News Corp.'s Times newspaper in London misled a court and lawyers for a police officer who suspected his e-mail account had been hacked by a reporter, editor James Harding told a media inquiry. "In the last couple of weeks, I've learned a great deal more about what happened in this incident," Harding told the inquiry that was set up in response to the phone-hacking scandal at News Corp.'s now defunct News of the World. "I sorely regret the intrusion." Reporter Patrick Foster hacked into officer Richard Horton's e-mail in May 2009 to expose him as the writer of an unauthorized "Nightjack" blog about police work. Lawyers for Horton, to prevent the story from being published, raised the possibility that the e-mail had been illegally accessed.
News Corp.'s Times newspaper in London misled a court and lawyers for a police officer who suspected his e-mail account had been hacked by a reporter, editor James Harding told a media inquiry.
"In the last couple of weeks, I've learned a great deal more about what happened in this incident," Harding told the inquiry that was set up in response to the phone-hacking scandal at News Corp.'s now defunct News of the World. "I sorely regret the intrusion."
Reporter Patrick Foster hacked into officer Richard Horton's e-mail in May 2009 to expose him as the writer of an unauthorized "Nightjack" blog about police work. Lawyers for Horton, to prevent the story from being published, raised the possibility that the e-mail had been illegally accessed.
The editor of the Times has admitted to the Leveson Inquiry that a reporter at his paper used email hacking to reveal the identity of anonymous police blogger, NightJack, in a 2009 story. James Harding was discussing an incident which former Times reporter Patrick Foster had identified the blogger as Richard Horton by gaining access to anonymous email account run by Horton. Harding, recalled to give further evidence, said he had "learnt a great deal more" about the circumstances surrounding the event since his last appearance at the Inquiry a month ago.
The editor of the Times has admitted to the Leveson Inquiry that a reporter at his paper used email hacking to reveal the identity of anonymous police blogger, NightJack, in a 2009 story.
James Harding was discussing an incident which former Times reporter Patrick Foster had identified the blogger as Richard Horton by gaining access to anonymous email account run by Horton.
Harding, recalled to give further evidence, said he had "learnt a great deal more" about the circumstances surrounding the event since his last appearance at the Inquiry a month ago.
