Senior News of the World staff 'misled' Parliament over phone-hacking, committee finds

The two senior News of the World figures gave evidence to the culture committee in 2011

Around 5,500 people were ‘likely’ or ‘potential’ victims of News of the World phone hacking, according to police estimates (Getty Images)

News of the World executives deliberately misled Parliament in their investigations following the phone hacking scandal, a committee has found.

The House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee has found that former News of the World editor Colin Myler and former legal affairs manager for the now defunct News International Tom Crone misled the Culture Comittee when giving evidence as witnesses in 2011. Following the conclusion of its inquiry, the Culture Committee referred its report to the Committee on Standards and Privileges, which has the power to censure or order sanctions against people who have been found to be in contempt.

In findings released by the committee, they state they the two men have been found to be in contempt.

They state that Mr Myler did so “by answering questions falsely about [his] knowledge of evidence that other News of the World employees had been involved in phone-hacking and other wrongdoing.”

They state that Mr Crone did so “by answering questions falsely about [his] knowledge of evidence that other News of the World employees had been involved in phone-hacking and other wrongdoing.”

“The Committee therefore finds Mr Myler and Mr Crone to have been in contempt of the House.”

News of the World closed in 2011 after it emerged the newspaper had intercepted voicemails from the phone of missing teenager Milly Dowler. An investigation into phone hacking subsequently took place, which saw former editor Andy Coulson and royal editor Clive Goodman jailed.

The last member of the public to be summoned to the bar of the House of Commons was then Sunday Express editor John Junor in 1957.