The editor of The Independent on Sunday, John Mullin, has been summoned to appear at the Leveson Inquiry today over a story that apparently contained details from Andy Coulson’s witness statement.
Lord Justice Leveson said he had used Section 21 of the Inquiries Act to summon Mullin, the first time this has happened to a national newspaper editor at the inquiry.
Leveson had previously stated on several occasions that no witness statements should be made public until they had been given in evidence at the inquiry.
At the start of today’s hearing, he said: ‘I have caused an inquiry to be made of the editor of the Independent on Sunday and I anticipate that as a result he will be interposed at some stage during the course of today’s evidence to deal with the issue.”
The story in question was headlined ‘Coulson owned News Corp shares while at No 10’. It alleged: “Andy Coulson held shares in News Corporation while he was David Cameron’s head of communications at Downing Street, at a time when the Government was deciding whether to approve the company’s takeover of BSkyB”.
Former News of the World editor and Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson is due to appear at the inquiry this afternoon.
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