HACKING

U.K. Cops Undermined Commissioner

Leaked information about cases.

In a new development in the hacking scandal, it appears that a senior British police official worked to undermine Sir Ian Blair, the commissioner several years ago. The Independent obtained a report, written in 2006, that was part of the police’s internal inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World. The report says a member of Scotland Yard’s management board was briefing against the commissioner’s performance and leaking information about cases. Blair demanded to know why he was never told of the report and has submitted it to Scotland Yard’s investigation into the hacking scandal. One of the key figures on the board was Dick Fedorcio, the former communications chief who resigned over his decision to hire a former News of the World executive to do PR for the police force.