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"The Leveson inquiry into press standards is being urged to publish the files of Operation Motorman, an investigation revealing various breaches of the Data Protection Act by newspapers. The Hacked Off campaign has called on Lord Justice Leveson to reveal details of investigations by the Information Commissioner&amp;#039;s Office (ICO), because it shows widespread criminal behaviour by journalists. Brian Cathcart, co-founder of Hacked Off and professor of journalism at Kingston university, said in a blog post today that the files have been seen by the inquiry, but remain secret from the public, along with the victims of alleged press intrusion.  Labour MP Denis MacShane had also previously called on the ICO and the inquiry to inform the named victims on the files that their private information was obtained by potentially illegal means. Motorman was an investigation by the ICO in 2003 of the activities of Steve Whittamore, a private investigator who for many years provided the press with details such as people&amp;#039;s addresses, phone numbers, car registrations and other information.  Some of the information was legally available, but some was not, particularly criminal records information held on the Police national database, along with the DVLA and BT&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;friends and family&amp;#039; databases. Whittamore and his three associates were eventually convicted, but no journalist or newspaper that used his services has faced prosecution. This was often as they were able to argue that their breach of the Data Protection Act was justified on grounds of public interest.  The ICO did publish two reports about Operation Motorman in 2006, but these did not include specific details of individual cases.  Cathcart said that Hacked Off asked the Leveson Inquiry and the ICO to publish the files, with the names of victims redacted to protect their identity. But they both said no, he claimed.  &amp;quot;In the past, the information commissioner has revealed that 305 journalists working for 32 publications generated 17,000 purchase orders with Whittamore in the years up to 2003. Many were innocent but several thousand involved prima facie breaches of the law,&amp;quot; he said.  &amp;quot;Breaking the Data Protection Act can be justified if it is done in the public interest, to uncover wrongdoing, say, or to prevent crime.  &amp;quot;Some newspapers say their reporters acted for reasons of that kind but the Information Commissioner said most stories were so trivial they could never qualify as in the public interest. Either way, the newspapers&amp;#039; sweeping claims that they did nothing illegal have never been tested.&amp;quot; Cathcart said that Hacked Off is concerned that if the Motorman files are not revealed now when the spotlight is on the Leveson inquiry, there is a danger that they could be &amp;quot;buried forever&amp;quot;.  &amp;quot;We need it because almost every national newspaper group is implicated and it is time they explained themselves, revealing their public interest justifications in detail where they have any,&amp;quot; he said.  &amp;quot;And we need it because it is inevitable that some of those 305 journalists are today in senior positions at national newspapers.&amp;quot; Hacked Off believes that the files include evidence of illegal payments to police officers for information from the Police National Computer Former information commissioner Richard Thomas submitted evidence to the Leveson inquiry in December saying that these practices were &amp;quot;at least as serious as phone hacking, and may be even more serious&amp;quot;. Cathcart said that the ICO could redact the names of victims from the Motorman files in between 15 and 30 staff days, meaning that it would not be a major administrative challenge.  He feels that the Motorman files could prove as explosive in revealing criminality as the notebooks of Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who was jailed in 2006 for the interception of voicemails on behalf of the now defunct News of the World.  &amp;quot;The cases of Steve Whittamore and the hacker Glenn Mulcaire are remarkably similar. Mulcaire was arrested in 2006 and it is clear he began hacking in 2002 or earlier - when Whittamore&amp;#039;s business was at its peak,&amp;quot; he said.  &amp;quot;Both investigators worked closely with newsdesks to penetrate the privacy of large numbers of people by illegal means. Yet Mulcaire&amp;#039;s journalist clients are subject to rigorous criminal investigation while the identity of Whittamore&amp;#039;s journalist clients is being officially protected.&amp;quot; He added: &amp;quot;While it is vital that victims&amp;#039; identities should be redacted from the files (they should be identified only in classes, such as &amp;#039;a television presenter&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;a victim of crime&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;a police officer&amp;#039; etc) it is equally vital that victims should be informed of what happened.  &amp;quot;This process - which is a matter of right - is under way in the hacking scandal; it is even more overdue in the Motorman affair and should begin as soon as possible.&amp;quot; &amp;gt; James Murdoch to step down as News International chairman &amp;gt; The Sun reporter arrested in police payments probe "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/media/news/a370626/leveson-inquiry-urged-to-publish-motorman-files/>