Senior NOTW executive suspended over hacking allegations

A senior editor at News of the World has been suspended while investigations into allegations that he was involved in?continue?A senior editor at News of the World has been suspended while investigations phone-hacking in 2005, the newspaper said on Wednesday. People familiar with the situation said Ian Edmondson, head of news at the Sunday tabloid since that year, was suspended after being named in a High Court document as having commissioned a private detective to intercept voicemail messages of the actress Sienna Miller. His suspension once again shines a spotlight on a case that has put pressure on Mr Edmondson’s former editor, and the man who hired him, Andy Coulson, now director of communications for David Cameron. – FT

The suspension of Ian Edmondson by the News of the World raises obvious questions for the paper’s ultimate owner, Rupert Murdoch, for the prime minister and, perhaps most of all, for the Met police. Edmondson was hired, initially as associate news editor, by its then editor Andy Coulson – a man who now sits at David Cameron’s side. A suspension is not an admission of guilt, but if it is proved, either in court or during the course of the paper’s own investigation, that Edmondson obtained stories acquired by phone hacking, it will cast serious doubt on repeated assertions by Coulson – now No 10’s director of communications – that he knew nothing about the extent of the practice while he edited the paper. It is Scotland Yard, however, which may face the most difficult questions. When they first raided the office and home of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire in August 2006, police found transcripts of messages apparently obtained by hacking into mobile phones belonging to dozens of public figures. The court case that resulted from this involved only Mulcaire and the paper’s then royal editor, Clive Goodman. – The Guardian

The news agenda changes fast in tabloid journalism but Hackgate has been a story that refuses to go away. When the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire and the News of the World journalist Clive Goodman were jailed for conspiring to intercept the voicemails of members of the royal household, Wapping quickly closed ranks. The editor Andy Coulson was obliged to fall on his sword – while denying knowledge of illegality – and Goodman was condemned as a rogue operator. Mr Murdoch’s close henchman Les Hinton assured MPs that the affair had been dealt with and when, two years later, Mr Coulson – by now director of communications for David Cameron – appeared before a renewed parliamentary inquiry he seemed confident of being fireproof. “We did not use subterfuge of any kind unless there was a clear public interest in doing so,” he told MPs. When Scotland Yard concluded that, despite more allegations of hacking, there was nothing new to investigate, Wapping and Mr Coulson must again have concluded the affair was over. But after an election campaign in which the Conservatives were roundly supported by Mr Murdoch’s papers, a succession of further claimants against the News of the World has come forward. Sienna Miller, among others, seems determined to take her case to court, compelling Mulcaire to reveal his handlers and naming in court documents Ian Edmondson, once one of Coulson’s executives. Mr Edmondson is now suspended. But the story is unlikely to end there. – Independent

Tory rebels join with Labour over prison votes

The Coalition Government could be forced to water down controversial plans to allow prisoners to vote in elections as Conservative MPs prepare to join forces with Labour to sabotage the proposal. The threat of a Tory rebellion grew as ministers disclosed that 28,770 prisoners would be entitled to vote under their plans – including 5,991 convicted of violence against the person, 1,753 of sexual offences, 2,486 of robbery and 4,188 of burglary. Following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, ministers propose to lift the ban on votes for prisoners for those serving jail sentences of up to four years. Although David Cameron stressed he was doing so reluctantly, the Liberal Democrats have long argued that prisoners should not be denied the right to vote. Labour delayed a decision on implementing the Court’s ruling before last May’s election but is now ready to form an unlikely alliance with Tory MPs in an attempt to force a U-turn. More than 40 Tories are said to oppose the Government’s plan – potentially enough to defeat it with the backing of the Labour Opposition. – Independent (more…)

Lib Dem rating at all time low

Support for the Liberal Democrats has slumped to its lowest level since the party was formed in 1988, according to The Independent’s “poll of polls”. Nick Clegg is now the most unpopular third party leader since David Owen led the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1989. The Liberal Democrats’ 11 per cent rating in the first poll of polls since last May’s election highlights the dramatic slide in their fortunes since they entered the Coalition with the Conservatives. The 57 Liberal Democrat MPs would be reduced to a rump of just 15 at the next election if this level of support were to be repeated then. Labour is now on 40 per cent and the Tories on 38 per cent, giving Labour an overall majority of 14, according to the weighted average of the regular surveys by ComRes, ICM, Ipsos MORI and YouGov. John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, who compiled the figures, said that the costs and benefits of the Coalition had been distributed very unevenly between the two parties in it. “It is clear that the tone and direction of the Coalition Government has upset many people who voted Liberal Democrat in May, and before, while for the most part those who voted Conservative have been reasonably content with what has transpired,” he said. – Independent

Nick Clegg and Theresa May at war over control orders

Nick Clegg has yet to strike a deal with the increasingly determined home secretary, Theresa May, over how to replace control orders or allow suspected terrorists to be detained for more than 14 days without charge in exceptional circumstances.

Faced by growing calls from senior former cabinet members to retain control orders, it appears that the Liberal Democrat leader is willing to seek a compromise, and will recognise that some form of replacement to control orders is necessary – even though in opposition he called for their outright abolition… Clegg is facing a fraught battle to balance the needs of civil liberties and national security, as well as prevent a public falling out between two distinguished Liberal Democrats peers: Lord Carlile, the government reviewer of terrorism until last week, and Lord Macdonald, the man appointed at the insistence of Clegg to monitor the terrorism review. – Guardian

DAVID Cameron is to hold crisis talks with Nick Clegg amid signs the row over control orders is threatening to shatter the fragile coalition. Mr Clegg wants the measures, which force terrorist suspects to observe a curfew and wear a tag, to be scrapped. But he is locked in a bitter row with Home Secretary Theresa May. Mr Cameron has called an urgent meeting ahead of next week’s Cabinet. No?10 hinted he was unwilling to give any ground, saying UK security was above party politics. – The Mirror

Lib Dems crumble in Oldham

The Liberal Democrats will not win the Oldham by-election next week. The Tories might, though. They were around 2000 down in May and I don’t perceive that their support has fallen by a great deal. Remember, this is one of the few parts of the country where a sizeable group of people define themselves as “Liberal”.  From the times I’ve been on the doorstep in Oldham (it’s not often), it is these “Liberals” who most feel the betrayal. They’re turning on Clegg. Many will stay at home. Some will vote Labour. A smaller group will go Tory. A Tory win is the only thing that all three party leaders don’t want. It would be comical if the consequences weren’t so serious. If we lose (and if we don’t turn out our natural supporters on a cold day in January, we will), Ed Miliband will be in the firing line of the anonymous (though we all know who they are) briefers near to the shadow cabinet. Yet defeat causes greater problems for the government. The Lib Dems need this seat to remain credible. If their coalition partners win, it will be a catastrophe for Clegg and, therefore, an irritation for Cameron. – Tom Watson, Labour Uncut

David Cameron and Nick Clegg will use the Oldham East by-election to quash claims the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives are planning a permanent merger. The Deputy Prime Minister will claim the by-election is a two horse race between the Liberal Democrats and Labour when he visits the constituency later today. He will also tell a town hall meeting that his party will run in every seat in 2015, instead of forming any electoral pact with the Conservatives. David Cameron is expected to visit later in the week, perhaps as soon as tomorrow. – PoliticsHome