Reporter charged in royals phone hack probe

THE News of the World’s royal editor will be in court next week in connection with offences after being questioned over alleged mobile phone hacking.

Scotland Yard said senior journalist Clive Goodman, 48, has been charged with a total of nine offences, including plotting with Glenn Mulcaire to “intercept communications, namely by agreeing to access individuals’ telephone voicemail messages”.

He and Mulcaire, 35, were also charged with eight counts of intercepting communications on dates between January and May this year.

Both have now been released on police bail to appear in court next Wednesday.

Goodman and two others were arrested on Tuesday in connection with allegations that officials from Clarence House — Price Charles’ residence — had their voicemail messages intercepted. One of those, a 50-year-old, was yesterday released on bail.

Scotland Yard launched an investigation after members of the Prince of Wales’ household — also the official residence of his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Princes William and Harry — reported alleged security breaches within its phone network.

The police inquiry has now widened and is examining whether public figures, including politicians, celebrities and footballers, or members of another royal household, had their mobiles hacked.

Tom Bradby, ITV’s political editor, told of the moment he and Prince William realised mobile phone voicemail messages of royal aides could have been intercepted.

He claimed the News of the World printed details of a meeting he had arranged with the Prince before it had even taken place.

He and William eventually met and discussed the story, with the prince raising concerns about another article about a meeting with his knee surgeon.

Mr Bradby said he was “pretty surprised” to discover details of the meeting and what was to be discussed in the News of the World.

Mr Bradby said he and the Prince came to the conclusion that “it must be something like breaking into mobile phone answering machine messages”.

Mr Bradby said William’s chief of staff relayed concerns to the police and a small investigation was conducted.

He added: “What they discovered then alarmed them enough to hand it to IT specialists from anti-terrorist police who looked more broadly.”