Reports have emerged this week which show email evidence that former Mail on Sunday senior editor Chris Anderson received material which allegedly included voicemail transcripts from the phone of the nanny who worked for Sadie Frost and Jude Law.The Mail Group have always denied that phone hacking occurred at their titles.Commenting on the revelations, Hacked Off Director of Policy Nathan Sparkes said,

“The email exchanges between a convicted phone hacker and a senior Mail on Sunday editor which have been uncovered this week are an embarrassment for the Government, who claimed that there was nothing more to investigate when it cut short the Leveson Inquiry into these matters last year. There cannot be any further delay – the Inquiry must be re-established to finish its work.”

Paul Dacre, who was editor-in-chief of the Mail Group newspapers at the time, has had private un-minuted meetings with the Prime Minister over the past two years, including a dinner at 10 Downing Street in the run up to the cancellation of Leveson Part Two - a decision which was opposed by the public in opinion polling, and by the majority of total respondents to the Government’s own consultation.Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable MP said:

“In suppressing the second half of the Leveson Inquiry, Conservative Ministers rejected the calls of the National Union of Journalists, free speech campaigns, the general public and the victims of press abuse. They are assenting to the wishes of Theresa May’s dining companion and Mail Group editor-in-chief, Paul Dacre. “The Government must release the minutes of the Prime Minister’s private meetings with Paul Dacre immediately, as recommended by Leveson, to exclude the possibility of corruption.“Without further reassurances from the Government and publication of the minutes of the Prime Minister’s meetings with Mr Dacre, members of the public and MPs will find it difficult to understand how the decision to cancel Part Two could have been reached in good conscience”.

Ends

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Notes

Transparency data forms the basis of this report:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/604116/PM_returns_Oct_-_Dec_2016_Hospitality.csv/previewTransparency data showing un-minuted dinner, September 10th 2018:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/766215/2018-12-12_PM_HOSPITALITY_Quarterly_Transparency_Return_Jul_-_Sept_-_PUBLICATION.csv/preview