:00:05. > :00:10.The phone hacking scandal claims its first high profile victim, as
:00:10. > :00:13.Britain's most senior police officer resigns. Sir Paul
:00:13. > :00:23.Stephenson says he doesn't want speculation about the Metropolitan
:00:23. > :00:39.
:00:39. > :00:42.Police's involvement with the News The Commissioner had come under
:00:42. > :00:48.increasing pressure about his association with Neil Wallis, once
:00:48. > :00:52.the deputy editor of the News of the World. I would like to take
:00:52. > :00:56.this opportunity to thank him for all he has done in his time in
:00:56. > :00:58.office. A few hours earlier, Rebekah Brooks, News
:00:58. > :01:01.International's former chief executive, was arrested, on
:01:01. > :01:03.suspicion of phone hacking. We'll have the full story on these two
:01:03. > :01:08.major developments in the phone hacking scandal.
:01:08. > :01:12.Also tonight: As another soldier is killed, a committee of MPs
:01:12. > :01:16.criticises Britain's deployment to Afghanistan.
:01:16. > :01:26.And, sealed with a kiss. Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke wins the
:01:26. > :01:40.
:01:40. > :01:42.The News of the World phone hacking scandal has led to the resignation
:01:42. > :01:45.of Britain's most senior police officer, the Commissioner of the
:01:45. > :01:48.Metropolitan Police, Sir Paul Stephenson, and the arrest of one
:01:48. > :01:54.the most powerful figures n Fleet Street, the former chief executive
:01:54. > :01:57.of News International, Rebekah Brooks. Sir Paul Stephenson had
:01:57. > :02:00.been under increasing political pressure to explain the force's
:02:00. > :02:05.relationship with a PR company run by Neil Wallis, a former deputy
:02:05. > :02:09.editor of the News of the World. We'll have the story of the arrest
:02:09. > :02:18.of Mrs Brooks in a moment. First, our home affairs correspondent June
:02:18. > :02:23.Kelly reports on the resignation of Sir Paul Stephenson.
:02:23. > :02:28.Another tumultuous 24 hours in this saga. Tonight, the scandal brought
:02:28. > :02:32.down the country's top police officer. I have this afternoon
:02:32. > :02:35.informed the Palace, home secretary and the mayor, of my intention to
:02:35. > :02:40.resign as Commissioner of the match Potton police service. The scandal
:02:40. > :02:44.had gone to the heart of his office, it was his veins to the criminal
:02:44. > :02:50.suspect and former News of the World visited Neil Wallis which
:02:50. > :02:55.drew him in. In 2006 he met Neil Wallis, at the time deputy editor
:02:55. > :03:02.of the News of the World. In 2009, he was appointed head of the
:03:02. > :03:08.Metropolitan Police. That year, Neil Wallis was given APR, but cut
:03:08. > :03:12.-- PR contract with the Metropolitan Police. Neil Wallis,
:03:12. > :03:16.one of 10 people now questioned in the fresh Scotland Yard inquiry
:03:16. > :03:24.looking at previously undisclosed e-mails and evidence which police
:03:24. > :03:27.have had for some time. I have no reason to be aware of the
:03:27. > :03:32.information in our possession, and only recently provided by News
:03:32. > :03:35.International. He acknowledged he should have made public earlier the
:03:35. > :03:39.met son mates with Wallace. He was not the only news of the world
:03:39. > :03:45.figure working at the heart of the Establishment. At the same time,
:03:45. > :03:51.Andy Coulson also recently arrested, of was David Cameron's chief press
:03:51. > :03:55.officer. A like Mr Coulson, Neil Wallis did not resign from the News
:03:55. > :04:01.of the World or had been in any way associated with the original phone
:04:01. > :04:06.hacking investigation. Secondly, once his name did become associated,
:04:06. > :04:11.I did not want to compromise the prime minister in any way by
:04:11. > :04:15.revealing or discussing potential suspects who clearly had a close
:04:15. > :04:21.relationship with Andy Coulson. resignation has taken ministers by
:04:21. > :04:25.surprise. The Home Secretary is making a Commons statement tomorrow.
