Bugger Bugged

Hugh Grant Tapes Hacker Convo

Whistleblower alleges scandal goes up to PM.

Talk about turning the tables. Actor Hugh Grant, a victim of News of the World’s phone-hacking scandal, secretly taped a conversation with Paul McMullan, one of the whistleblowers—and a former phone hacker himself. In the taped dialogue, McMullan reveals that newspapers had taken part in phone hacking, and that former editor Rebekah Brooks—who has denied any part in the whole affair—had knowledge of what happened. But perhaps even bigger, McMullan says Prime Minister David Cameron “must have known… he had to jump into bed with Murdoch like everybody had, starting with Thatcher in the ‘70s, Tony Blair… so that was my submission to parliament—that Cameron’s either a liar or an idiot.” McMullan also said he sold the whole story of the phone hacking to The Guardian in the first place because that paper offered to put the name of the pub he owned on the front page.