A new possible indication of the unhealthily cosy relationship between The Met and the News of the World emerged yesterday when John Yates appeared before the home affairs select committee and re-iterated the bizarre claim that cases of hacking into voicemails could only be prosecuted if the victim hadn’t played back the message and listened to it themselves.

Simon McKay, author of Covert Policing Law & Practice is quoted in the Guardian: “That is nonsense, and a recurring problem with this police position in this case. The police are getting confused about a number of things relating to the evidential status of a voicemail.”

Government guidelines on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (Ripa), which deals with the interception of phone communications make clear the illegality of hacking into all voicemails.

“I don’t know where the police are getting this interpretation from,” a senior lawyer close to the case told the Guardian. “It’s well known that Ripa is not the clearest piece of legislation, but these guidelines seem pretty clear.”

It is likely that it was the News of the World who persuaded the police it was legal to hack voicemails which had already been listened to by their intended recipient, because this was precisely the argument used by Screws management to persuade private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire to start his hacking.  ”It’s like somone opening a letter they’ve been sent, reading it then discarding it in the street where anyone could pick it up,” was how they justified it, with quaint, twisted logic. They also promised Mulcaire that if he didn’t do as he was told,  he wouldn’t see his contract renewed – a threat which was further applied to make him subsequently hack into unlistened to voicemails.

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