Phone hacking: Profile of Sean Hoare, the News of the World journalist and whistleblower
Anita Singh
Sean Hoare, who has been found dead at his home, was the archetypal News of the World journalist, yet became a key player in the paper's downfall.
Mr Hoare was the whistleblower who first linked Andy Coulson to the phone-hacking scandal.
The ex-News of the World showbusiness reporter readily admitted that he had been involved in phone hacking.
In an interview with the New York Times, published in September last year, he claimed that Coulson had "actively encouraged" him to intercept mobile phone messages at the News of the World, where his celebrity targets included David and Victoria Beckham.
Later that month, he spoke to BBC Radio 4's PM programme and went into further detail, alleging that Coulson had lied to Parliament when he denied knowledge of phone hacking.
"There's an expression: 'the culture of dark arts'. You were given a remit - just get the story, that's the most important thing," Hoare said.
"I've stood by Andy and been requested to tap phones, to hack into them and so on. He was well aware that the practice exists. To deny it is a lie. It's simply a lie.
"It was always done in the language of, 'Why don't you practise some of your dark arts on this', which was a metaphor for saying, 'Go and hack into a phone'.
"Such was the culture of intimidation and bullying that you would do it because you had to produce results. And, you know, to stand up in front of a Commons committee and say, 'I was unaware of this under my watch' was wrong."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8646351/Phone-hacking-Profile-of-Sean-Hoare-the-News-of-the-World-journalist-and-whistleblower.html
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