:04:25. > :04:29.Sir Paul Stephenson has led the force through difficult times.
:04:29. > :04:36.the current circumstances show that there is still serious issues to be
:04:36. > :04:41.addressed, I believe that the force's operation is stronger today
:04:41. > :04:47.than it -- than when he took over. So Paul Stephenson has been at the
:04:47. > :04:51.head for 2 1/2 years, seen as a safe pair of arms. If he has done a
:04:51. > :04:55.fantastic job over the last three years. He felt with the
:04:55. > :05:00.distractions of all of these committee hearings, this judge led
:05:00. > :05:07.inquiry, he was endlessly going to be focused on phone hacking when he
:05:07. > :05:13.wanted to get on with other things. Next year, he had been due to leave
:05:13. > :05:16.-- lead the biggest challenge of the Olympics. I carried ultimate
:05:16. > :05:21.this possibility for the position we find ourselves in. With
:05:22. > :05:27.hindsight I wish we had managed some of these things vividly. I
:05:27. > :05:31.didn't and that is that. He said he was going with his integrity intact.
:05:31. > :05:34.He will stay in post as the search begins for his successor. The
:05:34. > :05:37.person who will take on the most high-profile and difficult job in
:05:37. > :05:41.policing. In a moment, we'll be speaking to
:05:41. > :05:47.our home editor Mark Easton, at the Home Office. First, our political
:05:47. > :05:51.editor Nick Robinson in Downing Street.
:05:51. > :05:57.In the last while, you have been getting more details about the
:05:57. > :06:02.resignation. Yes, what we heard is what led up to it. You have heard
:06:02. > :06:05.the Mayor of London and the Home Secretary insist that he jumped and
:06:05. > :06:10.was not pushed. He was clearly under the most extraordinary
:06:10. > :06:15.pressure. The Mayor of London was contemplating and still is
:06:15. > :06:19.contemplating setting up his own inquiry, in addition to that judge
:06:19. > :06:23.led inquiry set up by the Prime Minister, into the relationship
:06:23. > :06:27.between the Metropolitan Police and Neil Wallis, the former deputy
:06:27. > :06:32.editor of the News of the World. Even with the resignation, there
:06:32. > :06:36.are other senior figures, not least the assistant commissioner, who had
:06:36. > :06:41.connections with Neil Wallis and who might fill under pressure to
:06:41. > :06:46.resign. Boris Johnson had called in Sir Paul Stephenson to express his
:06:46. > :06:50.extreme displeasure, last Thursday. The Home Secretary had expressed
:06:50. > :06:54.her displeasure and is due to give a statement tomorrow. And he faces
:06:54. > :07:01.questioning even though he has announced his resignation, in front
:07:01. > :07:09.of MPs on Tuesday. This pressure seems to have mounted. But with all
:07:09. > :07:13.politicians insisting, we did not want him to go.
:07:13. > :07:17.An important time for the Metropolitan Police, where does it
:07:17. > :07:22.leave the force tonight? It is a dark day for the
:07:22. > :07:27.Metropolitan Police. Sir Paul Stephenson was a hugely respected
:07:27. > :07:31.figure inside Scotland Yard and externally. We heard the London
:07:31. > :07:35.mayor and Theresa May paying glowing tribute to him. That is
:07:36. > :07:41.because he was seen as a straight forward and uncomplicated police
:07:41. > :07:46.officer, someone in whom they had confidence to lead the Metropolitan
:07:46. > :07:50.Police through the Olympics and also the budget cuts they are
:07:50. > :07:55.having to deal with and the possibility of police reform. There
:07:55. > :07:59.will be an urgency to get someone immediately to take over from him
:07:59. > :08:04.while they worked out slightly longer term who will take over full
:08:04. > :08:09.time. Whoever that prisoners will inherit an in-tray bulging with
:08:09. > :08:12.real challenges, not least of course the police hacking inquiry,
:08:12. > :08:15.questions over how the investigation was conducted, the
:08:15. > :08:22.possibility some police officers might find themselves accused of
:08:22. > :08:27.corruption. And the Olympics, it is impossible to overplay the massive
:08:27. > :08:31.complicated police challenge that represents. And I think, were that
:08:31. > :08:35.to go wrong, it would be hugely significant not just for the Met
:08:35. > :08:38.and government but for the country as a whole.
