Thursday, September 8, 2011

#Hackgate : #NOTW harassed Daniel Morgan murder detective as a favour to suspect Jonathan Rees

NEWS of the World (NotW) staff allegedly harassed a police detective investigating the murder of private eye Daniel Morgan as a favour to one of the suspects.

David Cook, a former Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent, plans to sue the newspaper over claims he was harassed and his private documents were hacked into.

It is claimed NotW carried out surveillance on Mr Cook, who was investigating the murder of Mr Morgan, as a favour to one of the suspects, Jonathan Rees, in 2002.

Mr Rees, aged 57, worked as an investigator for NotW from 1993 to 2000, and was reportedly re-hired by Andy Coulson, the newspaper’s former editor, in 2007.

Mr Morgan was found with an axe in his head in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham Road, Sydenham, on March 10 in 1987.

Mr Rees, a business partner of Mr Morgan’s in a private detective firm, was charged with his murder in 2008 but the case against him collapsed in March this year.

An investigation by the Guardian newspaper claims NotW staff followed Mr Cook and his children and hacked into his and his wife’s voicemails.

NotW staff also tried to steal information from Mr Cook’s computer and ‘blagged’ his personal details from the police database, the Guardian claims.

When this was brought to the Met’s attention, officers informally spoke to then NotW editor Rebekah Brooks but took no formal action, the newspaper says.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/06/news-of-the-world-rebekah-brooks

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/9137287.News_of_the_World__harassed__Daniel_Morgan_murder_detective_as__favour_to_suspect_/