British police opened a new investigation on Wednesday into allegations of phone hacking after the country’s top-selling tabloid newspaper sacked one of its senior editors.
The developments are the latest in a saga which has involved the royal family, senior politicians and showbusiness stars, and is sending shockwaves through Britain’s media industry.
The News of the World, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp media empire, said it had sacked senior editor Ian Edmondson after an internal inquiry into his conduct.
“News International has informed the police, handed over the material it has found and will give its full cooperation going forward,” said a statement from the company, the UK newspaper arm of News Corp. “News International reiterates that it will take swift and decisive action when we have proof of wrongdoing.”
Edmondson had been suspended last month after he was named in a lawsuit by film star Sienna Miller, who accuses the paper of breaking into her voicemail account to hear her messages.
Police said the new information provided by News International dated back to 2005-06 when Andy Coulson was editor of the News of the World newspaper.
Coulson resigned as editor of the News of the World in 2007 after one of his reporters was jailed for secretly listening to phone messages of royal household staff.
Coulson, who has denied wrongdoing, also resigned as Prime Minister David Cameron’s communications chief last week after numerous questions about practices at the newspaper.
“The MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) is launching a new investigation to consider this material,” the police force said in a statement. “This work will be carried out by the Specialist Crime Directorate which has been investigating a related phone hacking allegation since September 2010.”
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