The News of the World lied to a British watchdog inquiry into the extent of phone hacking activities by newspapers, the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) said today.
Baroness Buscombe said the PCC, a keystone of the system of press self-regulation in the UK, was indescribably angry at being “misled”.
The watchdog has faced criticism over its efforts to police the issue, having previously concluded that there was “no evidence” the practice spread beyond one rogue reporter.
"We did not vindicate them (News International). We said there was no evidence at that time and I personally, and the PCC, are so angry because we were misled," she told the BBC's Daily Politics.
“I am the regulator but there is only so much we can do when people are lying to us.
"We know now that I was not being given the truth by the News of the World. Who knows if there are other newspapers that have lied?"
She told the programme: “Words cannot describe how angry I am with this. I am totally angry.”
Defending the PCC's past reponse, she said: "We are doing all we can. We set up in January a review of what took place over those past years. We are holding News of the World to account.
“There is only so much we can do when this is a police investigation about criminal activity. There are criminal laws in place to take care of this.”
PA