He also called for the Press Complaints Commission to be abolished – a call later echoed by Cameron and Nick Clegg – and called into question Cameron's judgement in hiring former "News of the World" editor Andy Coulson to be his director of communications.
(meta data) TITLE: BBC News - Rebekah Brooks must go over Milly 'hacking' - Miliband 62 captures 08 Jul 2011 - 21 Jun 2021 About this capture COLLECTED BY Organization: Alexa Crawls Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. Collection: Alexa Crawls Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20110708140917/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/news/uk-politics-14027879 Accessibility links Skip to content Skip to local navigation Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to bbc.co.uk search Help Accessibility Help ## UK Politics US & Canada Latin America Asia-Pac Mid -East South Asia Sci/Environment Northern Ireland UK Politics 5 July 2011 Last updated at 12:18 ET # Rebekah Brooks must go over Milly 'hacking' - Miliband Ed Miliband said the hacking claims were ''a stain on British journalism'' ## Phone-hacking scandal David Cameron: A second chance Leaders demand new press watchdog 'Fit and proper' test for Sky bid Press react to NoW closure Ed Miliband has said ex-News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks must "consider her position" over claims Milly Dowler's phone was hacked. The Labour leader said Mrs Brooks, now chief executive of the paper's parent company News International, should "examine her conscience". Mrs Brooks said it was "inconceivable" she knew about the alleged hacking of the murdered teenager's mobile. MPs will debate calls for a public inquiry into the issue on Wednesday. Downing Street has declined to comment on Mrs Brooks' position "while a police investigation is ongoing", but the prime minister has described the allegations as "truly dreadful". The Guardian claims that Milly's voicemail was hacked into by an investigator working for the News of the World, after she disappeared in 2002 and that messages which had already been listened to were deleted, to make room for more to be left. Mrs Brooks, who is chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's UK operation, News International, was editor of the News of the World at the time. 'Disgraceful behaviour' In a statement to News International staff, Mrs Brooks said: "It is almost too horrific to believe that a professional journalist or even a freelance inquiry agent working on behalf of a member of the News of the World staff could behave in this way. "If the allegations are proved to be true then I can promise the strongest possible action will be taken as this company will not tolerate such disgraceful behaviour. "I hope that you all realise it is inconceivable that I knew or worse, sanctioned these appalling allegations." It has also emerged that detectives investigating the phone hacking claims have contacted the parents of murdered schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Mr Miliband called for a public inquiry to be held once police investigations had been completed. The chairman of the Press Complaints Commission defended the body's actions over phone-hacking allegations He said: "Of course she [Mrs Brooks] should consider her position but this goes well beyond one individual. "This is about the culture and practices, which were obviously going on at that newspaper, the News of the World, over a sustained period of time." News International executives should "start taking responsibility for this", he said. Mr Miliband said of Mrs Brooks: "She should examine her conscience, and I think she will, as this happened on her watch. It's not about one incident but what was happening systematically at a newspaper." 'Beneath contempt' In the Commons Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman urged the government to back a "full public inquiry into illegality in the newspaper industry". And the issue was raised in the House of Lords when former Conservative Party chairman Lord Fowler called on the government to set up an independent inquiry into the ethics of the media, after what he called "one of the biggest scandals affecting the press in living memory". ## "Start Quote Politicians are frightened of News International and they need to act." End Quote Tom Watson Labour MP NoW vows 'action' on hack claims Hugh Grant urges hacking inquiry Rebekah Brooks statement in full Prime Minister David Cameron said the alleged hacking was a "truly dreadful act" and urged the police to pursue their criminal investigation into alleged phone hacking by journalists in "the most vigorous way they can". Deputy PM Nick Clegg said if true, the behaviour of those involved was "simply beneath contempt". Until the allegations about Milly's voicemail, the News of the World hacking scandal had focused on claims involving the mobile phones of celebrities. Milly went missing in March 2002 and her body was discovered six months later. Nightclub bouncer Levi Bellfield was convicted of her murder last month. Lawyers acting for the Dowler family say that the deletion of messages from Milly's phone after her disappearance could have led relatives to hold "false hope" that the teenager was still alive, increasing their eventual agony. Labour MP Chris Bryant suggested it was an example of a "national newspaper playing God with a family's emotions" and was granted an urgent debate on calls for a public inquiry in the Commons on Wednesday. Labour MP Tom Watson said there had been a "failure of political leadership" over phone-hacking, with senior politicians not acting quickly enough to investigate the problem. He told the BBC: "They have let the Dowler family down by not calling for an inquiry. It's time they acted. And that's the biggest scandal of the