The Guardian is reporting that Sara Payne is “devastated” at news that she may have been hacked by the News of the World. Payne, whose daughter Sarah was murdered, was close to the newspaper for years – which pressed hard for a “Sarah’s Law” to reveal the location of paedophiles. This looks set to explode “Hacking gate” once more.
Payne even wrote a positive valedictory in the final edition of the NotW. As Tom Watson says: “The last edition of the News of the World made great play of the paper’s relationship with the Payne family.”
UPDATE: Payne’s phone number was amid the paperwork of Glenn Mulcaire, the private detective used by the newspaper. Brooks has denied that anyone at NotW would have known if he or anyone else was targeting Payne: ‘Sara Payne is a dear friend. The idea that anyone knew she was targeted by Glenn Mulcaire is unthinkable‘.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey