Trinity Mirror facing investigation over whether it is ‘criminally liable’ for phone-hacking

The Sunday Mirror is under investigation over suspected phone hacking, its publisher revealed today.

In a statement to the stock market, Trinity Mirror said that the Metropolitan Police was “at a very early stage” in its investigation into whether its MGN Limited subsidiary was criminally liable for alleged hacking carried out by former staff on the Sunday tabloid.

It is the first time that Trinity Mirror has emerged as being under investigation in its own right as a corporate entity.

The company’s statement in full read: “Trinity Mirror plc notes that its subsidiary, MGN Limited ('MGN') publisher of the Group's national newspapers, has been notified by the Metropolitan police that they are at a very early stage in investigating whether MGN is criminally liable for the alleged unlawful conduct by previous employees in relation to phone hacking on the Sunday Mirror.

“The group does not accept wrongdoing within its business and takes these allegations seriously.

“It is too soon to know how these matters will progress and further updates will be made if there are any significant developments.”

Last month it was reported that News Corp, the then parent company of News International (now News UK), had been under investigation since May 2012 over phone-hacking at the News of the World as part of Scotland Yard’s Operation Weeting.

Last week, former News of the World and Sunday Mirror reporter Dan Evans became the ninth journalist to be charged under Operation Weeting, with phone-hacking charges relating in part to his time at the Trinity Mirror title.

Former Sunday Mirror editor Tina Weaver has been on bail since her arrest by Operation Weeting detectives in March. Weaver was arrested along with Sunday People editor James Scott, former People editor Mark Thomas and People deputy editor Nick Buckley.