A former reporter for the News Of The World (NOTW) who blew the whistle on the extent of phone hacking at the paper has been found dead at his home. A former reporter for the News Of The World (NOTW) who blew the whistle on the extent of phone hacking at the paper has been found dead at his home. Sean Hoare’s body was discovered at his home in Watford on Monday morning after “concerns” about his welfare, police said. A Hertfordshire Police spokesman said his death was being treated as “unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious”.
Mr Hoare had claimed in an article for the New York Times that Andy Coulson “encouraged” him to hack phones. He said in other interviews that the practice was rife. He accused Mr Coulson of being aware of phone hacking, which the former NOTW editor denied. Mr Hoare was interviewed by police in September about the allegations but made no comment. The former showbiz journalist was sacked by the News Of The World over problems he had with drink and drugs. A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said Mr Hoare struggled with alcohol abuse, and he had looked increasingly unwell in recent weeks.
The man said he knew the former journalist quite well because Mr Hoare would talk to him about his problems. He said he was “paranoid” about people seeing him, and he was fearful of the police and the Government. – Sky
