The News of the World under Rebekah Brooks placed a senior police detective and his wife under surveillance in an attempt to subvert a murder investigation

 

The News of the World under Rebekah Brooks placed a senior police detective and his wife under surveillance in an attempt to subvert a murder investigation, the Leveson inquiry was told on Tuesday. Det Ch Supt David Cook and his wife, Jacqui Hames, a former detective constable and presenter of the BBC’s Crimewatch programme, believed that suspects in the 1987 murder of a private detective called Daniel Morgan, which DCS Cook was investigating, had encouraged the Sunday tabloid to watch them. More ON THIS STORY No end in sight to transatlantic News Corp investigations Inquiry told of corrupt culture at Murdoch tabloid Church wins £600,000 in hacking settlement In depth UK phone-hacking scandal Sun on Sunday wins advertisers’ confidence ON THIS TOPIC Brooks briefed on phone hacking in 2006 ‘Evidence was destroyed’ in newspaper phone scandal Former union chief sues NGN over hacking claims Cherie Blair sues News Group and Mulcaire IN UK BUSINESS Plan to ease burden on small businesses Retail sales brighter than expected Business yet to feel benefit of red tape curbs City workers broadly supportive of eviction The suspects worked for Southern Investigations, the same detective agency as Mr Morgan, and had done a great deal of work for the News of the World, the inquiry heard. Ms Hames said in her witness statement: “I believe that the real reason for the News of the World placing us under surveillance was that suspects in the Daniel Morgan murder inquiry were using their association with a powerful and well-resourced newspaper to try to intimidate us and so attempt to subvert the investigation.” On a day when the inquiry into press ethics had been looking into inappropriate relations between Ms Brooks’ News International and the Metropolitan Police, Ms Hames said the surveillance had left her in need of counselling and contributed to her 2010 divorce. When Ms Brooks was asked by the Scotland Yard press office why the couple were being watched, the then-News of the World editor said the paper was investigating suspicions that Ms Hames and Mr Cook were having an affair. Ms Hames said: “This was utterly nonsensical as we had by then been married for four years, had been together for 11 years and had two children. Our marriage was common knowledge to the extent that we had even appeared together in Hello! magazine.” She said any reasonable person would suspect collusion between the News of the World and the people suspected of murdering Daniel Morgan. Three people were cleared of the murder when a case collapsed at the Old Bailey last year. At the inquiry, Simon Hughes, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the police failure to investigate properly in 2006, when they restricted inquiries to a single, rogue reporter, was “completely unacceptable”. He revealed he had asked Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, to press for parliamentary time in 2013 so that Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations could be enacted if appropriate. Mr Hughes, a phone hacking victim, explained that the police had failed to tell him that Glenn Mulcaire, the private detective jailed for hacking on behalf of the News of the World, had surveilled him and friends who had nothing to do with any scandal surrounding his family life.