The phone hacking saga bursts back to life

The phone hacking saga has burst back to life this afternoon, with the publication of a letter by Clive Goodman that contradicts much of the evidence given by News International Executives to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

Goodman’s letter (which you can read here) , apparently written on 2 March 2007, states that phone hacking was widely discussed in editorial meetings at the News of the World and that senior executives were informed of the practice, contrary to their protestations that Goodman was a lone rogue reporter. Goodman alleges that Andy Coulson banned references to phone hacking in meetings and then offered to save Goodman’s job if the disgraced reporter did not implicate the paper during his trial. Goodman also alleges that Les Hinton, Rupert Murdoch’s point-man, saw a copy of the letter and did not act on it. Just days after supposedly seeing the letter, Hinton gave evidence to the committee on 6 March 2007 and said that he “believed [Goodman] was the only person” hacking phones.