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  1. Media Law
July 6, 2011

The Times: Phone-hacking as bad as MPs’ expenses

By Dominic Ponsford

News of the World sister newspaper The Sun was today the only UK national newspaper not to cover the phone-hacking scandal on its front page.

News International‘s quality daily The Times did, however, and also covered the issue in detail inside – including a leader comment which stated that phone-hacking was now UK journalism’s version of the MPs’ expenses scandal.

It stated: ‘Anyone who has serious faith in the public purpose of journalism has to record his or her dissent from the behaviour that has now been alleged…Over and above the internal inquiry that will be conducted at the News of the World, this matter now requires the most rigorous possible police inquiry, which will be carried out, in David Cameron’s words, ‘without fear or favour’.”

The leader states: “…this is a watershed moment for British journalism. What happened needs to be investigated and, in the public interest and the interests of journalism itself, brought to light.”

The Sun today improved on yesterday’s news-in-brief about phone-hacking to cover the story as a page-six lead.

Its story focused on News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks’ reaction to the Milly Dowler claims and described News of the World detective Glenn Mulcaire as a ‘rogue operator”.

See pictures below, right, for a round-up of today’s phone-hacking front pages.

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