lot. Politicians are frightened of News International and they need to act." The chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, Baroness Buscombe, defended the body's actions over the phone-hacking allegations. She told BBC Two's Daily Politics she was angry that the PCC had been misled by the News of the World and added: "There's only so much we can do when people are lying to us." ## More on This Story ### Phone-hacking scandal ##### David Cameron: A second chance The prime minister has, in effect, asked for a second chance s during his defence of his former director of communications Andy Coulson. ##### Leaders demand new press watchdog ##### 'Fit and proper' test for Sky bid ##### Press react to NoW closure ##### Staff shocked by NoW 'bombshell' ##### Big questions for News International ##### Reaction to NoW closure ##### James Murdoch: Statement in full #### Features and analysis ##### Nick Robinson: Something had to give ##### Q&A: Phone-hacking scandal ##### What next for News International? ##### Timeline: Phone-hacking row ##### Murdoch's media empire ##### The birth and death of the NoW ##### In pictures: The News of the World ##### Hacking probe: Key people ##### Profile: Rebekah Brooks ##### Profile: Andy Coulson ##### Profile: Labour MP Tom Watson ##### Is phone hacking still possible? #### Video and Audio ##### Rusbridger: 'I warned Cameron' Watch ##### Cameron defends Coulson appointment Watch ##### Grant: NoW closure 'cynical manoeuvre' Watch ### Related Internet links The Guardian The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites ## More UK Politics stories ### Leaders demand new press watchdog David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg say the Press Complaints Commission must be replaced because of failures to deal with the phone hacking scandal. ### MPs call for NI air tax to be cut ### UK merchant ships 'may be armed' ## Top Stories Shuttle set for launch amid doubt Ex-NoW editor held over hacking US jobs creation stalls in June Thousands gather for Egypt rally Japan PM sorry for nuclear mix-up ## Features & Analysis ### Countdown begins Twenty big moments in the history of the space shuttle ### Celebrity appeal How Hollywood stars helped gain South Sudan's independence ### What NoW? US journalist reflects on News of the World closure ### Lost city Historic pictures of Machu Picchu, rediscovered 100 years ago ## Most Popular ### Shared 1: Hyper-arid desert hit by snow 2: First synthetic organ transplant 3: In Pictures: Celebrating Machu Picchu's rediscovery 4: Stars in tearful Potter goodbye 5: Ex-NoW editor held over hacking ### Read 1: 'Most fearsome predator' unveiled 2: Potter professor's premiere joy 3: Karachi 'shoot on sight' orders 4: Ex-NoW editor held over hacking 5: Pakistan rejects US murder claims 6: Stars in tearful Potter goodbye 7: Euro debt market jitters worsen 8: Buffett donates another $1.78bn 9: Weather may delay shuttle history 10: Japan PM sorry for nuclear mix-up ### Video/Audio 1: Hyper-arid desert hit by snow Watch 2: Face-to-face with 'vast sea monster' Watch 3: Rowling: Potter send-off extraordinary Watch 4: Is China's 42km sea-bridge safe? Watch 5: Royals try out cowboy hats in Canada Watch 6: Robots train to play football Watch 7: 'Sea monster' whale fossil unearthed Watch 8: Hugh Grant: How I exposed hacking Watch 9: One-minute World News Watch 10: Tips for Kate and Wills in LA Watch ## Elsewhere on BBC News ### The cookie monster? How will businesses cope with the EU's new restrictions on data collection online? ## Programmes ### Click Listen Would you like to come home to a bath filled with water at the correct temperature? There's an app for that Search term: ## bbc.co.uk navigation News Sport Weather Travel TV Radio More CBBC CBeebies Comedy Food Health History Learning Music Science Nature Local Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Full A-Z of BBC sites ## BBC links About the BBC BBC Help Contact Us Accessibility Help Terms of Use Careers Privacy & Cookies Advertise With Us BBC © 2011 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. 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Ed Miliband
Leadership of the Labour Party.:Leader of the Opposition.
On becoming Leader of the Labour Party on 25 September 2010, Miliband also became Leader of the Opposition. At 40, he was the youngest leader of the party ever. At his first Prime Minister's Questions on 13 October 2010, he raised questions about the government's announced removal of a non-means tested child benefit. 
 During the 2011 military intervention in Libya, Miliband supported UK military action against Muammar Gaddafi. Miliband spoke at a large "March for the Alternative" rally held in London on 26 March 2011 to protest against cuts to public spending, though he was criticised by some for comparing it to the anti-apartheid and American civil rights movements. 
 A June 2011 poll result from Ipsos MORI put Labour 2 percentage points ahead of the Conservatives, but Miliband's personal rating was low, being rated as less popular than Iain Duncan Smith at a similar stage in his leadership. The same organisation's polling did find that Miliband's personal ratings in his first full year of leadership were better than David Cameron's during his first full year as Conservative leader in 2006. In July 2011, following the revelation that the "News of the World" had paid private investigators to hack into the phones of Milly Dowler, as well as the families of murder victims and deceased servicemen, Miliband called for News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks to resign, urged David Cameron to establish a public, judge-led inquiry into the scandal, and announced that he would force a Commons vote on whether to block the News International bid for a controlling stake in BSkyB.