2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations the next several years. The case had been expected to reveal the details of previous settlements the paper had made, including the £1 million spent in 2009, settling with three phone hacking victims, and the unfair dismissal claim won by Clive Goodman. Clifford had won court rulings in February earlier that year that meant that the "News of the World" would have had to disclose previously secret information regarding which journalists were involved in hacking voicemail messages. A judge ruled that Glenn Mulcaire had to disclose the names of all the journalists who targeted Clifford and also those who received
Metropolitan Police role in the news media phone hacking scandal to publicly maintain that the phone hacking had been the work of a single "rogue reporter," namely Goodman. These 300 emails were not at that time provided to the police. News International faced growing skepticism and criticism from newspapers, Parliament, and the police about the single "rogue reporter" stance. There were also questions about illegal action by the police themselves. As a result, News International's parent company, News Corporation arranged for another review of the emails. In May 2011, their law firm, Hickman & Rose, hired Ken Macdonald, still an acquaintance of former "News of the World" editor, Andy Coulson,