:08:38. > :08:41.The resignation of Sir Paul Stephenson came just hours after
:08:41. > :08:43.the arrest of the former chief executive of News International,
:08:43. > :08:47.Rebekah Brooks. She's been questioned on suspicion of
:08:47. > :08:50.involvement in phone hacking and bribery. Mrs Brooks was arrested at
:08:50. > :08:53.lunchtime, after going to a London police station by appointment. Our
:08:53. > :09:03.business editor Robert Peston reports on her arrest. His report
:09:03. > :09:07.contains some flash photography. The most powerful woman in British
:09:07. > :09:11.newspapers, of Rebekah Brooks, or she was until she quit from News
:09:11. > :09:17.International on Friday. Today she was arrested on suspicion of
:09:17. > :09:21.involvement in phone hacking and corruption. She faced a barrage of
:09:21. > :09:24.criticism is when allegations were made the news of the world
:09:24. > :09:30.instigated the phone hacking of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler
:09:30. > :09:34.when she was editor of the Sunday tabloid.
:09:34. > :09:40.The rest is so important, the first time we have seen someone at real
:09:40. > :09:46.management director level, there are no holds barred, this is going
:09:46. > :09:49.to be a full investigation, going to the very top of the company.
:09:49. > :09:53.Brooks is the 10th person to be arrested in relation to allegations
:09:53. > :09:57.that the News of the World instigated phone hacking. On 8th
:09:57. > :10:01.July, Clive Goodman was arrested on suspicion of involvement in making
:10:01. > :10:06.illegal payments to police. The same day Andy Coulson, former
:10:06. > :10:10.editor of the News of the World, and David Cameron's communications
:10:10. > :10:15.director, was arrested on suspicion of involvement in corruption and
:10:15. > :10:20.phone hacking. His deputy Neil Wallis, who went on to be a PR
:10:20. > :10:25.adviser to the police, was also arrested. Today came the arrest of
:10:25. > :10:27.Mrs Brooks. Those arrested were had been struck by how Sir Paul
:10:27. > :10:31.Stephenson in his resignation described his past inadequate
:10:31. > :10:36.knowledge of what happened at the News of the World. I had no
:10:36. > :10:41.knowledge of the extent of this disgraceful practice. Or indeed the
:10:41. > :10:45.extent of it there. And the repugnant nature of the selection
:10:45. > :10:51.of victims which is emerging. Nor of its apparent breach into senior
:10:51. > :10:55.levels. I saw senior figures from News International provided
:10:55. > :10:59.evidence that the misbehaviour was confined to way rogue few and not
:10:59. > :11:06.known about at the top. Rebekah Brooks had a strikingly close
:11:06. > :11:09.relationship with Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and creator of the
:11:09. > :11:16.empire that owns News International. He said protecting her was his
:11:16. > :11:20.priority. On Tuesday, Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch, and Mrs
:11:20. > :11:23.Brooks are meant to give evidence on the Culture, Media and Sport
:11:23. > :11:27.Select Committee. Now that she has been arrested, she may be
:11:27. > :11:32.constrained from what she can say. The concern is this is a little bit
:11:32. > :11:36.convenient and it might mean rebecca brooks and the Murdochs can
:11:36. > :11:41.evade questioning on Tuesday in committee. I don't think it will
:11:41. > :11:45.work. Few in the media were are as friendly as Mrs Brooks were the
:11:45. > :11:49.most powerful in the land. They may be relieved if in the end she can't
:11:49. > :11:55.give public evidence to MPs on Tuesday. As for Rupert and James
:11:55. > :11:59.Murdoch, Mrs Brooks was a human shield. With her arrest and spite
:11:59. > :12:03.had claimed she knew nothing of the systematic malpractices at the News
:12:03. > :12:10.of the World, the pressure on them to explain what they knew and when
