Victims of alleged phone hacking testified about their experiences. In this portion, Author and columnist Joan Smith said her phone was hacked because of her relationship with MP Denis MacShane. She described meeting private investigator Glenn Mulcaire and the methods he employed to unearth information. She also said tabloid journalists had “lost moral integrity” and were “obsessed with sex and private lives.”
Prime Minister David Cameron appointed Lord Justice Leveson on July 13, 2011, to investigate the role of the press and police in the phone-hacking scandal surrounding the defunct British newspaper News of the World. The hearings were divided into four modules, or phases: 1) the relationship between the press and the public, and phone-hacking and other potentially illegal acts 2) relationships between the press and police 3) the relationship between press and politicians 4) recommendations for improved policy and regulation.