Police are to probe tens of thousands of News International emails, phone calls and documents as the fall out from the News of the World hacking scandal continues to dominate the headlines.
The move coincides with the resignation of chief executive Rebekah Brookes, who is expected to appear in front of a panel of MPs next week.
Police are understood to be trawling through thousands of emails containing potentially damning information, as investigators probe the alleged malpractice by News of the World journalists hunting for stories. The FBI is understood to be beginning a similar investigation in the US.
News International’s email trawl for its own ‘internal’ investigation four years ago only considered 2,500 messages – a tiny fraction as many journalists and executives each deal with hundreds of emails a day. News International is reported to have only handed over 300 of these emails to a law firm that was directing that investigation.
News International has also been accused of attempting to delete crucial emails, including reportedly demanding outsourcer HCL help it with this. HCL strenuously denies any wrong-doing. Nevertheless, it should force all companies to examine how long they store data, according to one legal expert.
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