Tapped

Parliament to Debate Phone Hacking

Emergency discussion of privacy invasion by reporters.

The British Parliament will hold an emergency debate over reporters’ hacking on famous people’s phones. Former News of the World staffers say that Andy Coulson, now communications director for Prime Minister David Cameron, presided over a culture that condoned such invasions of privacy of many people, including some members of Parliament. The New York Times published an interview with former tabloid reporter Sean Hoare, who said Coulson was aware of the hacking, leading police to further investigate. Coulson denied knowledge of the hacking, but another staffer, former deputy features editor Paul McMullan, is now questioning Coulson’s statement.