29 June 2024 , 09:34
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Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is calling for a criminal investigation of Washington Post Publisher William Lewis’ involvement in allegedly deleting emails related to a phone hacking scandal while he worked as an executive for Rupert Murdoch’s media company.
Brown, in a statement to the Post, said Lewis and Murdoch executive Rebekah Brooks “were involved in the destruction of millions of emails vital to the criminal investigation into phone hacking.” He added that, while Lewis and others “claimed they were doing the cleanup,” they “may have instead been engaged in a cover-up.”
Lewis defended his actions in a statement to the Post: “I know I did nothing wrong, and these allegations are untrue.”
Brown has a personal connection to the issue. When Lewis was first being investigated for deleting emails, he told police he did so because Brown — who was then a member of Parliament — was plotting to steal emails from the company, although no evidence backed up that claim, according to The New York Times. Brown has also been a personal target of hacking.
Lewis, who took over as CEO and publisher of the post in January, has faced recent scrutiny for using stolen phone records while working in the U.K. He has also been accused of trying to kill stories about himself and offered NPR reporter David Folkenflik an exclusive interview about the Post’s new plans if he dropped his story about Lewis’ involvement with the cover-up.
The Washington Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.