Scotland Yard admits phone hacking failings in Jude Law’s ex-PA, Brian Paddick and John Prescott cases

Tuesday, February 7, 2012
3:07 PM

The Metropolitan Police Service today accepted at the High Court that failure in 2006 and 2007 to warn victims and potential victims of phone hacking was unlawful.

News of the acceptance that it had “breached a legal obligation” came as two judges in London heard that a number of claimants - including former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott - had settled judicial review proceedings brought against the Met over “failures to warn victims”.

A statement released jointly by Scotland Yard and five claimants, stated that police “failed to take prompt, reasonable and proportionate steps to ensure that those identified as potential victims of voicemail interceptions were made aware of:

The interference with their right to respect for private life that may have occurred;

The possibility of continuing threats, where such threats had been identified;

The steps they might take to protect their privacy; and

Following the conclusion of the criminal proceedings against Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman, the identity of those whom the police believed to be primarily responsible for the interception.

Lord Justice Gross and Mr Justice Irwin were told that the two sides had reached agreement by Hugh Tomlinson QC, representing Lord Prescott, ex Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick, actor Jude Law’s personal assistant Ben Jackson, MP Chris Bryant and an anonymous individual known as HJK.

Mr Tomlinson said the claimants and the Met had agreed a “declaration” - in which the Met admits it breached its duties under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lord Prescott was in court for the proceedings.

MP Chris Bryant said: “I am delighted that the Metropolitan Police are finally admitting that they should have notified not just me but all the thousands of victims of the News of the World’s criminality.”

He said: “It’s a sadness that it has taken all this time to get the Met to admit that they should have notified all the victims - and that we had to go to court to secure that admission.”