Phone-hack inquiry policeman to be questioned by MPs

The Commons Home Affairs Select Committee will summon Deputy Assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons to give evidence in a private meeting on Friday.

The Yard’s attempt to identify potential police leaks was widely condemned, with the newspaper’s editor Alan Rusbridger describing it as “vindictive”.

The Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday it had “decided not to pursue” production orders against the broadsheet and one of its reporters after taking legal advice.

Scotland Yard said the application for production orders was made under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act rather than the Official Secrets Act.

A spokesman said: “The Official Secrets Act was only mentioned in the application in relation to possible offences in connection with the officer from Operation Weeting.”

But Mr Rusbridger said: “Threatening reporters with the Official Secrets Act was a sinister new device to get round the protection of journalists’ confidential sources.”

Mr Simmons defended the investigation into the leaks yesterday. “We’ve acknowledged and I’ve acknowledged the role the Guardian has played in the history of what brought us to where we are now, both in terms of its focus on phone hacking itself and indeed its focus on the Met’s response to that.

“But in all the glare that has been thrown on to our relationships with the media, we have had to ask ourselves the question about how do we do more to ensure that public confidence in our officers treating information given to them in confidence appropriately is maintained.

“That’s why we undertake robust investigation into incidents of leakages.”

An officer working on Operation Weeting, the force’s investigation into phone hacking, was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office relating to the unauthorised disclosure of information. He has been suspended from duty and is on bail.

Guardian reporter Amelia Hill was interviewed by Scotland Yard over alleged leaks from Operation Weeting.