PCC to review stance on phone-hacking at News of the World

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The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) will re-examine its position towards allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World, because of the emergence of new information.

In a letter to Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, the PCC's director Stephen Abell said that the commission will assess its stance as to whether it was misled by the News of the World in a previous inquiry into the allegations. The regulator will only do so at the end of any other legal proceedings or parliamentary committee investigations into the allegations, says Abell. In November 2009, the PCC concluded an investigation into allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World raised by a series of Guardian articles last summer. The commission said it had found no further evidence of ongoing phone message hacking at News Group Newspapers since its 2007 report into former royal correspondent Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire's operation at the News of the World. In January 2007 Mulcaire and Goodman were convicted of conspiracy to intercept telephone calls . The PCC issued new guidelines at the time, strengthening Clause 10 of the Editors' Code of Practice, which prohibits the use of clandestine devices and subterfuge in journalism. But reports printed by the New York Times and the Guardian this month have raised fresh concerns about the behaviour of the News of the World prior to 2006. The New York Times' report claimed that Andy Coulson (pictured), former News of the World editor and now chief communications officer for the Prime Minister, "actively encouraged" the practice of hacking into the voice messages of celebrities. It also featured claims by a former news of the World reporter Sean Hoare, who had not previously been part of inquiries into the allegations, about the extent of phone hacking at the title.

"There has been one allegation, since Goodman/Mulcaire. You will know that the News of the World rightly informed the PCC of this claim of recent phone message hacking. We have made public that this had taken place, and it has always been our intention to look at the circumstances of the case at the conclusion of the legal proceedings. This may involve contacting the party who has made the claim," says Abell in the letter.

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Abell stressed that the PCC's investigation would not replace any conducted by the Metropolitan police and that the industry group did not have the same powers as the police to call witnesses and for evidence. The Met has defended its 2006 investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World, but has said it will examine fresh evidence raised by the New York Times and follow-up new reports. Former deputy prime minister John Prescott has called for a judicial review into the Met's previous investigation of the phone hacking charges, following a refusal by the force to supply information relating to him, which he claims was procured by Mulcaire.

"At this stage we will be monitoring the outcome of the police deliberations, and those of the Parliamentary committees and others. At their conclusion we will look further to establish what lessons can be learned for the industry and the PCC to prevent this from happening again," writes Abell.

In its response to the New York Times' reporting, News International said the paper had failed to provide sufficient new evidence to support its allegations and has said it is conducting its own inquiry into the claims.