Dr Evan Harris said: "Hacked Off is opposed to illegal information gathering in all forms, whoever is doing it. Any criminal conduct, by lawyers, insurance companies or anyone else, should be rigorously pursued by the police.
"However, it is wrong to criticise Lord Justice Leveson, as some newspapers have done, for not focusing on phone-hacking by people outside the press. Papers cannot be allowed to muddy the waters in this way and to excuse large-scale wrongdoing by journalists on the basis that 'everybody was doing it'.
"The Leveson remit, laid down by the Prime Minister, was clearly limited to the culture, practices and ethics of the press, so the judge was not free to range over a variety of industries. The inquiry's investigations, moreover, exposed a great variety of press abuses besides phone-hacking, including the theft of personal data, surveillance, intrusion, the fabrication of stories and bullying.
“In fact the inquiry's discussion of phone-hacking was restricted because of ongoing criminal investigations and civil claims. Hacked Off is confident that the full story of press phone-hacking, and of the corruption of public officials, will be thoroughly investigated in Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry, which the Prime Minister has pledged will begin once the current court cases have run their course.
“The recommendations and conclusions of the inquiry thus stand, no matter how many other industries or professions engaged in phone-hacking or similar activities. To suggest otherwise is like suggesting that no one may be convicted of tax fraud because 'lots of people are doing it'.”
