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News Corp Phone Hacking Whistleblower Found Dead In Apartment


By

Christopher Robbins

Published Jul 18, 2011

Modified Jul 18, 2011


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By

Christopher Robbins

Published Jul 18, 2011

Modified Jul 18, 2011


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Former News of the World reporter and News Corp whistleblower Sean Hoare was found dead at his home earlier today. In an investigation last year of the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed News Corp, Hoare told the New York Times that Prime Minister David Cameron's aide and former editor of the News of the World, Andy Coulson, "was fully aware of the hacking" that was going on at the tabloid. The Guardian reports that the police are stating that Hoare's death is "being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious."

After speaking with the Times, Hoare told the BBC that he was personally asked by Coulson to hack into celebrities' phone accounts. Hoare wrote about show business for The Sun (another Murdoch-owned British tabloid) and News of the World before being "dismissed for drink and drug problems." Coulson, who has been arrested for his role in the scandal, has denied the allegations, claiming that he "never condoned the use of phone-hacking and nor do I have any recollection of incidences where phone-hacking took place."

Tagged

andy coulson

media

Murdoch

news corp

news of the world

phone hacking scandal

rupert murdoch


Christopher Robbins

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Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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