RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
Tabloids in Britain will seemingly do anything for a scoop. Their competition for even scraps of information about celebrities and politicians is famously cutthroat. Now, though, one tabloid has allegedly stooped to lows that have even surprised and horrified a British public used to tabloid antics. The News of the World may have hacked into the anguished voicemail messages of family members who lost loved ones when suicide bombers killed dozens of people in London on this day, July 7th, six years ago.
On top of that, British police officers may have assisted the paper. We have two reports, beginning with Vicki Barker in London.
VICKI BARKER: It's not against the law to secretly record someone in the U.K. But intercepting voicemail messages is a criminal offense. It's also a crime to pay police officers for information. Yet it's claimed the News of the World did all of this and more.
(Soundbite of BCC radio broadcast)
Mr. SEAN CASSIDY: I'd like to know how did my name and phone number come onto your list?
BARKER: On a BBC Radio call-in show, Sean Cassidy, father of a July 7th victim, confronts an executive of News International, the Rupert Murdoch-owned stable the includes News of the World. Somehow the tabloid managed to obtain contact details for many of the victims' families including at least one unlisted phone number the relative said he'd only shared with close family and the police. The human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson is unsurprised.
Mr. GEOFFREY ROBERTSON (Human Rights Lawyer): I've had to advise well-known clients, if you give that piece of information to the police, there is a danger that some police officer will sell it to some newspaper.
BARKER: Journalists and police on both sides of the Atlantic have long had a symbiotic relationship. But the connection between the British police and News of the World seems to have been exceptionally close.
Two years ago, The Guardian newspaper claims the tabloid may have hacked the cell phones of as many as 3,000 celebrities, royals, and politicians. Yet the high-ranking police officer tasked with investigating the allegations decided no further action was needed. Some of the celebrities on that list later complained the police refused to investigate their cases. They also claim successive prime ministers have refused to stand up to the powerful tabloids, especially those owned by Rupert Murdoch.
That seems to be a symbiotic relationship as well. Both Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband have hired former Murdoch employees as communications officers. Brian Paddick is a former deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
Mr. BRIAN PADDICK (Former Deputy Commissioner, Metropolitan Police): The common thread here is that both politicians and the police both want to be shown in a good light in the media. And as a consequence, how far are they prepared to go in terms of their relationship with the media in order to make sure that that positive image is portrayed?
BARKER: After strong public pressure, a second police probe was launched in January to investigate what was called significant new information about the celebrity phone hacks. In the wake of this week's revelations, the News of the World now says it's handed over documents relating to payments made to the police. And the Metropolitan Police now acknowledge some money seems to have been paid to a small number of officers.
For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
