Phone Hacking Scandal: News of the World and Government Connections

Here is a summary of the text in detailed bullet points:

• The scandal revolves around Rupert Murdoch's media empire, particularly the News of the World, and its abuse of power through phone hacking.

• Andy Coulson, a former editor of the News of the World, faces jail time for phone hacking, which he denied for years, and later became the director of communications for David Cameron's government.

• Rebecca Brooks, a friend of David Cameron and a former editor of the News of the World, was cleared of any involvement in phone hacking and bribing public officials.

• Three senior News of the World journalists pleaded guilty to criminally targeting people's private lives through phone hacking.

• Phone hacking was not limited to celebrities, but also affected ordinary people, including those under police protection.

• The police failed to act on evidence of phone hacking for years, allowing the News of the World to continue its illegal activities.

• The scandal came to light after it was revealed that the News of the World had hacked into the phone of Milly Dowler, a 13-year-old girl who was murdered in 2002.

• The hacking of Milly Dowler's phone led to the News of the World publishing a false story that she was alive, causing distress to her family and the police investigation.

• Andy Coulson was deputy editor of the News of the World at the time of the Milly Dowler hacking and later became editor.

• Rebecca Brooks was on holiday at the time of the hacking and claimed she never knew about it.

• Rupert Murdoch's company, News International, paid Glenn Mulcair, a private investigator, over £1 million to hack phones for journalists.

• Mulcair hacked into the phones of thousands of people, including celebrities, politicians, and ordinary people.

• The News of the World used private detectives to dig up confidential information, including bank account details and phone records.

• Andy Coulson and Rebecca Brooks were known for their close relationships with politicians, including Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

• Rebecca Brooks became editor of the Sun in 2003 and was known for her aggressive journalism and her ability to collect powerful people.

• In 2003, Brooks admitted that News International would pay police officers for information, which is illegal.

• Tony Blair and Gordon Brown both sought the backing of Rupert Murdoch's media empire during their elections.

• In 2005, Andy Coulson became editor of the News of the World, where he presided over an era of "industrial-scale phone hacking".

• The hacking of David Blunkett's phone messages led to his resignation as Home Secretary in 2004.

• Andy Coulson claimed he didn't know about the hacking until 2004, but he did admit to being shocked and angry when he found out.

• In 2007, Clive Goodman, the royal editor of the News of the World, was charged with intercepting telephone voicemail messages, along with Glenn Mulcair.

• Both Goodman and Mulcair pleaded guilty and were jailed, but Andy Coulson resigned as editor, claiming he took responsibility for the hacking.

• The police investigation into phone hacking was led by the counter-terrorism unit, which was criticized for its handling of the case.

• The police found evidence of widespread hacking, including the names of hundreds of victims, but failed to act on it.

• The investigation was later passed to the specialist crime directorate, but not before the police had dinner with Andy Coulson and other senior executives from the News of the World.Here are the detailed bullet points summarizing the text:

• Andy Heyman, a former senior officer, was involved in the initial phone hacking investigation, but he never told John Prescott, the acting Prime Minister, that his name was in Glen Mulcair's notes, despite knowing about it.

• When Glen Mulcair and Clive Goodman were arrested, Andy Heyman was working next to the guy who was doing the investigation and had all the information, but he didn't say anything to John Prescott.

• Andy Heyman saw a list of names from Glen Mulcair's notes, but at the time, there was no clear evidence that more than a handful of people had been hacked.

• The police didn't read a word to John Prescott about him being a target of phone hacking, but they did tell Rebecca Brooks, who was also a target, and showed her a list of around 100 victims.

• The Met has apologized for failing to contact all those who'd been targeted, including some of its own senior officers, but it still hasn't explained why it didn't do so.

• After his resignation from the News of the World over royal phone hacking, Andy Coulson was hired as head of communications for the Conservative Party, recommended by George Osborne.

• David Cameron, like Tony Blair before him, wanted to win over Rupert Murdoch's newspapers and build a relationship with him.

• Rebecca Brooks and David Cameron became friends, and she even paid tribute to him by getting a special edition of The Sun mocked up.

