News International phone hacking scandal the new allegations, along with high-ranking officers of the Metropolitan Police Service. News International's legal manager Tom Crone left the company on 13 July. As part of his role at the publisher, Crone had served as the "News of the World" chief lawyer and gave evidence before parliamentary committees, that he had uncovered no evidence of phone hacking beyond the criminal offences committed by the royal editor Clive Goodman. He maintained that he did not see an internal report suggesting that phone hacking at the paper went beyond Goodman. On 15 July, Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News International,
2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations to the closure of the "News of the World" on 10 July 2011. However, the affair did not end there, developing into the News Corporation ethics scandal as wrongdoing beyond the "News of the World" (including the United States) and beyond phone hacking (including paying police for information) came to light. The News of the World royal phone hacking scandal had raised evidence of victims being targeted outside the Royal Family, but this evidence did not lead to criminal proceedings. In lieu of criminal proceedings, several public figures commenced litigation against the "News of the World"'s owner News International and