Military lawyer blasts the phone hacking of bereaved families

Following the news today that the News of the World phone hacking scandal may have sunk to new lows, Senior Partner Hilary Meredith gives her opinion on worries that bereaved families of soldiers fatally injured in Afghanistan and Iraq may have had their phones hacked by a private investigator hired by the newspaper:

“It is hard enough dealing with an invasion of privacy, but in these instances involving bereaved families the breach of privacy is despicable and must be in violation of human rights, I cannot think of a worse scenario or more upsetting circumstances.

“Considering the News of the World has been considered the ‘forces newspaper’ in the past, the fact that they have of families who have lost loved ones is even more heinous.

“My thoughts go out to the families that have faced this intrusion and I sincerely hope that the people responsible for such a scandalous run of events are held to account.”