when were you first aware that milly doweler's phone was hacked? >> i think it was last monday, maybe the monday before. >> that was the first you heard of it? >> i heard of it when the story at first broke in the media on monday evening. >> nothing has been said to you at news of the world to suggest that milly doweler's phone was hack and that might have been authorized by the news of the world? >> of course, not. no. >> when were you aware that people of the news of the world gave this information to the police information about what was on milly doweler's phone to support the investigation? >> at the moment, again, i want to be slightly careful, i want to be as open as possible. we saw the story same time that you all saw the story. my instant reaction like everybody else was one of shock and disgust. and that a family who had suffered so much already had had that these allegations were clearly added immeasurely to their suffering. the first thing i did was write many and mrs. doweler with a full apology to say that we would get to the bottom o

nobody is denying that millie doweler's phone was hacked and nobody is denying that it happened on the watch on the chief executive officer of paper. will the prime minister join me if he believes people taking responsibility in saying -- that they should take responsibility and consider her position. >> well, first of all, let me deal with this issue of technicalities because i have to say to him, when you're dealing -- when you're dealing with the law, you have to look at the technicalities because there's something called due process that you have to follow. that is necessary for any government, and i'm sure he understands that. in terms of news international, every at news international has got to ask themselves some pretty searching questions and everyone at news international is subject to what currently is the largest police investigations underway in this country. what i think is we should let the police do their work. they must follow the evidence, wherever it leads. and if they find people guilty of wrongdoing, they should have no hesitation but in making sure they're prosecu

. >> to hire the hackers of millie doweler meant that andy cowellson was either guilty of being complicit in a corrupt culture or that he presided acts of pure evil. what were the warnings given to the prime minister by the deputy prime minister and the lord ashdown not to appoint andy coulson and why did he ignore those warnings? >> i have to say to the honorable gentleman, we do still have in this country the idea that you are innocent until you are proven guilty. now, as i've said, i hired andy coulson on the basis of assurances that he gave me he did not know about hacking. after all, that is why he resigned as editor of the "news of the world." and incidentally, after he resigned, the very first person to ring him up and wish him well who was who? gordon brown. >> in her evidence to the select committee yesterday rebecca brooks spoke about the number of times she visited that number 10 or checkers up to six times a year. does the perform not agree the calls for the other side of transparency sit very badly with the collective with the contacts of labour and news international? >> the

cleg met with the parents of milly doweler. "news of the world" reporters hacked into the young girl's phone after she was abducted and murdered. the deputy p.m. did not mince his words, asking murdoch to look at how the country has reacted with revulsion. and it's time, he said, to do the decent and sensible thing and back off this deal. stephanie gosk, nbc news, london. >>> well, two crew members of the u.s. space shuttle atlantis have a busy and memorable day ahead. removing ae busted cooling pump from the international space station during the shuttle program's final space walk. yesterday the station's robotic arm transferred a bus-size container of supplies that atlantis hauled up from earth. nasa says the atlantis crew will stay in space one day longer than planned to help put away the nearly five tons of food, clothes, and household goods that will keep the station going for an entire year. now here's a look at other stories making news today in america. whether it is winter or summer, chicago manages to keep its windy c

but it is the intrusion into the voice mail of millie doweller that outraged a nation. news of the world not only hacked into milly's voice mail to hear desperate relatives trying to reach her, it deleted messages to make room for others and so gaffe her family false hope she was still alive, dialing into her own voice mail. he was found six months left. >> the family, which had made heart rending appeals is distraught. >> the technique for hacking into voice mall accounts is frightening limb pl. all it takes is two phones. on one you dial the number in question. while it's busy, you dial the number again on the other phone which immediately goes to voice mail. it's a matter of dialing in the usually factory pin numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 0000. it's surprising how many people never change their pin. the scandal has business and political fallout. the news of the world is owned by rupert mer dock. now runs his operations and refused to resign. she's also a close friend and supporter of prime minister, david cameron who condemned the intrusion. it will conduct its own interna

i was absolutely shocked, appalled and ashamed when i heard about the milly doweler's case. >> i had no idea that milly's doweler's phone was being accessed by "news of the world" or even authorized by someone at "news of the world" is abhorrent are to me as everyone in this room. >> there was also a footnote to today's hearing that we found worth noting at cnn with the british parliament member louise mench. when you asked this statement. i'm going to play what you said in parliament today. >> piers morgan, now a celebrity anchor at cnn, you do not appear to have asked him any questions at all. in that book, he post boasted that using that little trick enabled him to win scoop of the year. that's a rm toered editor being very open about his personal use of phone hacking. >> what kind of accusations do you have to make that kind of accusation against piers morgan. >> well, i said what i said in the committee, wolf. and i'm afraid right now i'm going to say i can't comment about it outside of the committee room, because as mr. morgan will not, inside parliament when i speak in parliam

