Phone-hacking whistleblower found dead, death not considered suspicious
Posted Jul 18, 2011 04:00:53 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LONDON, U.K. – A London reporter who blew the whistle in the News of the World phone hacking scandal was found dead, Monday, in his home in suburban London.
Sean Hoare was the first reporter to speak out about the scandal in September 2010, informing the New York Times that his editor often encouraged them to hack into the phone of celebrities and other newsmakers as a news gathering tool to break stories.
His death is not considered suspicious, and it is believed he took his own life.
CNN’s Matthew Chance said Hoare, a former showbiz correspondent for the News of the World, “was a close friend of Andy Coulson, the former press secretary of the British Prime Minister, the former editor of the News of the World.”
ABC’s Linda Albin reports that the British Prime Minister is cutting his trip to Africa shot in order to deal with the fallout.
“The top two law enforcement officers here in the U.K. have resigned, multiple investigations into the phone hacking scandal have been initiated, and more questions have arisen about David Cameron’s judgement, given his many meetings with senior figures at News International.”
Earlier Monday, Scotland Yard’s assistant commissioner stepped down.
“He was the man in charge of the original investigation into phone hacking, and made the much-criticized decision not to reopen the investigation in 2009,” Albin said. “Perhaps more significantly, he vetted Neil Wallace, a former deputy-editor of the News of the World, recruited by the police as a media advisor and arrested last week over hacking allegations.”
This followed the resignation of London’s police chief on Sunday.
The news of Hoare’s death comes one day before parliamentary committee hearings into the scandal. Televised broadcasts of the hearings are expected to attract millions and have been labelled “the hottest ticket in town.”
The tabloid’s former Chief Executive, Rebekah Brooks, will be in attendance, along with owner Rupert Murdoch and his son James.
Brooks was arrested on Sunday, questioned for nine hours and then released on bail.
