Yet another Major news story busting out from the News Of The World stable today. The UK Independent is reporting that The paper Hired a Private Investigation company to spy on the Commissioner of the Metropolitan police.
Exclusive: News of the World hired detective firm linked with murder to spy on Met Chief - Comment - Voices - The Independent
The News of the World hired private detectives to spy on a former Metropolitan police commissioner, Independent Voices can reveal.
Lord Stevens, who led Scotland Yard between 2000 and 2005, was placed under surveillance by Southern Investigations, a firm of private investigators linked to one of London’s most notorious unsolved murders.
Its co-founder Jonathan Rees claims the defunct Sunday tabloid hired his company to watch Britain’s most powerful policeman in 1999. He said Southern Investigations received a tip that the then-deputy commissioner was using taxpayer funds to fly a Metropolitan police plane up to Northumbria to see a mistress. There is absolutely no suggestion the tip off had any foundation
Further to this a range of politicians/ Civil servants are alleged to have been victims of Hacking and Burglary , not only to make money, but also to Blackmail politicians into following policies desired by Murdoch papers . Someone has posted an audio recording of a phone call between one of the #Leveson witnesses and a former Metropolitan police mole inside the private investigators
http://www.youtube.com/...
In further allegations from another paper
The tabloid, its hired spies and why the Met chief was put under surveillance - London - News - Evening Standard
When asked about these allegations Marunchak stated that he had never commissioned SI to obtain any confidential information relating to celebrities, politicians, the royal family, police investigations or any third party or to commit any illegal acts. Working under the alias “Joe Poulton”, Haslam alleges he also told his handlers at the Met that SI tried to obtain the new identities of people inside Scotland Yard’s witness protection programme.
In one of his confidential reports to the Yard in 2006, seen by the Standard, Haslam warned the Met that Rees was paying visits to Epsom police station “in an attempt to ingratiate himself with serving officers ... to the detriment of the service”. He said Rees described the trips as a “loss leader”.
Perhaps the most shocking allegation from Haslam was that SI burgled MPs’ homes and photocopied documents in a bid to obtain embarrassing titbits they could sell to the NoW.
If this is big over the next couple of days. it's potentially a killer. Blackmailing of government ministers could be the sort of thing that blows your Foreign Corrupt practices Act into high gear.
For those who don't know, Marunchack is a continuous thread throughout this story, His name pops up in The Daniel Morgan death story, coincidentally having an office in the same building as Southern Investigations. He is alleged to have been called With Rebekah Brooks by the police to be asked questions about hiring the same firm of Private investigators to monitor the senior police officer in charge of the investigation into Daniel Morgans death. On top of this, he was an interpreter for the police, and Was Irish editor of the News of The World, Mentioned in Ian Hursts evidence to Lord Leveson
Haslam is a new character, a former Police mole inside Southern Investigations
4:21 PM PT: UPDATE:
And further details tonight.
Exclusive: News of the World 'ordered burglary' - Crime - UK - The Independent
Detectives have evidence which suggests that a notorious private detective agency carried out a burglary while working for the News of the World.
In the latest twist to the phone-hacking scandal, a police intelligence report indicates that Southern Investigations, based in south London, targeted the home of a newsworthy individual in an attempt to dig up salacious information.
The Independent has established that the material – the first suggested link between the News of the World and burglary – is being held by Operation Tuleta, the police inquiry into illegal newsgathering techniques other than phone hacking and corruption. It refers to a "sortie" carried out into a woman's home in Ascot, Berkshire, and mentions the name of Alex Marunchak – a long-serving executive on the News of the World.