Andy Coulson, the former editor of News of the World and current communications aide for British Prime Minister David Cameron, made a point of personally listening to the hundreds of private recordings of athletes and royals that the Rupert Murdoch–owned newspaper has been under fire for illegally obtaining, a former employee at the paper told the U.K.’s Channel 4. “Sometimes, they would say: ‘We’ve got a recording’ and Andy would say: ‘OK, bring it into my office and play it to me’ or ‘Bring me, email me a transcript of it’.”
“He was very conscientious and he wouldn’t let stories pass unless he was sure they were correct … so, if the evidence that a reporter had was a recorded phone message, that would be what Andy would know about.
See? He was being responsible.
Phone-hacking scandal: Andy Coulson ‘listened to intercepted messages’ [Guardian]
