Blunkett urged to order inquiry into 'Sun' payments to police

David Blunkett has been asked to order a criminal investigation into evidence given to MPs by the editor of The Sun that reporters paid police officers for information.

Chris Bryant, a member of the Commons Culture Committee, said he had referred the matter to the Home Secretary after Rebekah Wade gave evidence to the committee earlier this month.

The development became known at the same time as Guy Black, director of the Press Complaints Commission, told the committee that Ms Wade's admission should be the subject of a criminal investigation.

Mr Black told MPs: "That's a criminal matter if that's the case and it's a matter for the police.'' Mr Black, who is a friend of Ms Wade, went on: "As far as I understand it, if a policeman received payment then the policeman concerned is committing a criminal offence.''

The director of the PCC came in for criticism from MPs when he presented his evidence to the committee's inquiry into media intrusion.

In a heated exchange, Gerald Kaufman, chairman of the committee, accused Mr Black of having pre-judged the findings of the inquiry in a newspaper interview.

Mr Kaufman spoke out after Les Hinton, who is executive chairman of News International, which publishes The Sun, and chairman of the PCC's code committee, suggested that Mr Bryant had pre-judged Ms Wade's comments in an article he wrote for a newspaper earlier this week.

"Order! Order!" interjected Mr Kaufman. "That article didn't pre-judge anything whatsoever. Unlike an interview which Mr Black gave to The Guardian which did pre-judge this inquiry after we'd had only one session.''

Mr Bryant challenged Mr Black on why a journalist, Neil Wallis, was a member of the watchdog's code committee when he had lost two PCC adjudications while he was editor of The People. The MP said: "You might as well have Neil Hamilton and Jonathan Aitken sitting on the Committee on Parliamentary Standards.''

Mr Black was accused by MPs on the committee of failing to take action over claims made in Parliament last week that reporters had harassed grieving families of servicemen killed in the Gulf. But the PCC director said he was "very proud'' of the watchdog's record and he did not recognise the picture of public dissatisfaction being painted by the MPs.

After the hearing, Mr Bryant said that he had received details of eight alleged incidents where reporters had paid police officers. "It seems it's an issue throughout the country," he said. "I'm told the police are encouraged to have good working relations with the media but if it involves taking money then that is wrong."

Mr Black was asked if he supported calls by Simon Kelner, editor-in-chief of The Independent and The Independent on Sunday, and Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, for an ombudsman to be appointed to hear appeals against PCC rulings. He said he did not think the view of a single ombudsman should override the findings of 16 commission members.