Ex-MP ponders legal action over hacking

Martin Salter considering legal action following allegations he was targeted by the News of the World

THE former MP for Reading West has said that he is considering legal action following allegations that his personal details kept in a police computer were bought by investigators working for the News of the World

Martin Salter, Labour MP for the constituency from 1997 until he stood down in 2010, was named on Monday in files obtained by The Guardian newspaper which detailed information bought from the police national computer (PNC) through an intermediary to a network of private investigators for cash sums of between £20 and £40 a time.

The files date back to September 13, 2000, around the time Mr Salter had angered Rebekah Brooks, the former News of the World editor and current chief executive of News International.

Mr Salter said: “I want to say how much I'm looking forward to seeing the bullies at News International answering for their criminal conduct in a court of law.

“Along with many other victims of the News of the World I have placed the matter in the hands of my solicitors and await developments with interest. Their Sarah's Law campaign was dangerous and irresponsible and led to a paediatrician being burnt out of their home in a disgraceful vigilante attack.

“I stood up to Rebekah Brooks because I agreed with children's charities and social workers who warned that kids would be out at greater risk if released sex offenders were driven underground and away from supervision in the community. It seems this has made me a target.”

The News of the World, which folded on Sunday after 168 years as a result of phone hacking allegations, had led a campaign for Sarah's Law following the high-profile murder case involving eight-year-old Sarah Payne, who was killed by Roy Whiting, a convicted sex-offender who had been released from prison.

Mr Salter had refused to support the paper's charge for controlled access to the Government Sex Offenders, and readers were urged to humiliate Mr Salter for his stance.