Phone hacking: how the police investigation unfolded

Inquiry was not just into allegations of a crime but also an attempt to prove Scotland Yard was capable of taking on Rupert Murdoch's company

On 26 January 2011, News International passed Scotland Yard three email messages containing possible evidence of crime. Three-and-a-half years on, the investigation launched that day has morphed into 12 operations, and 210 people have been arrested or interviewed under caution about phone or email hacking, payments to public officials, accessing data on allegedly stolen phones and perverting the course of justice.

From that first day, this was not simply an inquiry into allegations of crime but an attempt to rescue Scotland Yard from crisis, to prove it was capable of taking on the power of Rupert Murdoch's company where earlier attempts had failed.

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