:12:10. > :12:13.will only intensify. Robert Peston's here now. With the
:12:14. > :12:19.human shield now gone, what does this mean for the Murdoch family at
:12:19. > :12:24.the top of this Corporation? I was struck in the resignation statement
:12:24. > :12:27.by Sir Paul Stephenson, when he said that senior News International
:12:28. > :12:30.is it is had assured him the wrong doings at the News of the World
:12:30. > :12:36.were limited in scope and senior people within the organisation did
:12:36. > :12:42.not know. The arrest of Rebekah Brooks today plainly shows that the
:12:42. > :12:45.police are no longer confident that version of events is true. As a
:12:45. > :12:53.sign of how Sisley they're taking it, she is still being held in a
:12:53. > :12:59.police station. She is still after 11pm arrested and maybe there at
:12:59. > :13:05.all night. For somebody of her former state is in the media, it is
:13:05. > :13:09.humiliating. One should be under no illusion about how worrying this is
:13:09. > :13:13.for the Murdochs, their strategy had been to protect her, they did
:13:13. > :13:22.not want her to leave the company. They certainly did not want her
:13:22. > :13:26.arrested. Because, if her version of events which she knew nothing of
:13:26. > :13:30.the scale of malpractice, if it doesn't cut ice with the police,
:13:30. > :13:35.they are saying more or less the same thing in their own defence,
:13:35. > :13:40.and therefore they know that they will face a very serious questions.
:13:40. > :13:44.They are seeing MPs on Tuesday and will face pressing questions on
:13:44. > :13:48.this. Goodness only knows who else they will find themselves
:13:48. > :13:53.answerable to. Let's return to our political
:13:53. > :13:57.editor Nick Robinson in Downing Street.
:13:58. > :14:03.A key question tonight is how close is all of this getting to the
:14:03. > :14:06.occupant of Number Ten? It always has been close because he hired
:14:06. > :14:10.Andy Coulson who resigned as editor of the News of the World. A few
:14:10. > :14:15.days ago I compare this with another large, it had built up very
:14:15. > :14:20.slowly, nothing seemed to shift for a long time. And then quickly,
:14:20. > :14:25.there is now no sense of where it can go next. There were four people
:14:25. > :14:29.do to face MPs on Tuesday for cross-questioning, two have
:14:29. > :14:35.resigned since they were called to give interviews. There is no
:14:35. > :14:39.knowing whether other police figures will be forced to resign.
:14:39. > :14:43.Orione News International or News Corporation. The Prime Minister is
:14:43. > :14:48.suddenly feeling the heat because Sir Paul Stephenson has pointed the
:14:48. > :14:52.finger at him, saying, I am going as head of the Met having hired the
:14:52. > :14:56.former deputy editor of the News of the World he did not resign over
:14:56. > :15:00.phone hacking. By implication, saying you, Prime Minister, you
:15:00. > :15:05.hide his boss who was in a sense responsible for the paper which was
:15:05. > :15:08.responsible for phone hacking. Those close to David come and do
:15:08. > :15:12.not like that and are saying, it is one thing to Hari head of
:15:12. > :15:16.communications, another to hire someone whose activities you are
:15:16. > :15:20.supposed to be investigating. When you get the highest powers in the
:15:20. > :15:25.land, in Downing Street and at the top of the most important police
:15:25. > :15:30.force in Britain, falling out, you know there is real trouble.
:15:30. > :15:33.In other news: A group of MPs has strongly criticised the way British
:15:34. > :15:36.troops were first deployed in Afghanistan. Members of the Defence
:15:36. > :15:39.Select Committee also warned against any premature withdrawal,
:15:39. > :15:41.saying pulling out any more than a few hundred support troops could
:15:41. > :15:51.dangerously weaken the remaining forces. Our defence correspondent
:15:51. > :15:53.
