Fairfax: No police contact with our exec over phone hacking
Fairfax Media today said it understands that its head of video Ricky Sutton – a former news editor of News of The World – has not been contacted by British Police over voicemail hacking activities by the newspaper.
The comment follows yesterday’s story in Crikey that Sutton was expected to be questioned.
According to an article in today’s Sydney Morning Herald, Sutton – who worked for the British tabloid from 1997 to 2004 – was only news editor for nine months, from July 2003 to April 2004.
This week’s furore over phone hacking relates to the newspaper allegedly accessing and deleting the voicemails of a missing teenager who it later emerged had been murdered. This took place in 2002.
Meanwhile, the furore grew further in the UK early this morning. British MP Tom Watson used parliamentary privilege at an emergency House of Commons debate to accuse James Murdoch, chairman of News Corp’s British operation News International, of ordering a coverup. Watson said: ” It is clear now that he personally and without board approval authorised money to be paid by his company to silence people [whose phones] have been hacked and to cover up criminal behaviour within his organisation.” Watson called for Murdoch to be suspended.
Meanwhile, News Ltd columnist Andrew Bolt has today broken ranks with the company line, telling readers of his blog: “The allegations also stain News International, an arm of News Corp, of which I’m also a part. I would like to see every single employee who was involved rooted out and sacked, no matter how senior.”
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Yes, they have well and truely cross the line, if it is true
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