tabloid`s journalists had
obtained information by accessing Dowler`s phone.

The journalists, Kirby stated, had informed the police
that they had obtained the PIN number to access Dowler`s voice
mail from her school friends.

The chair of the culture, media and sport select
committee, John Whittingdale, said "several News of the World
reporters appeared to have hacked Milly Dowler`s phone".

PTI

Zee News App: Read latest news of India and world, bollywood news, business updates, cricket scores, etc. Download the Zee news app now to keep up with daily breaking news and live news event coverage.