• The Murdoch Empire and politicians, including David Cameron, became close, with Rebecca Brooks being part of the Chipping Norton set.

• David Cameron would occasionally meet Rupert Murdoch's son James, who told him that he would back him at the 2010 general election.

• As the election date drew nearer, David Cameron and Rebecca Brooks drew closer, with frequent texts between them, including one where she wrote "I am so rooting for you tomorrow."

• The level of intimacy between David Cameron and Rebecca Brooks was seen as inappropriate by some.

• The Met knew that Glen Mulcair had obtained sensitive information, including the new identities of people in the witness protection scheme, but no further action was taken.

• The news of the world had already printed several articles about Robert Thompson's new life, and the Met knew that Glen Mulcair had his and others' new identities.

• The Attorney General is now considering whether to take action against the News of the World and Glen Mulcair.

• John Yates, the man who had decided not to reopen the investigation, was again on the spot when evidence from the original police investigation was continuing to be unearthed.

• Neville Thurlbeck, the news of the world's chief reporter, told Tom Watson that News International had put him and his fellow MPs on the media Select Committee under surveillance.

• The paper also followed the families of the lawyers suing it over hacking, which was seen as depraved and unforgivable.

• In May 2010, the election put David Cameron in Downing Street with Andy Coulson alongside, despite warnings from Lord Prescott about hiring Andy Coulson.

• Andy Coulson was given the appropriate level of security clearance when he was appointed, but it was surprising given his tabloid past.

• Sean Hoare, who knew all about Andy Coulson's tabloid past, was about to become the first former news of the world journalist to go on the record, saying that Andy Coulson must have known about phone hacking at the news of the world.

• News International had already used Sean Hoare's problems with drink and drugs to discredit him.

• The pressure on Andy Coulson over hacking intensified, and he eventually resigned, saying "when the spokesman needs a spokesman, it's time to move on."

• The scandal had now reached deep into David Cameron's Number 10, and people have tried to tell him about it, but he disregarded that advice and associated himself with a group of people who had been part of a criminal conspiracy.

• News International finally handed over evidence to the police, and the Met launched a new inquiry, Operation Weeting, which would properly scrutinize the documents seized from Glen Mulcair years before.

• Many of the hacking victims were celebrities, but the scandal was now a threat to the wider Murdoch Empire.

• The government reacted to the outcry by setting up a massive public inquiry into the rot at the heart of the British press and its relationship with politicians and the police.

• Lord Leverson wanted to know what had gone wrong and who knew what and when.

• Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary responsible for media regulation, was hacked by News International in 2006, and she told Lord Leverson that she informed some of her cabinet colleagues, but their reaction was one of shock and sympathy.

• Panorama has asked Tessa Jowell precisely who she told in cabinet, but she says she can't remember.

• The police briefed the Home Office, the Cabinet Office, and MI5 about their investigation, but it's unclear who in cabinet did know.

• John Prescott wasn't told by the police, but Tessa Jowell was, and she told some colleagues, including Tony Blair.

• Tony Blair emailed Rebecca Brooks saying "let me know if there's anything I can do to help," thinking of her.

• Rebecca Brooks called Tony Blair taking him up on his offer of support in an hour-long phone call, and Tony Blair told her to keep strong and tough and even offered to act as an unofficial adviser to her and the Murdochs on a "between us" basis.

• Tony Blair's advice was to set up an inquiry headed by the former Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald.

• Tony Blair told us that he's not a fair-weather friend, and his advice to Rebecca Brooks was informal, but he knew nothing personally about the facts of the case.

• Rupert Murdoch flew into London to apologize to the Dowler family, and suddenly nobody wants to be Rupert Murdoch's friend.

• The Commissioner of Scotland Yard, Sir Paul Stephenson, resigned as did John Yates, but questions remain for the Met.

• Andy Coulson is now condemned as the tabloid editor who built his career on the systematic criminal hacking of hundreds of people's phones.

• Questions remain about how Andy Coulson went on to work at the heart of government.

• David Cameron's former spin doctor is now facing jail as is the man who hacked phones for him, Glenn Mulcair.