Metropolitan Police role in the news media phone hacking scandal Prosecutions Ken Macdonald to review the emails newspaper executives had used as the basis of their claim that no one at "News of the World" but Clive Goodman had been involved in phone hacking. Macdonald immediately concluded there was evidence of criminal activity, including payments to serving police officers, leading the Met to open an investigation focused on bribery and corruption within its ranks. (See discussion of Operation Elveden, below.) On 4 July 2011, "The Guardian" published an article authored by Nick Davies and Amelia Hill titled "Missing Milly Dowler's voicemail was hacked by News of the World." This article
News media phone hacking scandal charges were brought against eight former employees or agents of "News of the World" including head editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson. All eight were charged regarding illegal interception of communications relating to specific individuals The furore over hacking of Milly Dowler's phone energised investigative bodies. Two days after "The Guardian" article was published, Prime Minister David Cameron announced the establishment of the Leveson Inquiry. In the following months, a dozen additional investigations were launched into illegal acquisition of confidential information in the UK, US, and Australia. As of April 2011, there were at least 24 civil suits from celebrities