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15 April 2011
Last updated at 04:57 ET
A criminal investigation into claims journalists paid police officers for information is being considered by Scotland Yard, it has been confirmed.
Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks (nee Wade) told a Commons committee in 2003 journalists "had paid police for information in the past".
Last week Mrs Brooks denied she had any "knowledge of any specific cases".
It comes ahead of a High Court meeting on Friday relating to News of the World phone hacking allegations.
In a letter to Keith Vaz MP, chairman of the home affairs committee, Assistant Commissioner Cressida **** said police planned "to conduct a scoping exercise to establish whether there are now any grounds for beginning a criminal investigation", following the 2003 comments.
Mrs Brooks was editor of the News of the World from May 2000 until January 2003, leaving the post for the editorship of the Sun newspaper three months before she appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport committee.
She is now UK chief executive of Murdoch-owned News International, publisher of the Sun, News of the World and Sunday Times newspapers.
In a letter to the home affairs select committee last week, Mrs Brooks said her answer in 2003 had been in response "to a specific line of questioning on how newspapers get information".
"My intention was simply to comment generally on the widely-held belief that payments had been made in the past to police officers.
"If, in doing so, I gave the impression that I had knowledge of any specific cases, I can assure you that this was not my intention."
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Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks (nee Wade) told a Commons committee in 2003 journalists "had paid police for information in the past".
Last week Mrs Brooks denied she had any "knowledge of any specific cases".
It comes ahead of a High Court meeting on Friday relating to News of the World phone hacking allegations.
In a letter to Keith Vaz MP, chairman of the home affairs committee, Assistant Commissioner Cressida **** said police planned "to conduct a scoping exercise to establish whether there are now any grounds for beginning a criminal investigation", following the 2003 comments.
Mrs Brooks was editor of the News of the World from May 2000 until January 2003, leaving the post for the editorship of the Sun newspaper three months before she appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport committee.
She is now UK chief executive of Murdoch-owned News International, publisher of the Sun, News of the World and Sunday Times newspapers.
In a letter to the home affairs select committee last week, Mrs Brooks said her answer in 2003 had been in response "to a specific line of questioning on how newspapers get information".
"My intention was simply to comment generally on the widely-held belief that payments had been made in the past to police officers.
"If, in doing so, I gave the impression that I had knowledge of any specific cases, I can assure you that this was not my intention."
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text Feed | Amazon Affiliate