Andy Coulson

Andy Coulson is a journalist and media strategist who served as Director of Communications to Prime Minister David Cameron from May 2011 until his resignation on 21 January 2011. He is a former editor of the News of the World.

Phone Tapping Scandal

In 2005 Coulson was the editor of The News of the World when the Sunday newspaper was involved in a phone tapping scandal involving reporters hacking into the mobile phones of members of the Royal family. According to allegations published in the New York Times:

Andy Coulson, the top editor at the time, had imposed a hypercompetitive ethos, even by tabloid standards. One former reporter called it a “do whatever it takes” mentality. The reporter was one of two people who said Coulson was present during discussions about phone hacking. Coulson ultimately resigned but denied any knowledge of hacking.

Contact, References and Resources

Resources

• Julian Henry, The Coulson factor, Media: Guardian, 27 October 2008.
• Nick Davies, Murdoch papers paid £1m to gag phone-hacking victims, guardian.co.uk, 8 July 2009.
• Don Van Natta Jr., Jo Becker, and Graham Bowley, Tabloid Hack Attack on Royals, and Beyond, New York Times, 1 September 2010.
• Lisa O'Carroll, David Cameron and Andy Coulson mingle at music festival, guardian.co.uk, 2 July 2012.
• James Hanning, Jane Merrick and Matthew Bell, Andy Coulson vetted by investigator linked to News International, Independent, 7 August 2011.