Ed Vaizey brands News of the World phone hacking allegation 'astonishing'

The murky world of tabloid journalism got a whole lot murkier on Monday with the extraordinary allegations from The Guardian that journalists at The News of the World hacked the phone of Milly Dowler while she was missing in 2002.

As a speaker at today's Intellect conference, Ed Vaizey was always going to face questions over his reaction to the story, and when asked he said he was shocked by the revelations.

"My reaction was the same as everyone's, one of utter astonishment. These are technically allegations, but I think it's astonishing that anyone could do something like this," he said.

However, Vaizey added that, while many people may see the story as evidence of why Rupert Murdoch should not be allowed to pursue his merger with BSkyB, it is unlikely to have much impact.

"I'm not involved in the process of [the merger of] News Corp and BSkyB. It's a process run by the secretary of state [Jeremy Hunt] with advice from Ofcom," he said.

"What he's said and made clear is that these fit and proper tests are not legally relevant and he's following the letter of the law from Ofcom and that's what the position is."

Vaizey noted, however, that, while in recent weeks the issues over celebrity hacking have been somewhat ignored by the wider media and population, this case will draw far more attention.

"I think this example really takes the whole issue into the mainstream in the way it hasn't been in the past," he said.

"In the past it was potentially seen as the murky goings on between the media and celebrities, but now more people are taking an interest in this."

05 Jul 2011