Police Abuse Of Power

AP Interview: Hacking reporter says more to come

LONDON (AP) — He broke the story that destroyed a 168-year-old newspaper, humiliated one of the world's most powerful media moguls and cast a spotlight on a phone hacking scandal that has embroiled politicians, police and journalists.

And he says there is more to come.

Guardian journalist Nick Davies spent years investigating phone hacking claims in the face of police indifference and ridicule from rivals.

"It's a great story about the abuse of power," Davies told The Associated Press. "That's what all journalists want to expose, isn't it? The abuse of power."

It all began in 2005, when the News of the World tabloid published a story about Prince William suffering a knee injury.

Royal household staff believed the paper, part of the Rupert Murdoch media empire, could only have known about the injury by listening to the prince's messages and asked police to investigate.

The inquiry led to two men working for the News of the World: Reporter Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who were jailed in 2007 for eavesdropping on messages left on the cell phones of royal aides, including some from Prince William and his brother Harry.

The tabloid's editor, Andy Coulson, said he knew nothing about the men's actions but still resigned. Soon after, then-opposition leader David Cameron hired Coulson as his communications chief and kept him on when he became prime minister in May 2010.

Although interest faded in the story, Davies stayed on the trail.

Suspecting the practice of phone hacking was more widespread, Davies turned to sources he had cultivated during some 30 years at The Guardian.

The Guardian ran his piece in 2009. It revealed that Rupert Murdoch's papers had paid out more than $1.6 million (1 million pounds) to settle law suits involving allegations of hacking into phone messages, as well as illegally accessing tax records, social security files and bank statements of politicians, actors and sports stars.

Davies said police had evidence that thousands of people — from celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Sienna Miller to politicians including former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott — had been targeted by private investigators working for Murdoch papers.

He said court papers showed a suit brought against the News of the World by Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballer's Association, was settled in exchange for a gag order preventing Taylor from talking about the case.

Egypt 600 police officers Dismisses to crackdown on protesters

More than 600 police officers shot in Egypt by the abuse of power in a popular uprising against President Hosni Mubarak.Interior Minister Mansour al-Issawi told Wednesday that 505 general agents and 164 will suspend the service August 1, calling the movement of a major overhaul in the history of the Egyptian police force.The decision comes as demonstrations continue in Tahrir Square in Cairo, demanding the immediate testing toppled Mubarak, his two son, and all the police officers involved in the assassination of pro-democracy activists in the People January 25th uprising.Of are those rejected, 37 special police officers accused of involvement in the killing of demonstrators in Tahrir Square.

The approximately 800 people are estimated to have died during the 18 days unrest.The transitional military council announced that Mubarak took power Tuesday that parliamentary elections scheduled for September will be delayed until October or early November.Some Egyptian political parties have asked the elections be postponed so they can better prepare to face the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist opposition in Egypt’s most powerful group.The Egypt army told Tuesday it will develop guidelines for selecting 100 members meeting to prepare a new constitution.

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