View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Media Law
April 16, 2011updated 18 Apr 2011 8:21am

Police to look at ‘historic claims’ of tabloid payments

By PA Mediapoint

Police have launched an exercise to see if there are grounds for launching a criminal investigation into comments that newspapers paid officers for information.

The disclosure came in a letter to Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, from Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dicks in response to his request for information about the remit of the force’s research into the “historic claims”.

Dicks told Mr Vaz that Deputy Assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons was overseeing the research, which had two purposes.

The first was to ascertain the force’s response to comments which Rebekah Brooks, chief executive at News International, made to the Commons Culture, Media and Sports Committee on 11 March 2003 regarding press paying police officers for information.

Brooks, who was then the editor of The Sun, and was previously editor of the News of the World, was asked by committee member Chris Bryant about whether police were ever paid for information.

She replied: “We have paid the police for information in the past.”

Bryant then asked: “And will you do it in the future?”

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Brooks said: “It depends …”

Dicks said the second purpose of the research was to conduct a scoping exercise to establish whether there were now any grounds for beginning a criminal investigation resulting from Brooks’ comments.

The latest development comes as News International is embroiled in litigation over the News of the World phone-hacking scandal as well as a renewed police investigation which has so far seen the newspaper’s chief reporter and another journalist, and its former assistant editor (news) arrested.

The newspaper has admitted that some people’s mobile phone messages were hacked and issued a public apology, and has set up a fund reportedly of some £20 million to pay compensation to victims.

Topics in this article :

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network