Clegg faces Commons on phone-hacking allegations
Updated on 08 September 2010
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has told the House of Commons it is up to the "police and the police alone" to decide how to proceed over the News of the World phone-hacking row.
Mr Clegg, standing in for David Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions, was asked whether he was "entirely satisfied" that former News of the World editor Andy Coulson - now No 10 communications chief - was unaware of the illegal activity while he was at the helm of the paper.
Shadow justice secretary Jack Straw said: "Are you entirely satisfied that, whilst Mr Coulson was editor of the News of the World, at no time was Mr Coulson aware of any use of unlawful hacking of telephones?"
Mr Clegg responded: "This is a very serious offence indeed and an outrageous invasion of privacy and it is right that two individuals were convicted and imprisoned.
"As for Mr Coulson, he made it very clear that he took responsibility for something of which he had no knowledge at the News of the World and he refutes all the allegations that have been made to the contrary.
"That statement speaks for itself. It is now for the police and the police alone to decide whether new evidence has come to light which needs to be investigated."
The Home Affairs Select Committee yesterday launched a fresh probe into the allegations that prominent public figures had their phones hacked by News of the World journalists.
The inquiry has been launched in response to new evidence from Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates, whose evidence raised questions about the law. Mr Yates said he "expected" to discuss the renewed phone hacking claims with Mr Coulson.
Mr Yates said detectives are also likely to question former reporter Sean Hoare, who told the New York Times last week that eavesdropping on mobile phone voicemail messages was widespread when Mr Coulson was editor and sparked the new interest in the allegations.
An emergency Commons debate has since been called, to be held on Thursday, to examine the newspaper phone hacking.
Labour minister Chris Bryant - who believes his phone was hacked - requested the debate and it was granted by Speaker John Bercow just after PMQs ended.
Gordon Brown 'commiserated' with Andy Coulson
At PMQs today, Mr Clegg revealed that former prime minister, Gordon Brown, had called Mr Coulson after he resigned when the phone-hacking allegations were first investigated in 2005 and 2006.
Mr Clegg said: "While I, in a slightly rushed manner, was preparing for today, suspecting this issue might come up, I read in one of the briefing notes I received that, when Andy Coulson resigned from the News of the World, the first person to call to commiserate was Gordon Brown.
"He told him not to worry, that he had done the honourable thing and that he knew he would go on to do a worthwhile job."
Mr Straw renewed the attack, highlighting Liberal Democrat cabinet minister Chris Huhne's statement in May that Mr Coulson was "either complicit in criminal activity or the most incompetent editor in Fleet Street".
"Which is it?" asked Mr Straw.
Mr Clegg said he was in "complete agreement" with Mr Huhne that "if new evidence has come to light ... the police will now actively look to see whether that evidence is worthy of further investigation".
Mr Clegg stood in for David Cameron at PMQs, after Mr Cameron flew to France to see his father, who has fallen seriously ill while on holiday.
