Phone hacking: Corrupt officers 'should be locked up'

Police officers found to have engaged in corrupt practices with the media "should be locked up and the key thrown away", according to the head of the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show yesterday Sir Hugh Orde said he had a "zero tolerance" approach to corruption and was awaiting the results of an inquiry into the matter announced by the prime minister.

A police investigation is also currently underway, named Operation Elveden, which is looking into alleged payments to Metropolitan police officers by the press for information.

"I think this inquiry will pursue [prosecutions] to the ends of the world, absolutely," he told presenter and deputy political editor James Landale.

"Every police officer patrolling the streets this morning expects any corrupt officer that lets the side down, that does huge damage to policing, to be locked up and the key thrown away."

Also appearing on the programme yesterday was business secretary Vince Cable, who was stripped of his responsibility for News Corporation's BSkyB bid after being secretly recorded by journalists saying he had "declared war on Mr Murdoch".

Cable told Landale that the rules on media ownership need to be changed and limits introduced, adding that having media moguls dominating the British media "is deeply unhelpful".

"Certainly what I want to see is a set of very clear, unambiguous rules. The rules at the moment are very unclear [as to] what plurality means. Clear, unambiguous rules about market shares - that they don't have dominant players," he said.

Cable added that he is "very worried" about the situation currently facing the police.

"I think, like most people out there, I have tremendous respect for the police," he said.

"And you know the vast majority of police officers are completely honest and feel anger about the way they've been let down by people higher up the system.

"So there does need to be a proper independent investigation, so that if there are bad apples they do need to be removed from the barrel."

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