Any criminal trial which arises from the phone hacking investigation is likely to be subjected to a media blackout

If prosecutors decide to charge several people over the allegations surrounding former News of the World journalists, all the defendants would be tried at the same time, The Daily Telegraph has been told.
The parallel police inquiries into phone hacking and police corruption means any trials are likely to be delayed until the spring of 2013 as detectives sift through thousands of documents.
But because of the risk that one or more of the possible defendants could face trial relating to both inquiries, the media is likely to be banned from reporting any of the evidence in any of the trials until all have been concluded.
The phone hacking scandal took yet another twist yesterday when a Scotland Yard detective was arrested on suspicion of leaking confidential information about the inquiry to The Guardian.
It is thought that the arrest follows a series of online articles in The Guardian which disclosed the identities of people who were about to be or had just been arrested. The identity of the 51-year old detective constable has not been disclosed. He was arrested on Thursday by the anti-corruption unit of Scotland Yard and bailed to return next month.

In a statement, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, who is leading the phone hacking investigation, said: “I made very clear when I took on this investigation the need for operational and information security. It is hugely disappointing that this may not have been adhered to.”
The police investigation into the News of the World has increased in size and scope over the past few months and is now one of the biggest criminal inquiries in Britain. There are more than 60 officers working on the investigation.
On Thursday, officers also made another arrest, of a former News of the World employee. Dan Evans, 35, a feature writer, attended a London police station and was held for questioning on suspicion of conspiring to unlawfully intercept voicemails. Mr Evans was suspended by the News of the World after the interior designer Kelly Hoppen, stepmother to the actress Sienna Miller, brought a damages claim alleging that he tried to hack into her voicemails in June 2009.
The now-defunct tabloid and lawyers for the journalist have said an extensive investigation found no evidence to support her claims. It is thought that Scotland Yard arrested him over separate phone hacking allegations.
Mr Evans joined the News of the World in 2005 and has been suspended since April 2010. He is the 14th person to be arrested on suspicion of involvement in phone hacking.
A well-placed source told the Telegraph that any defendants charged with phone hacking are expected to be tried together, though any trial is unlikely to begin before the spring of 2013 because of the sheer volume of evidence the police still have to go through.
The source added that if there was a trial over phone hacking, and if any of the defendants also faced charges over police corruption, lawyers would be likely to ask for a reporting ban to avoid prejudicing any subsequent trial.
Glenn Mulcaire, the private detective imprisoned for phone hacking, has been ordered by the High Court to disclose who at the News of the World asked him to listen to voicemails on the mobile phones of Elle Macpherson, the model, and Steve Coogan, the comedian. Mulcaire will have to comply with the request by September.
A News International spokeswoman said: “We are fully co-operating with the police investigation and we are unable to comment further on matters due to ongoing police investigations.”
A spokesman for Guardian News & Media said: “We note the arrest of a Scotland Yard detective on suspicion of misconduct in a public office relating to unauthorised disclosure of information.
“On the broader point raised by the arrest, journalists would no doubt be concerned if conversations between off-the-record sources and reporters came routinely to be regarded as criminal activity. In common with all news organisations, we have no comment to make on the sources of our journalism.”

 

News International’s controversial decision to alter a critical letter submitted to a parliamentary inquiry was not directly demanded by the police, the Daily Telegraph can reveal.

The company has been accused of a cover-up after it gave MPs a significantly redacted version of a letter, written by Clive Goodman, the former royal editor at the News of the World.
The revelation came as David Cameron admitted he would not have employed Andy Coulson, the former editor of the News of the World, if he had “known then what I know now”. James Murdoch, the chairman of
News International, also faced calls to resign over the scandal.
The Goodman letter, sent four years ago, alleges that a secret deal was agreed in which he would keep his job if he did not “implicate” other members of the tabloid paper’s staff. He also alleged that editors at the tabloid, including Andy Coulson, supported phone hacking.
On Tuesday News International claimed that the document was altered at the request of Scotland Yard. However, their explanation came under scrutiny after a much fuller version of the same letter was released by law firm Harbottle & Lewis.

 

Ed Miliband has blamed the riots that swept English cities on a "me first" culture - and accepted Labour must share the blame for creating it.

The Labour leader said his party had failed to tackle inequality and not paid enough attention to morality.

And he linked the riots to a wider collapse in social responsibility exemplified by the banking crisis and MPs expenses scandal.

He said he would set up his own riots inquiry if David Cameron failed to act.

'Sick society'
Mr Cameron has not ruled out holding a public inquiry - but has said he wants MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee to complete its investigation first.

The prime minister has also spoken of a collapse in personal responsibility and has claimed parts of Britain were not just "broken" but "sick".


Ed Miliband
Labour leader
He told the BBC's North West Tonight crooked bankers and MPs deserved to be punished - but their behaviour should not be used as an excuse for lawlessness.

"We need responsibility right through our country - responsibility is the most important word in politics.

"But it cannot be used as an excuse - that was law breaking, that was looting, that was thieving.

"It's no good trying to blame that on someone else. All irresponsibility should be punished."

In a Commons statement on Thursday, the prime minister vowed to "restore a sense of stronger sense of morality and responsibility".

But he rejected Mr Miliband's call for a public inquiry, saying MPs were already listening to their communities - and the home affairs committee was holding an inquiry which should "do this work first".

Mr Miliband told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the breakdown in social order that occurred this week showed many people had lost their sense of right and wrong and there was a "me first" culture.

"There is an issue which went to all our souls - this is an issue not just about the responsibility and irresponsibility we saw on the streets of Tottenham.

"It's about irresponsibility, wherever we find it in our society.

"We've seen in the past few years MPs' expenses, what happened in the banks, what happened with phone hacking."

'Usual suspects'
And he admitted that Labour had not done enough to tackle deep-rooted moral problems during its 13 years in power.

"I deeply regret that inequality wasn't reduced under the last Labour government. But we did great things to tackle inequality in our society," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"We did better at rebuilding the fabric of our country than the ethic of our country."

He urged the prime minister set up a public inquiry in the next few days, adding: "We have got to avoid simplistic answers.

"There's a debate some people are starting: is it culture, is it poverty and lack of opportunity? It's probably both."

Mr Miliband said that if Mr Cameron does not agree to set up an inquiry "I'm going to do it myself".

Speaking to a group of young people in Brixton, south London, Mr Miliband said the inquiry should not just take evidence from the "usual suspects" but should also include people from communities affected by the rioting.

The Commons home affairs committee will begin its inquiry on 6 September, with London Mayor Boris Johnson set to be its first witness.

Committee chairman, Labour MP Keith Vaz, said: "We will be looking at police tactics, we will be looking at the operation of gangs, we will be looking at mobile communications, and we will be revisiting some of the issues we have looked at in the past, such as the inquiry into the G20 protests.

"This will be a thoughtful and measured inquiry."

Winehouse's ex-hubby to tell all in book

Amy Winehouse's ex-hubby Blake Fielder-Civil is cashing on the Winehouse fever by penning a tell-all book about the late singer' tumultuous life. Reportedly Fielder-Civil, who is currently in jail for burglary and possession of an imitation firearm, has enough material and inside



According to sources, "Blake's been planning to write a tell-all on Amy since she became famous. When they were together he'd film her, but there are many hours and footage he hasn't released."

Buzz is that, 'the scheming opportunist' is waiting for a good monetary deal before turning biographer.

The former video runner, who has been blamed for introducing Amy to heroin and crack cocaine, married Winehouse in May 2007 after an on-off romance. But the relationship was doomed from the beginning and the couple parted ways after two years.