Paul McCartney Says His Voice Mail May Have Been Hacked by UK Paper Competing with News Corp.
Ratcheting up an ongoing scandal over claimed widespread hacking into the voice mail of celebrities and others by British journalists, famed pop singer and songwriter Paul McCartney says he was apparently victimized and plans to pursue the issue when he completes his current U.S. tour.
However, the former Beatle says he was targeted by a rival media organization, the Mirror Group Newspapers, rather than one of the News Corp. publications operated by Rupert Murdoch that have been on the hot seat previously, Reuters reports.
Piers Morgan, a former editor of the Daily Mirror who is now a star reporter for CNN, wrote a 2006 article for the tabloid in which he describes a “heartbreaking” voice mail from McCartney begging his former wife, Heather Mills, to return home, the Star reports.
The article lends support, the newspaper says, to a claim by Mills to the BBC earlier this week that another journalist working for the Daily Mirror admitted hacking into her voice mail.
However, Trinity Mirror, the parent company of the Mirror Group, said in a written statement that its journalists operate within the law.
Additional and related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “New Outrage at News of the World After Scotland Yard Says Mom of Slain Girl, 8, May Have Been Hacked”
Telegraph: “Phone hacking: John Whittingdale calls for Piers Morgan to return to UK “
