Ex-private eye told to reveal who ordered News of World hacking

Damages claim: comedian Steve Coogan says his messages were hacked into
12 April 2012

A former private detective convicted of phone hacking for the News of the World was today ordered to give details of the journalists who told him to do it.

In a significant ruling, Mr Justice Vos said Glenn Mulcaire had to provide the information after a case brought by comedian Steve Coogan and sport commentator Andy Gray.

Mulcaire, 40, must also give details of 17 other names on his target list.

Mr Justice Vos ordered him to reveal how he got hold of their direct-access voicemail and pin numbers and who gave the information. He rejected his claim that it would self-incriminate him in breach of his rights.

The judge told the High Court: "The identity of the other targeted names, and the people who helped identify those names and the manner in which it was done, will be relevant to the conspiracy between News Group Newspapers and Mr Mulcaire that is alleged." But he blocked a request for Mulcaire to reveal what other criminal activities he may have been involved in.

Mulcaire was told to amend his defence by dropping the self-incrimination clause and must pay legal costs estimated at about £100,000, but plans to appeal.

He was jailed for six months after admitting hacking into the voicemail messages of three members of the royal household and other major figures.

Both Coogan and recently-sacked Sky football pundit Gray seek damages from the News of the World and Mulcaire over claims that their mobile phone messages were illegally hacked into.

This follows a long list of celebrities who have sued over similar claims. Professional Footballers Association chief Gordon Taylor and publicist Max Clifford have allegedly settled claims for sums between £700,000 and £1 million.

So far 14 cases are listed. They include former England footballer Paul Gascoigne, ex-MP George Galloway and actress Sienna Miller.

The paper's Royal Correspondent Clive Goodman was jailed for four months after pleading guilty in 2006 to paying Mulcaire £12,300 to access messages.

It is alleged the News of the World asked Mulcaire to intercept voicemails or en-
abled journalists on the News of the World to intercept them. Publishers News Group Newspapers have made no admissions.

Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson resigned on the day the two men were jailed, taking responsibility for its wrongful use of phone interception. He has also quit as communications director for David Cameron.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in