Coulson in the clear?

It’s worth following Andrew Sparrow’s typically excellent live blog of the Commons culture committee’s first public hearing into the recent NotW “phone-hacking” claims.  So far, the biggest revelation has come courtesy of Nick Davies – the Guardian journalist behind the story last week – and it’s one which will please the Tories:

“Davies says he has the names of 27 journalists from the NoW and four from the Sun who used a private investigator to get information. Some of the requests were legal, like electoral register searches. But many were not. Davies says he does not want to name the names. “I’m a reporter, not a police officer.” But there are a number of senior editorial executives on the list. One was Greg Miskiw, the assistant editor, news, at NoW.

There are other executives, more senior and junior. But Andy Coulson’s name is not on the list.

Davies says these are journalists who used Stephen Whitmore, a private investigator.”