Phone hacking: New inquiry will 'go a long way', says Prescott
The former deputy prime minister is thought to be among a group of individuals being looked at again by the Met as possible phone-hacking victims
– 2 min read
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The Metropolitan police specialist crime directorate is now carrying out a "proper inquiry" into phone hacking, former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott said today after meeting with the deputy assistant commissioner leading the new investigation. Speaking on Radio 4's Today show this morning Lord Prescott said the phone hacking scandal is "a very big issue" for the police force and the press.
"I want to know certainly all those who have committed criminal acts. What happened before is they decided not to pursue actions against people of which they had evidence that criminal acts had been perpetrated.
"We have got to get a proper reform of the relationship between the Metropolitan authority and the police.
"I think it is going to go a long way. It doesn't stop at the Met. I think it will go to a lot of newspapers who have been hacking people for a long time."
He praised deputy assistant commissioner Sue Akers, who is leading the new investigation by the specialist crime directorate , after meeting with her yesterday.
"She's now gone in and is now doing a proper inquiry. She's showing the kind of will to get on and do the job. That's all I ever wanted. Let's find out the truth." The meeting came as the Met announced that Scotland Yard detectives are re-examining phone-hacking evidence to determine whether a series of high-profile individuals had their voicemails intercepted.
In a statement the Metropolitan police said that analysis of documents seized in 2005, alongside new evidence, has identified a number of individuals who were previously told that the Met had "little or no information" about their phones being hacked but who may in fact have been targeted. Last year Prescott said he would be seeking a judicial review of the Metropolitan police's previous investigation into allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World, following a refusal by the police to supply information which related to him.
Scotland Yard declined to comment.
