Tuesday, July 5, 2011

News of The World May Have Hacked 7/7 Families' Phones

Quite rightly the country is shocked to hear that The News of the World hacked into Milly Dowler's phone. I awoke this morning to hear that they may have also hacked in the phones of the families of the July 7th Bombing Victims.

London Stands United Ad in Oxford Circus Tube 2005

It's particularly sad for this news to come the day before the anniversary of July 7th - when 52 people lost their lives and so many others were injured in the terrorist bombings on the London Underground and a London Bus.

The BBC report "Clifford Tibber, a solicitor representing some of the relatives of people who died in the 7/7 bombings, said one family had been contacted and told that their phone may have been hacked back in 2005.

Graham Foulkes, whose son David died in the Edgware Road blast, told the BBC he was contacted by officers on Tuesday after his details were found on a list as part of the police inquiry in hacking claims.

Mr Foulkes, of Oldham, Greater Manchester, recalled how his family had waited for a week after the 2005 attacks for news of David.

"My wife and I were kind of all over the place, we were chatting to friends on the phone, in a very personal and deeply emotional context - and the thought that somebody may have been listening to that just looking for a cheap headline is just horrendous
."

I'm actually finding this quite hard to write, as many of you that were reading this blog at the time will now how negatively and then positively and emotionally, the bombings affected me.

Doubtless people will be speculating and discussing this all day. Politicians are already holding an emergency debate in the House of Commons today. Advertisers are pulling their ads from the News of the World, others are reviewing options or waiting the outcomes of police investigations. There have been allegations of payments to the police.

The whole situation is dirty, hideous and makes me incredibly sad and annoyed. If it makes me feel that way, one can only imagine how the families of the victims of July 7th are feeling.

My thoughts are with them even more today and will be with them tomorrow.

Related Posts
London Bombings Six Months On
July 7th One Year On
Tube Relief - Tube Challenge for Victims of London Bombings
July 7th Five Years On

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