James Hipwell says it is unlikely Piers Morgan didn’t know

A former Daily Mirror reporter has said phone hacking was rife within the newspaper.

James Hipwell, previous financial reporter for the newspaper, was jailed in 2006 for promoting low priced shares he owned, then selling them as their values soared.

At the Leveson Inquiry today, Hipwell described hacking as a “bog-standard journalistic tool” for gathering news.

He also stated that it would be highly unlikely Piers Morgan did not know hacking was going on, given his highly involved approach to editorship.

Publishers Trinity Mirror remain adamant that the paper worked within the Press Complaint’s Commission code of conduct, although Hipwell said ethics were never mentioned whilst he was working there.

Hipwell added that the practice of hacking was particularly widespread in the showbiz team, who used it to gather information on a daily basis. He said it would be hard to believe Morgan did not know about this, as he had a half-an-hour discussion with the team each day.

The Leveson Inquiry entered its fifth week on Monday, with appearances from Colin Myler, previous editor of the News of the World, and chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck earlier in the week.

On Tuesday, Morgan denied any knowledge of phone hacking occurring under his leadership at The Daily Mirror.

Eleanor Hooper