Public Confidence in the Media and Police

James Clappison Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The point I would make is that that information, if it is germane to the police inquiry, needs to be given to the police and indeed to the Leveson inquiry. What we need to happen now is for the police—and then after the police, this inquiry—to go absolutely in pursuit of the truth, and if people have been paying police officers, those police officers need to be prosecuted and the people who did the paying need to be prosecuted. It is as simple as that.

[Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere) (Con)]

After hearing the evidence that was given to the Home Affairs Committee, may I warmly welcome what my right hon. Friend has said today about the attention that will be given to the victims of phone hacking, which includes a wide variety of people, including many members of the public who have suffered tragedies in their lives? Is my right hon. Friend aware that, in the evidence to the Home Affairs Committee, it emerges that it will take a considerable time at the present rate of progress for all those victims to be properly informed? Will he do whatever he can to ensure that they are informed as quickly as possible, and that their cases are now properly investigated?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a good point and I do understand, when there are many thousands of people whose phones were hacked, and given the current rate of progress in contacting them and looking into this, that it could take too long a time to get this done. I know there will be conversations with the police and the Metropolitan Police Authority to make sure that adequate resources are put into this investigation, which is already a far bigger investigation than the first, failed investigation, to make sure that they get to the bottom of this.