'Milly Dowler's friends gave us her phone number, News of the World managing editor Stuart Kuttner told police'

 
Milly Dowler: The schoolgirl was kidnapped in 2002. Levi Bellfield was later found guilty of murdering her
6 November 2013
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Former News of the World managing editor Stuart Kuttner told the police the paper had listened to Milly Dowler’s voicemail messages, the Old Bailey heard today.

The newspaper even printed one of the messages left on her mobile phone in the paper. Kuttner told the police that the murdered schoolgirl’s friends had told them her phone number.

The court has heard that private investigator Glenn Mulcaire pleaded guilty to hacking Milly’s phone.

Kuttner told Surrey Police, who were hunting for the teenager who went missing in March 2002, about a phone call received by Milly’s phone from a recruitment agency in Telford.

The voicemail message purported to alert her to job interviews which were about to start and asking her to ring back. The jury has been told that the call was intended for somebody else but accidentally went to Milly’s phone.

Despite that the NoW sent reporters to Telford to demand answers to the whereabouts of Milly from the baffled agency staff.

A statement was read to the court today by Detective Sergeant Kevin McEntee who said he had spoken to Kuttner after the newspaperman had asked to speak to Surrey assistant chief constable Frank Clarke. Kuttner told the officer the NoW had information which might assist the hunt for Milly.

“He (Kuttner) said the NoW is in possession of a recording of the message and he supplied the mobile number of Milly’s phone,” said Mr McEntee in the statement. “Without confirming the number of Milly’s phone I asked Kuttner to verify the number on which the voicemail had been stored. He said it had been confirmed by school friends that this was her number.”

Mr McEntee told Kuttner the inquiry had been plagued by a suspected hoaxer.

In a later letter to Surrey Police Kuttner also offered to send police a tape recording of the messages.

The following day’s paper in April 2002 had a story headlined “Milly hoax riddle” and quoted the recruitment agency voicemail, describing it as “a new twist”. Later editions dropped the voicemail message and stated that “a deranged woman has been posing as the missing youngster”.

The court heard details of the messages recorded on Milly’s phone. The records obtained by police showed there was one new message and seven saved messages. One from a relative said: “Hello Milly, it is just that we want you home fine, bye.”

Former NoW editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson are accused of conspiracy to intercept voicemail communications with former NoW head of news Ian Edmondson and Kuttner between October 2000 and August 2006.

Brooks is also charged with two counts of conspiring with others to commit misconduct in public office, the first between January 2004 and January 2012 and the second between February 2006 and October 2008, linked to alleged payments by the Sun to public officials.

She faces another two allegations of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice — one with her former personal assistant Cheryl Carter and the second with her husband Charlie and former head of security at News International Mark Hanna.

Coulson is also facing two allegations that he conspired with the NoW’s former royal editor Clive Goodman and others to commit misconduct in public office.

All the defendants have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The case continues.

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