Anyone listening? Britain's phone-hacking scandal is back (Feature)

By Anna Tomforde Jan 27, 2011, 2:06 GMT

London - When he was in government, Gordon Brown had a reputation for smashing his mobile phones in fits of rage - but now the former British prime minister has complained that he was a victim of illegal phone-hacking.

While Brown may never have owned a cellphone for long, he has become the first senior politician to enter a growing row over the interception of voicemail messages of public figures, royalty and celebrities by tabloid newspapers.

The scandal, which first erupted in 2007, claimed its first prominent victim last week when Andy Coulson, the communications chief of Prime Minister David Cameron, resigned.

Coulson, a former editor of the News of the World, clearly knew what was coming when he admitted that the continued controversy over hacking had made his high-profile job at Cameron's side impossible.

'When the spokesman needs a spokesman, it's time to move on,' he said.

It was under his editorship, from 2003 to 2007, that the best- selling Sunday tabloid was first accused of deploying illegal methods by hacking into the phones of the entourage of Britain's royal princes, William and Harry.

The paper's royal editor, Clive Goodman, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator hired by the newspaper to carry out the eavesdropping, were jailed for four and six months respectively in 2007.

During the trial, it emerged that they hacked into the phones of model Elle Macpherson, senior Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes and top football executive Gordon Taylor.

Since then, Coulson has held on to his defence that Goodman's actions were those of a 'rogue reporter,' and that he knew nothing of the practice when he was editor.

But recently, a series of civil actions, including a case brought by British actress Sienna Miller, prompted the suspension of Ian Edmonson, a news editor at the News of the World, who was later dismissed by the paper.

According to the Independent newspaper, documents submitted to the High Court by high-profile claimants are expected to reveal the identities of 'several' more members of staff at the News of the World in connection with the phone-hacking allegations.

Public prosectors have pledged a 'robust approach' to their assessment of any evidence passed on by the police.

'If the police get to the truth, this is a volcano that is going to erupt,' said Max Clifford, the leading publicist who claims that his phone has been intercepted.

Meanwhile, Mark Lewis, a lawyer representing alleged victims of hacking, has said the number of clients contacting him over the possibility of legal action had rocketed over the past weeks.

'There is a cascading effect because this was a widespread practice,' Lewis told the Evening Standard newspaper. Footballers, film stars, politicians and publicists were among his clients.

While most of the complaints related to newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch, the Australian media magnate, the allegations were spreading to other news organizations, Lewis revealed.

Murdoch, who owns the News of the World, The Sun and the Times in Britain, was this week reported to be furious at the widening of the scandal, which has already cost him 1.7 million pounds (2.7 million dollars) in out-of-court settlements.

The media tycoon, who turns 80 in March, was in London this week to discuss the scandal with top executives of his News International Group, and to work out a damage limitation strategy.

Reports said Murdoch was 'displeased' at the apparent failure of his British managers to bring an end to the drip of allegations that have undermined the central claim that the illegal accessing of voicemails was restricted to a single 'rogue' reporter.

Murdoch, determined to draw a line under the affair, had promised 'immediate action' against any employee implicated in phone-hacking.

'Newspapers might have thought they had got away with their hacking. But the money involved is a great incentive to keep the issue alive,' said Ian Burrell, the media editor of the Independent.

While cases would be difficult to prove, media groups already operating in adverse trading conditions could 'be crushed by a mountain of litigation,' he said.

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