"The revelations in today’s Telegraph give us a glimpse of the shameful extent of the cover-up of illegal activity at News International."

The ‘email deletion policy’ pursued by News International makes it blatantly clear that senior executives were entirely aware that phone hacking went beyond ‘one rogue reporter’. Not only that, but they were willing to go to great lengths to destroy evidence that may be used against them by the victims of hacking."

Such criminal activities have no place in British newspapers. The police operations and the Leveson Inquiry are a necessary consequence of the actions of News International, and it is critical they be given the support they need to expose the full extent of wrongdoing at News International."