the tabloid also allegedly tapped into the account of missing 13-year-old millie doweller, not only listening to her voice mail but deleting frantic messages from her relatives. the activity on the phone gave her family hope she was still alive. she was found dead. >> there this disgusting and disgraceful. there are no words to say how this affects the parents. >> prompting an emergency session and calls for an immediate session. >> we're talking about murder victims. potentially terrorist victims, having their phones hacked into. it is absolutely disgusting. >> mick jagger, eric clapton, gwyneth paltrow and hugh grant. >> i think there's a national revulsion here about what they did. >> reporter: at the center of the controversy is rebecca brooks who headed up the controversy for years and is now in charge of murdoch's news corporation. murdoch said she will continue to lead the company, despite calls for her resignation. the company has already taken a hit. several companies have already pulled their ads. >> and police have already begun to look at evidence the newspaper paid off officers i

it also tapped into the account of missing 13-year-old millie doweller, not only listening to her voice mail, but deleting messages from frantic messages. the activity on the phone gave her family hope that she was still alive. >> this is disgusting, disgraceful. there are no words to describe how awful it is to the parents. >> reporter: the new hacking allegations are infuriating the british public. prompting an emergency government session and calls for an immediate investigation. >> we're talking about murder victims, potentially terrorist victims, having their phones hacked into. it is absolutely disgusting. >> when the scandal first broke, the targets were mainly celebrities like mick jagger, eric clapton, gwyneth paltrow, and hugh grant. >> i think there is a national revulsion here about what they did. >> reporter: at the center of the controversy is rebecca brooks who headed up the tabloid for years and is now in charge of murdoch's british news corporation. murdoch said she will continue to lead his company, despite calls for her resignation. the paper is already taking a hit.

so listen, you're talking about milly doweller and her family. this is what i want to know. were people as high possibly as rupert murdoch complicit in any of this? would rupert murdoch know about these sorts of practices, people under him know about these sorts of practices? >> yeah, well people under him certainly should have known. when rebekah brooks, his right-hand woman in britain, who gave me my job, she was feature editor and i was looking at the same books we both had. we were spending $4,000 pounds a week on you know, private investigators. doing these kind of practices. it's just extraordinary if she was the department boss who then moved up to to be editor. how could you not notice an expense of over 100,000 a year on this kind of thing and not even ask what it's for. her position is ludicrous. even worse than that, for her to turn round and initially andy could youson turn around and say we didn't know about it, it was a rogue reporter acting on his own and now five reporters have been arrested, i've been invited into scotland yard to be arrested three times and

news of the world" allegedly paid a private investigator to hack into the voicemail messages of millie doweller, the 13-year-old girl murdered in britain whose investigation and court case made front page headlines. those allegations did not come to light until almost a decade later, after brooks had scaled the corporate ladder to become chief executive of news corp international, a position she resigned from last week. she denies any knowledge of phone hacking by her staff. she established a relationship with david cameron, inviting her to lunches at her country home. there have been several arrests in the phone hacking scandal so far, but rebecca brooks is the highest profile yet, and the one closest to rupert murdoch himself. >>> i want to bring in an expert to unattenti untangle this. lisa, in 2003, when brooks was an editor for "the sun" newspaper, she admitted to using bugging devices and paying police. listen to this. >> i'll just ask whether they ever paid the police. >> excuse me. >> just the one element of whether you ever pay the police for information. >> we have paid the police for

it is the case of millie doweler who is a 13-year-old who had gone missing, and they hacked into her account, and listened to glean things that they could publish in the newspaper and meanwhile as you know, this gave false hope to family and law enforcement that if someone were relieving that in box of some of the messages maybe she was still alive, and my goodness, look out if that turns out that sort of behavior took place on this side of the pond as well, because there will be appropriately be a human cry. >> absolutely, there will be. and we should note that the report that this organization may have hacked into the phones of 9/11 victims and their families came from one source, but nonetheless, it was enough as you well know to get members of congress their ear and eye on this, and they want to hear more. but it is so interesting, michael, the conversation that is happening in the uk and some members of parliament are said to be freed to finally challenge "news of the world", rupert murdoch, news corp because they have felt so long they had to deal with murdoch. this is an inter

subjected to the sleazy tactics and rupert murdoch spoke of his personal apology to the family of millie doweler a british schoolgirl who was murdered in 2002 and whose cell phone messages were hacked by "news of the world." >> at no time do i remember being as sickened as when i heard what the doweler family had to endure which i think was last monday week. nor do i recall being as angry as when i was told that the "news of the world" could have compounded their distress. i want to thank the dowlers for graciously giving me the opportunity to apologize in person. >> let's check in with cnn's richard quest in london who was watching the proceedings throughout the day. and, richard, here you have richard rupert who built the global media empire, he said he's humbled and sorry but also said he's not responsible. how will that fly in the wake of this blossoming scandal? >> yes, his line that he wasn't responsible was a wonderful bit of orchestra when taken into four contexts. he said i'm not responsible, but because i put my trust in other people and they have let me down. now, americans may find t

