British minister to address phone-hacking scandal

British police chief quits amid phone-hacking scandal

AP Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson leaves New Scotland Yard in London on Sunday . London's police chief has quit over his links to a former News of the World editor caught up in the phone hacking scandal.

Britain’s senior-most police officer, Sir Paul Stephenson, resigned on late Sunday as a result of allegations over Scotland Yard’s links to the Rupert Murdoch newspaper at the centre of the phone-hacking scandal.

Earlier on Sunday, Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News International, was arrested by police investigating allegations of phone hacking at the now-defunct News of the World, two days after she resigned as chief executive of the British arm of Murdoch’s News International.

In a statement, Mr. Stephenson said: “I have taken this decision as a consequence of the ongoing speculation and accusations relating to the Met’s links with News International at a senior level.” News of the World is alleged to have hacked into the phones of up to 4,000 people, including families of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, a murdered teenager, and victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

The police have been accused of a lack of transparency in investigating the hacking allegations and also for taking money from Murdoch’s newspaper.

The media scandal has spread quickly to the political establishment and police, with senior figures asked to explain why they accepted hospitality and “free” benefits from Murdoch associates.

The Telegraph on Sunday reported that Mr. Stephenson and his wife enjoyed a free stay in January at a luxury spa promoted by the company of Neil Wallis, a former deputy editor at the News of the World.

According to the Murdoch-owned Sunday Times, the commissioner accepted the 12,000-pound stay at the Champneys spa near London to recover from a thigh fracture.

Mr. Wallis, who was arrested last week, also worked as a media consultant for the Metropolitan Police. The placement of former Murdoch employees in police and government jobs is one of the issues critics have seized on.Read more...