News Group accused of intimidation campaign as former Cabinet Minister settles hacking claim
Former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne, in settling his claim with News Group Newspapers, has accused the publisher of unlawfully targeting him in a bid to intimidate him into silence over his calls for the publisher to be investigated over the phone hacking scandal.
News Group have paid Mr Huhne a six-figure sum as part of the settlement in his hacking claim.
Mr Huhne was one of the first and most prominent Parliamentarians to call for a police investigation into allegations of widespread hacking at News of the World. He has today issued a statement claiming that it was this scrutiny which led to him being targeted by the publisher which, he says, was directed not by journalists but by News Corp executives.
The intrusions suffered by Mr Huhne, and those close to him, had a profound impact on his personal life and career.
His statement accuses News UK executives of “knowingly orchestrat[ing] unlawful information gathering in the UK that demonstrated… contempt for the democratic process”, and accuses the publisher of “searching for political kompromat, spying on government ministers for commercial gain, and knowingly telling repeated lies”.
Describing why he believes he was targeted, Mr Huhne adds,
“… News Corporation directors and managers targeted me to get rid of a political opponent. As the Liberal Democrats’ shadow Home Secretary in 2009, I was the only parliamentary front bencher to call for a renewed police investigation that led to Andy Coulson and others being convicted, and also for the judicial inquiry into newspaper practices that became the Leveson inquiry.
“From that point, News Corp was out to get me… it was an abuse of a media multinational’s power for nothing more than corporate greed.”
Hacked Off CEO Nathan Sparkes said,
“Dozens of politicians were unlawfully targeted by the press, and yet rarely – if ever – was there any public interest justification.
“Instead of holding power to account, News UK and other publishers involved in illegal activities were trying to manipulate politicians to their advantage and sell more newspapers.
“Until we have the detailed public inquiry into how the phone hacking scandal happened, which Mr Huhne called for ten years ago (often described as “Leveson Part Two”), the organisations and individuals behind these attacks on our democracy will escape accountability.”
