Phone hacking: Police probe suspected deletion of emails by NI executive

[babsbunny]

Phone hacking: Police probe suspected deletion of emails by NI executive

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/08/phone-hacking-emails-news-international

• 'Massive quantities' of archive allegedly deleted
• Emails believed to be between News of the World editors

Nick Davies and Amelia Hill
guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 July 2011 14.18 BST

Police are investigating evidence that a News International executive may have deleted millions of emails from an internal archive in an apparent attempt to obstruct Scotland Yard's inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal.

The archive is believed to have reached back to January 2005, revealing daily contact between News of the World editors, reporters and outsiders, including private investigators. The messages are potentially highly valuable both for the police and for the numerous public figures who are suing News International (NI).

According to legal sources close to the police inquiry, a senior executive is believed to have deleted "massive quantities" of the archive on two separate occasions, leaving only a fraction to be disclosed. One of the alleged deletions is said to have been made at the end of January, just as Scotland Yard was launching Operation Weeting, its new inquiry into the affair. The allegation directly contradicts NI claims that it is co-operating fully with police in order to expose its history of illegal newsgathering.