LONDON – At least 28 journalists might be linked to the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed News Corp. and rocked Britain's media and political circles, a lawyer said in opening remarks in a judicial inquiry that began Monday.
Robert Jay, the main counsel for the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics, said that there was a "thriving cottage industry" of phone hacking at News International, the British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
British Prime Minister David Cameron ordered the inquiry in July as the scandal swept through the upper echelons of Britain's media, police and political establishments, and led to the dramatic closure of the Murdoch-owned tabloid News of the World.
Led by Brian Leveson, a respected senior Appeals Court judge, the inquiry's wide-ranging remit is to investigate the culture, practices and ethics of the press.
During his opening remarks, Jay said the names of more than two dozen News International employees were found in the 11,000 pages of notes seized from Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator paid by News of the World. Included among the names was "Clive," presumably referring to Clive Goodman, the tabloid's former royal editor who was jailed alongside Mulcaire in 2007.
The names "The Sun" and another that might relate to the "Daily Mirror" also were in Mulcaire's notebooks, Jay said, suggesting the private investigator might have worked for other publications. He also said police believe hacking at News of the World might have started as early as May 2001 and continued until 2009 — two years after Goodman and Mulcaire were briefly jailed.
Leveson said the heart of the inquiry will revolve around "one simple question: Who guards the guardians?"
Fleet Street is bracing for a rocky road as the inquiry is set to hear testimony from journalists, police, politicians and victims of phone hacking, among others, which will inevitably air the industry's dirty laundry.
Recommendations by Leveson are expected by September 2012, and could result in dramatic changes in the way the newspaper industry is regulated. Some critics have called for journalists to be licensed.
Although a roster of witnesses has not been released, 53 alleged phone-hacking victims will be legally represented at the inquiry and can seek to cross-examine witnesses and make statements. They include the family of Milly Dowler, a 13-year-old murder victim; "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling; and actors Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller. The first alleged hacking victim will be called next Monday.
Leveson issued a stern warning to newspapers that the inquiry would monitor media coverage for instances of witnesses being victimized by the press, warning that any such bullying or unfair treatment could "be relevant to my ultimate recommendations."
Leveson stressed that freedom of the press was "fundamental" to a healthy democracy, but said that freedom "must be exercised with the rights of others in mind."
Seeking to get in front of any tighter restrictions on the media that might result from the inquiry, many editors have already spoken out about ways to change the industry.
In a rare public appearance last month, the Daily Mail's top editor, Paul Dacre, argued for a beefed-up self-regulatory body, and called for an industry ombudsman with power to investigate and impose fines — an idea that has gained some traction among other editors. He also announced the Daily Mail would start a corrections column.
The inquiry held a series of seminars in September and October to set up the context for the hearings. Not all of it was comfortable listening. Richard Peppiatt, a former freelance journalist at the Daily Star, a downmarket tabloid, submitted a gripping account of his newsroom escapades, saying: "I can probably count on fingers and toes the amount of times I genuinely felt I was telling the truth."
The inquiry will also investigate illicit tactics used by British media organizations, but only after the current police investigation is finished, which could take years.
Leveson is being assisted by six panel members appointed by the prime minister: David Bell, the former chairman of the Financial Times; Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, a civil liberties campaign group; David Currie, former director of Ofcom, the broadcast regulator; Elinor Goodman, former political editor of Channel 4 News; George Jones, former political editor at the Daily Telegraph; and Paul Scott-Lee, former chief constable at West Midlands police.
The panel has been criticized for not including representation of the tabloid press.
The sessions are being streamed live online at www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/hearings.