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Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson quizzed over hacking Phone hacking: Sir Paul Stephenson defends NoW lunches
(about 7 hours later)
Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson is expected to appear before the Met's governing body over phone hacking. The Metropolitan Police commissioner has defended having dinner with a News of the World executive during the force's first phone-hacking inquiry.
Sir Paul will give a progress report on the force's investigation into phone hacking to an emergency session of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA). Sir Paul Stephenson met the paper's executive editor Neil Wallis on 1 September 2006.
The Met has contacted 170 of the 4,000 potential victims targeted by the News of the World (NoW), officers told MPs. Sir Paul told the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) he had "no involvement" with the force's inquiry at the time.
Earlier Sir Paul said officers found to have received payments from News International will face prosecution. MPA member Caroline Pidgeon said it was "extraordinary" Sir Paul was "wined and dined" when he had 69 press officers.
Documents from the company allegedly showed officers were paid tens of thousands of pounds. These claims are being investigated. She said any of them could have met with Mr Wallis, who was arrested on Thursday as part of the new police investigation into the alleged wrongdoing at the newspaper.
The Met originally began an inquiry in 2005 after the NoW published stories about Prince William's health. 'Satisfied with integrity'
'Unpleasant interference' Appearing before an emergency MPA session, Sir Paul was asked about 24 meetings - three-quarters of which were lunches or meals - he had had with representatives from the News of the World.
On Tuesday, four senior Met officers - Assistant Commissioner John Yates, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, Peter Clarke, former Met deputy assistant commissioner, and Andy Hayman, former assistant commissioner - were questioned by MPs on the select committee. Sir Paul said it was important to have "appropriate relationships" with the media in order to promote the work of the Met.
London mayor Boris Johnson was also forced to defend his decision of not pursuing the case against the tabloid in 2006 after he was informed by the Met that his phone was hacked. But he insisted: "I do not believe on any occasion I have acted inappropriately.
He told City Hall he had "no particular desire to get involved in a court case that revolved around some extremely unpleasant interference in my private life". "I am very satisfied with my own integrity but I do accept, in matters such as this we need to acknowledge... that perceptions can be different from the reality."
The tabloid carried allegations about the mayor's private life in 2004 and in 2006 as the publication was being investigated for phone hacking. Ms Pidgeon said it had taken "months and months" of Freedom of Information requests to discover the number of meetings between officers and reporters.
The Met oversaw a review of the original investigation in 2009 after allegations appeared in the Guardian that NoW reporters had paid private investigators to hack into thousands of phones, many owned by politicians and celebrities. "It seems to me extraordinary and questionable whether it's appropriate for senior officers to have these dinners."
She added: "You have to be whiter than white, and it does not look good that you've had dinners or lunches with News International when an investigation's under way."
The Met originally began an inquiry into phone hacking in 2005 after the News of the World published stories about Prince William's health.
Two people - the newspaper's royal correspondent Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire - were jailed as a result of the inquiry.
The force oversaw a review in 2009 following allegations that reporters paid private investigators to hack into thousands of phones.
It decided not to press any charges - but a fresh probe has now begun after claims that hacking was widespread.