Commons contempt claim
WIDNES-BORN former News Of The World editor Colin Myler has been found in contempt of Parliament over evidence he gave on phone-hacking.
The former tabloid editor and the defunct paper’s legal manager Tom Crone were ‘formally admonished’ by the House of Commons Committee of Privileges over claims they made to a committee of MPs that hacking at the Sunday tabloid was confined to a single ‘rogue reporter’.
He later issued a statement saying he did not accept the findings.
Its report found that Mr Myler misled the committee by denying that he was aware of hacking and other wrong-doing by employees of the best-selling paper other than royal correspondent Clive Goodman, who was jailed in 2007 for conspiring to eavesdrop on private voicemail messages.
Mr Myler said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ at the Privileges Committee’s conclusion, which he said was ‘plainly contradicted’ by evidence in its own report.
He said: “I have made clear throughout the respect I hold for the Parliamentary process. I maintain that I did not mislead the Culture, Media And Sport Committee. Had the appropriate standard of proof been properly applied, the Privileges Committee could not have reached a finding of contempt against me, given that the report identifies evidence which plainly contradicts their conclusions.
“It is profoundly disappointing that the Privileges Committee has chosen to act in a manner which serves to discredit parliamentary procedures rather than enhance the very authority and respect which they profess to command.
“For decades, Parliament has failed to follow clear, detailed and carefully considered advice that fundamental change is needed to bring acceptability to the antiquated contempt procedures upon which Parliament still relies.”
Similar allegations about Rupert Murdoch’s right-hand man and one-time News International (NI) executive chairman Les Hinton, were not upheld. The committee found NI did not commit contempt as a company.
Mr Myler started his career on the Catholic Pictorial in Southport. He was editor of the News Of The World when it closed in 2011 and later that year gave evidence to the Parliamentary Select Committee along with Mr Crone.