phones of celebrities but it is now accused of hacking the cell phone of missing 13-year-old millie doweler in 2002, deleting messages and giving her parents and police false hopes that the girl was still alive. when london was hit with terrorist bombs in the 2005 that killed 52 people, the "news of the world" allegedly hacked the phones of victims and their families in pursuit of yet more exclusives. >>>>t's a violation, isn't it. i still don't know what i think about it. other than, i'm really angry. >> reporter: the paper is the profitable flagship of media mogul rupert murdock's massive holdings in britain. he also owns "the sun," "the times," "the sunday times" and on tv, sky news. "wall street journal," "the new york post"" and fox news. no politician dared challenge him. >> we're talking about murder victims, potentially terrorists victims, having their phones hacked into. it is absolutely disgusting. >> reporter: at the center of the scandal, this woman. rebecca brooks. editor of "the news of the world" in 2002, now head of high pressure dock's media empire. so far, she has resisted

. >> reporter: it was the revelation that millie doweler had been targeted by journalists who eaves dropped on her cell phone messages that was the beginning of the end for the paper. hacking into cell phone messages is illegal in the uk. the scandal that the news of the world had been systematically eaves 2kr07g on people for years had been swirling around westminster, with murdoch's executives initially saying it was the work of a rogue report. >> i believe he was the only person, but the investigation continues. >> reporter: there was a lingering suspicion that executives must have sanctioned the hacking, something she always denied. she's a close friend with prime minister david cameron, an awkward fact, but that didn't stop him saying this. >> what this government is doing is making sure that the fact the public, and i feel so appalled by what has happened, murder victims, terrorist victims who have had their phones hacked is quite disgratesful. >> reporter: one thing that went spectacularly wrong for the prime minister was the decision to hire this man. he may now be facing criminal c

came out at the precise moment that prime minister cameron was sitting down to meet the family of milly doweler place. >> interesting timing indeed. what's the reaction to this rather new developmr%] at this point? >> well, many people say it doesn't change anything. murdoch can re-introduce his bid later potentially in the criminal and parliamentary inquiries will continue regardless into the alleged wrongdoing by his newspapers and there may be a debate should he even own the portion of bskyb that he already has. it's a scandal that's just getting traction in many respects. >> really just the beginning. thanks so much. >>> just ahead, she was a very different kind of first lady. and boy, did she have an impact. at her funeral on tuesday, betty ford was remembered as a courageous trail blazer. we'll give you a closer look at that service. who was there, what they had to say about her. ahead. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. naturals from delicious, real ingredients with no artificial flavors or preservatives. naturals from purina cat chow. share a better life. [ female announcer ] real

newspaper allegedly hacked into cell phone voice mails, including that of murdered british teen, milly doweler. police say the hackers deleted some of doweler's messages. if so, they may have interfered with a murder investigation. news of the world is part of the rupert murdoch media empire. several employees have already been interviewed by police. the "new york post" calls the allegations deplorable and unacceptable. rebecca brooks, the editor of "news of the world" at the time says she is, quote, sickened that these events are alleged to have happened. >>> also, actor hugh grant says he's the latest celebrity to be hacked by the tabloid. he spoke to richard quest today and richard joins us. he'll be joining us in just a little bit. and interest what hugh grant has to say. >>> now, after a decade and a half on the run, accused boston gang boss james "whitey" bulger is back in court today, being arraigned for his alleged role in 19 murders. he pleased not guilty to all of the charges against him. bulger was the head of a south boston irish gang and was the inspiration for the character portr

and it is the courage of bob and sally doweler and milly's sister jemma that has been the spur for much that has happened in the last fortnight and i pay tribute for them in their courage in speaking out on these issues. mr. speaker people's anger about what has happened in phone hacking has been real. but some people will no doubt ask and indeed we heard it a bit in the statement today why when we have so many other problems facing the country, the economy, the nhs, defense all of those issues the house of commons is debating this issue in particular. and it is true that this issue does not directly concern our jobs and living standards but it does concern something incredibly important on which all else depends. and that is the fabric of our country. we do not want to live in a country where the depraved deletion of the voicemails of a dead teenager is seen as acceptable, in which the police's failure to investigate it is seen as just the way things are. and in which politicians failure to tackle it is seen as a way things are. of course. >> i don't think there's one person in this co

confirmed by the lawyer involved with this family that the mobile phone of a missing teenager called milly doweller who was later discovered to have been murdered, they listened to the messages of anguished friends and family try to find her they actually deleted some of those messages to make room for extra messages to be left in the hope of some exciting information for their newspaper. which could have impeded the police inquirery and certainly gave the family of that girl false hope that she might still be alive. so this tipped the story over into a mood of real public outrage that this could have gone on. as the week went on, the allegations tumbled out that they had hacked the phones of parents of missing children and murdered children. they hacked phones of bereeved relatives of soldiers that had died in afghanistan, iraq and indeed very seriously they had approved the -- the senior members had approved payments to members of the police. so this has exploded this week into a scandal that has changed the landscape of both politics and media in the united kingdom. host: yesterday, "the guardia