NoW sued over Milly Dowler’s ‘hacked voicemail’

THE parents of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler are suing the News of the World over claims a private detective working for the newspaper hacked into their daughter’s voicemail after she went missing.

Scotland Yard officers contacted Sally and Bob Dowler about the allegations in April, a month before Levi Bellfield went on trial for her murder, solicitor Mark Lewis said.

Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire is alleged to have illegally accessed Milly’s phone messages after she was abducted by Bellfield as she walked home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in March 2002.

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And there were claims reporters may have deleted some voicemail messages on the teenager’s phone in the first days after she vanished, leading her relatives and friends to think she could still be alive.

Mr Lewis, from London-based Taylor Hampton Solicitors, said: “Sally and Bob Dowler have been through so much grief and trauma without further distressing revelations to them regarding the loss of their daughter.

“It is distress heaped upon tragedy to learn that the News of the World had no humanity at such a terrible time. The fact that they were prepared to act in such a heinous way that could have jeopardised the police investigation and give them false hope is despicable.”

Mr and Mrs Dowler, who were told their phones were also targeted, are now pursuing a claim for damages against the News of the World, Mr Lewis said.

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“There is an article in the News of the World that suggests the News of the World were quite proud of what they were doing, but they were making a point about someone else leaving a message.

“If someone goes back to that and says, ‘how did they know that?’, well, then you know that they were looking at or listening in to the voicemails.”

Scotland Yard, which is continuing an investigation into fresh allegations of phone hacking at the newspaper, declined to comment but the paper’s parent company News International last night said it would be conducting its own inquiry into the claims.

Mulcaire and former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman were given jail terms in January 2007 after the Old Bailey heard they plotted to hack into royal aides’ telephone messages.

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But there was strong criticism of the police inquiry and Scotland Yard launched a new investigation in January following “significant new information” from News International. Since the launch of Operation Weeting, five people have been arrested, including three News of the World journalists.

Bellfield, 43, was given a second whole life jail term last month for 13-year-old Milly’s murder. Following his conviction, her parents said they felt as though they themselves were “put on trial” by his defence, which saw them face intrusive questioning about their family life in the witness box.

Speaking in Parliament, Labour MP Tom Watson condemned the alleged hacking of the murdered teenager’s phone as a “despicable and evil act”.

It also emerged that police have contacted Colin Stagg, the man cleared of murdering Rachel Nickell, and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson to tell them they may have been victims of News of the World phone hacking.

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Detectives have told Mr Stagg his phone was hacked in 2000, six years after a judge at the Old Bailey threw out the case against him, his solicitor Alex Tribick said.

Mr Tribick added: “From my understanding, this is linked with the year 2000, which I believe is the earliest date of anybody so far.”

Mr Stagg and his lawyer have yet to meet officers from Operation Weeting but they are planning to make a civil claim for compensation.

Sir Richard wrote on Twitter: “Police inform me News of the World journalists targeted my phones. I should have been more entertaining!”