:15:53. > :15:59.Caroline Wyatt reports. The trouble war dance in a faraway
:15:59. > :16:03.land, and that was just the New Zealanders. The traditional Haka to
:16:03. > :16:07.an appreciative Afghan audience. The dance, normally by Warriors
:16:07. > :16:14.before battle, today marked the end of theirs as they handed over
:16:14. > :16:18.security to Afghan police in this mainly peaceful province of Bamiyan.
:16:18. > :16:24.This week, British forces will be doing the same in Lashkar Gah, part
:16:24. > :16:29.of the gradual handover to Afghan police and army. The planners they
:16:29. > :16:34.had made clear Britain's combat mission would finish by 2014. Today
:16:34. > :16:37.there was a warning against leading Afghanistan too hastily, as MPs on
:16:37. > :16:44.the defence committee delivered a scathing verdict on how the mission
:16:44. > :16:48.began. A ultimately, if you do not have overwhelming force on the
:16:48. > :16:51.ground, it means that troops are put at risk. And in the
:16:51. > :16:55.circumstances of Afghanistan, that does mean lives are lost because
:16:55. > :16:58.you haven't got enough resources. That is what happened in
:16:58. > :17:01.Afghanistan and it should never be allowed to happen again.
:17:01. > :17:04.committee said it was not acceptable that UK forces were
:17:04. > :17:09.deployed without the necessary personnel, equipment or
:17:10. > :17:14.intelligence to succeed in their mission. And that the stakes --
:17:14. > :17:19.mistakes were made a result of a failure in co-ordination. While the
:17:19. > :17:24.decision to move UK's Armed Forces into 1006 was not fully thought
:17:24. > :17:32.through. The death announce today of another British soldier in
:17:32. > :17:35.Helmand is now the subject of an investigation, a stark illustration
:17:35. > :17:41.of the difficulties which are still lie ahead in this campaign. Senior
:17:41. > :17:45.officers involved from the start say mistakes were made when British
:17:45. > :17:53.troops were first sent in. In 2006 we were heavily committed to Iraq
:17:53. > :17:58.and the problem the Army in particular had was we were manned
:17:58. > :18:02.for one major operation but we were conducting two. With NATO troops
:18:02. > :18:10.looking for an exit, there are hopes that the Afghan troops will
:18:10. > :18:15.be able to cope alone. With news from Kabul that two senior
:18:15. > :18:25.positions had been killed by gunmen, many are worried will be -- how
:18:25. > :18:29.
:18:29. > :18:36.In golf darn Clarke has won the Open at Sandwich. He won by three
:18:36. > :18:42.shots and lifted the Claret Jug. -- Darren Clarke. The signs were
:18:42. > :18:46.ominous, most of them, were hoping that Darren Clarke could at his
:18:46. > :18:50.20th attempt win the Open. The old man of Northern Ireland should have
:18:50. > :18:56.two things on his side. One the great surge of support washing
:18:56. > :19:06.around him and the other is that these phenomenally gusty conditions
:19:06. > :19:14.should feel just like home. A rescued par on first was followed
:19:14. > :19:23.by an immense roar on the second. Birdie and the lead ex -- extended
:19:23. > :19:32.to two. But behind him was a bear from America. Phil Mickelson was on
:19:32. > :19:37.the rampage. Then it was Clarke's turn, same green, same eagle. The
:19:37. > :19:46.sun was shining on the leader, if not on everyone else. Then the pack
:19:46. > :19:50.began to lose their teeth. Mickelson and then Johnson went
:19:50. > :19:55.awry. Conventional wisdom told us that golf is the preserve of the
:19:55. > :20:04.young and fit. But Clarke made his win like his approach to life -
:20:04. > :20:10.easy going. I always believed I would get myself back I had enough
:20:10. > :20:15.challenge to win. So I couldn't wish to win a bigger and better one.