Finding it hard to keep up with the torrent of allegations being fired at News International?

Closing down News of the World may have been James Murdoch’s second attempt at putting this problem “in a box”, but the allegations of phone hacking and criminal activity are now bleeding beyond the besmirched masthead, as British parliament calls for Rupert and James Murdoch and News International CEO Rebekah Brooks to front up to answer questions.

As News International continues to try to staunch the blood, now upgraded to a full blown haemorrhage, here’s a guide to the allegations thus far — where they’ve come from, and the subsequent response …

  • Allegation: The Guardian reported that former PM Gordon Brown’s child’s medical records were accessed, resulting in The Sun revelation that four-month-old Fraser Brown had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Response: In a statement on the News Corporation website the company contends that The Sun received the news from a member of public who has signed a written affidavit confirming this information. An article published in today’s Sun calls Brown’s allegations “false and a smear” and includes an interview with the alleged source of the information.
  • Allegation: Gordon Brown says the investigators hired by The Sunday Times accessed his financial records and details by pretending to work for Brown were “known criminals”. Response: The Sunday Times replied: “We pursued this story in the public interest. We were told Mr Brown had bought a flat cheaper than any normal valuation and that he obtained it through a company in which Geoffrey Robinson, a close ally, had been a director. We had reasonable grounds to investigate this matter and followed the PCC Code on using subterfuge. We believe that no law was broken in the process of this investigation.”
  • Allegation: Rupert Murdoch, son James and former NotW editor and now News International CEO Rebekah Brooks have been called on to front the parliamentary committee investigating the dubious news gathering practises. Response: A News spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of the request from the CMS committee to interview senior executives and will cooperate. We await the formal invitation.”
  • Allegation: Members of the Home Affairs Committee, among others, have charged that the police investigations into the NotW hacking scandal — both the original 2005-2007 investigation and another in 2009 — were deeply flawed. Response: At a Home Affairs committee investigating the police’s action, Andy Hayman, who oversaw the original investigation, confirmed he had private dinners with NotW journalists because to “have turned it down would have been potentially more suspicious than to have it”. This was met with laughter from the committee. It was also revealed by the committee that John Yates, head of the police’s counter terrorism force, spent just one day formally reviewing the previously investigation before concluding in 2009 that there was nothing else to investigate.
  • Allegation: The Guardian reveals that the phone of missing 13-year-old Milly Dowler — later found murdered — was hacked and her phone messages deleted to allow further messages to be left when the inbox become full. Deleting the messages meant that family believed Milly was still alive and affected police investigations. Response: Police announced they would remain every case of high-profile missed, murdered or attacked children since 2001. When The Guardian broke the news, News International responded: “This particular case is clearly a development of great concern and we will be conducting our own inquiry as a result. We will obviously co-operate fully with any police request on this should we be asked.” Brooks sent an email to staff — before the paper was closed — declaring herself innocent: “I hope that you all realise it is inconceivable that I knew or worse, sanctioned these appalling allegations.”
  • Allegation: The Guardian reveals that News International gave Metropolitan police information that showed senior police had been paid bribes by NotW between 2003-2007. Response: News International replied: “As a result of media enquiries, it is correct to state that new information has recently been provided to the police. As News International and News Group Newspapers has reiterated many times, full and continuing co-operation has been provided to the police since the current investigation started in January 2011. Well understood arrangements are in place to ensure that any material of importance to which they are entitled is provided to them. We cannot comment any further due to the ongoing investigations.” News insisted the payments came from the time of when Andy Coulson was editor, not 2000-03 when Brooks was editor.
  • Allegation: The New York Times reveals that NotW were paying police to track mobile phones to establish the exact whereabouts of their phone hacking victims, a process known as “pinging”. Pinging usually requires case-by-case approval and is usually set aside for high profile terrorism cases. Apparently it cost NotW around 300 pounds per pinging incident, and police may have been misleading superiors into believing the pinging was required for criminal investigations. Response: A Scotland Yard official admits that if pinging was being approved by police, that it “would be a massive breach”.
  • Allegation: The Guardian reveals that families of UK soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan may have had their phones targeted by private investigator Glenn Mulcaire when he worked for NotW. It’s claimed that another soldier killed in Afghanistan had his email account hacked, which would be the first incident of email hacking made public. Response: News International said it would contact the Ministry of Defence to investigate the claims of phone hacking the solidiers’ families, but that if they were true, it would be “absolutely appalled and horrified”. The Ministry of Defence said police were examining the case.
  • Allegation: Up to 10 members of the royal family have been informed that their phones may have been hacked, including the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall – aka Charles and Camilla. Two Scotland Yard royal protection officers were allegedly paid bribes to reveal the private contact details of the royals. Response: Metropolitan police released an angry statement saying News International leaked the information look make the police investigation look bad: “It is our belief that information that has appeared in the media today is part of a deliberate campaign to undermine the investigation into the alleged payments by corrupt journalists to corrupt police officers.”
  • Allegation: A former New York cop says NotW contacted him after 9/11, saying it would pay him to retrieve phone records of British victims of the disaster. Response: No response from NotW.
  • Allegation: Five senior Scotland Yard investigators examining the News of the World had their own voicemails hacked, raising questions of whether police investigators failed to do their job properly out of fear of negative stories running against them. Response: Investigators may then have had a conflict of interest in the investigation they were supposed to run. Police have admitted they made mistakes with John Yates, the assistant commissioner, saying: “I have regrettably said the initial inquiry was a success… Clearly now that looks very different.”
  • Allegation: The original claim against phone hacking involved 24 high profile figures, including actresses and politicians. Response: Back in April, News International responded on its website: “Following an extensive internal investigation and disclosures through civil legal cases, News International has decided to approach some civil litigants with an unreserved apology and an admission of liability in cases meeting specific criteria. We have also asked our lawyers to establish a compensation scheme with a view to dealing with justifiable claims fairly and efficiently.” This is despite information showing that a News International executive has deleted millions of emails from an internal server in an apparent attempt to obstruct police inquiries.

*We’ll add more allegations as they come to hand, and let us know if we’ve missed anything at boss@crikey.com.au