Ex-Met chiefs to appear at Leveson Inquiry

Published on 25/02/2012 01:13

TWO top Scotland Yard officers who resigned over the phone-hacking scandal will give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards next week.

Former commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and assistant commissioner John Yates quit the Metropolitan Police last July after coming under criticism for their links to News of the World (NotW) executives.

The inquiry will begin its second module, looking at relations between police and the press, on Monday with evidence from former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott and ex-Scotland Yard deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick.

Earlier this month, Lord Prescott and Mr Paddick, who is the Liberal Democrat candidate in this year’s London mayoral election, settled a claim against the Met for failing to warn phone-hacking victims at the time of its original investigation into the NotW in 2006.

Deputy assistant commissioner Sue Akers, who is leading Scotland Yard’s new inquiries into phone hacking, e-mail hacking and corrupt payments to public officials, will appear before the inquiry for a second time on Monday.

On Tuesday, testimony will come from, among others, Guardian journalist Nick Davies, who broke the story about the scale of phone hacking.