#PhoneHackingScandal
The Fall of a British Tabloid
#PhoneHackingScandal
The Fall of a British Tabloid
The News of the World phone hacking scandal was a major media and political controversy in the United Kingdom that came to light in the early 2000s and peaked in 2011. Journalists and private investigators working for the British tabloid were found to have illegally accessed the voicemails of celebrities, politicians, members of the royal family, and even victims of crime, most notably murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. The revelation that the tabloid had deleted voicemails from Dowler’s phone sparked public outrage and led to the closure of the 168-year-old newspaper in July 2011. The scandal prompted multiple police investigations, high-profile arrests, and the Leveson Inquiry—a public investigation into press ethics and regulation. It exposed deep ethical failures within parts of the British press and raised serious concerns about media power and accountability.
Paisley Demands Probe into NI Newspapers' Phone Hacking Allegations
- Friday, 08 July 2011
Ian Paisley Jnr has asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate if newspapers in Northern Ireland used phone hacking to obtain stories. He suspects that local newsrooms may have been involved in cross-contamination with the News of the World's hacking practices, citing concerns for his own possible involvement as one of the alleged 4,000 victims. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has responded by cautioning against implying unethical behavior and calling for a debate on media ownership and control rather than rushing to introduce new legislation or restrictions.
