News of the World royal phone hacking scandal failures of the police investigation would go on to form part of the wider scandal in 2011. In August 2006, the "News of the World"s royal editor, Clive Goodman and a private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, were arrested by the Metropolitan Police, and later charged with hacking the telephones of members of the royal family by accessing voicemail messages, an offence under section 79 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. On 26 January 2007, both Goodman and Mulcaire pleaded guilty to the charges and were sentenced to four and six months imprisonment respectively. On the same day, it was
Phone hacking Phone hacking Phone hacking is the practice of manipulating or gaining unauthorized access to mobile phones, such as by intercepting telephone calls or accessing voicemail messages. When the unauthorized access is to the phone user's conversation, it is more commonly referred to as phone tapping. The term came to prominence during the News International phone hacking scandal, in which it was alleged (and in some cases proved in court) that the British tabloid newspaper the "News of the World" had been involved in the interception of voicemail messages of the British Royal Family, other public figures, and a murdered schoolgirl