London: The Met Police is accused of a “catalogue of failures” over the News of the World phone-hacking inquiry in a damning report by MPs. The Commons home affairs committee also criticises News International’s “deliberate attempts to thwart investigations” into hacking.It is calling for extra resources for the police investigation so new hacking victims can be informed more quickly.
The prime minister is due to make a statement to the Commons later.
David Cameron will speak at the start of an all-day debate on the latest developments in the hacking scandal – for which Parliament has been recalled from its summer recess.
While the MPs’ report blames News International for obstructing the Met’s first inquiry into hacking, it says there was no “real will” on the part of Scotland Yard to tackle the news group’s failure to co-operate.
Thousands of victims
It says the conduct of former Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman, who oversaw the investigation, was unprofessional and inappropriate.
The report questions whether Mr Hayman should ever have been appointed to his role as head of counter-terrorism and says it is “deplorable” that he began working for News International two months after he left the Met.
