Ten PR pros at Scotland Yard previously worked for Rupert Murdoch

The PR chief at the Metropolitan Police Service of London is now under investigation for his decision to hire a former News of the World editor.

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“I understand that there are 10 members of the [Department of Public Affairs] staff who have worked in News International in the past, in some cases journalists, in some cases undertaking work experience with the organization,” Sir Paul Stephenson, the head of Scotland Yard who resigned over the weekend, told Parliament. (Stephenson has not yet stepped down from his post.)

According to an NPR report, Stephenson denied any wrongdoing, but said he was embarrassed that Scotland Yard had hired an ex-News of the World editor as a PR consultant.

That former editor turned PR consultant is Neil Wallis, who was hired by Scotland Yard in 2009 on a part-time basis and worked through last September. Wallis worked at News of the World when its royal editor and a private investigator were arrested for hacking.

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