Heather Mills and Max Clifford give Leveson evidence

The former model and charity campaigner Heather Mills told Lord Leveson she did not allow tabloid journalists to listen to a message left on her voicemail by her then boyfriend, Sir Paul McCartney.

In a 2006 book, former Daily Mirror and News of the World editor Piers Morgan claimed to have heard the voicemail, which led to accusations that it had been accessed by hacking, something Mr Morgan denies.

Ms Mills said she did not give permission to a senior Mirror Group reporter to listen to the message on which McCartney had “sung a little ditty” following a row over Mills’ charity work.

Asked if she had ever given permission to anyone to listen to her voicemails, she replied “Never, never”.

PR Guru Max Clifford also took the stand telling the inquiry he was warning clients about what they said on the telephone as far back as Muhammad Ali and Marlon Brando, “long before phone hacking”.

He said the hacking scandal involved a minority of journalists, some of whom were “forced” into it. Mr Clifford said he not only helped celebrities – some of whom pay him £200,000-250,000 a year – but people who found themselves in the midst of stories, including Robert Murat a former suspect in the Madeleine McCann case.

On the subject of how the media should be policed, Clifford said: “You have got to have a strong Press Complaints Commission (PCC), an independent PCC which is not financed by Fleet Street, which is prepared to be proactive, not just for stars and the so-called celebrities.

“They get plenty of protection, more protection than many of them deserve because they can afford to employ rich lawyers and expensive PR people like me to protect them.

“Ordinary members of the public have got no way at all and no protection.” He also told the inquiry that the story he provided to Piers Morgan about Cherie Blair’s pregnancy was not obtained from phone hacking.

Paul Dacre recall

The reappearance of the editor of the Daily Mail, Paul Dacre to explain a story published by the paper about Hugh Grant sparked bad-tempered exchanges between Grant’s counsel and the Fleet Street chief.

The editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers refused to withdraw an allegation that Hugh Grant made “mendacious smears”, unless the actor withdrew his own suggestions that the group had been involved in phone hacking.

Dacre was asked to answer questions about Mr Grant’s claims that a story about his relationship with socialite Jemima Khan was likely to have come from illicit eavesdropping.

Mr Dacre repeatedly insisted that phone hacking had not taken place at Associated Newspapers, saying the group had already admitted the story was wrong and had paid modest damages to the actor.

Bullying culture

Earlier in the day, Ian Edmondson, news editor at the now-defunct Sunday tabloid, said there was a culture of bullying at the paper which “emanated from the editor” Colin Myler.

Mr Edmondson told the inquiry he had been told deliberately to mislead the McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell about the newspaper’s plans to publish extracts from Kate McCann’s diary.

He had attended a meeting with Mr Myler and Mr Crone, the News of the World’s former legal manager, where they discussed the story. “Tom gave his legal view, which I am told I am not allowed to repeat but which dismayed, shall I say, Mr Myler,” Mr Edmondson said.

“So he decided to ask me to make a call to Mr Mitchell, not make it clear what we had, telling him in general terms, basically make it woolly. I think someone previously used the word ambiguous. That is absolutely spot on what he wanted.

“He was frightened that if Clarence knew what we had, he might take action.”

‘Violated’ by publication

Colin Myler has said he would never have published the diary – which was obtained from a female Portuguese journalist – if he had realised Kate McCann was not aware of what the paper was planning to do. In November Ms McCann told the inquiry she had felt “violated” by the publication of diary extracts.

Tom Crone, has told the inquiry he understood a representative of the McCanns gave the News of the World permission to publish the diary.

Ian Edmondson, who was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept voicemail messages last year and is on bail, is bringing an unfair dismissal claim against News International.