Journalist threatens to blow lid on hacking scandal

London: The former News of the World chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck has threatened to blow the lid on the phone-hacking scandal, promising that the "truth will be out" and "those responsible will eventually be revealed".

In a clear shot across his former employers' bows, Thurlbeck said that there was "much I could have said publicly to the detriment of News International". It was his first public statement since he was arrested and bailed for alleged phone hacking in April.

The 49-year-old ex-chief reporter at the now defunct NoW was sacked by Rupert Murdoch's News International last month, prompting him to sue his former employer for unfair dismissal. Thurlbeck had applied for "interim relief" at an employment tribunal hearing scheduled to be heard on Friday but pulled out late on Thursday.

His solicitor Nathan Donaldson, employment partner at DWF, issued a statement confirming that Thurlbeck was continuing his action against News Group Newspapers, the NI subsidiary that published the News of the World, for unfair dismissal and whistleblowing.

Denial

"Scotland Yard has now made me aware of the reason for my dismissal, a reason which News International has withheld from me for almost a month," Thurlbeck said in a statement issued by his solicitors. "For legal reasons, I am unable to go into the reason cited. However, I will say this: I took no part in the matter which has led to my dismissal after 21 years of service.

"I say this most emphatically and with certainty and confidence that the allegation which led to my dismissal will eventually be shown to be false."

— Guardian News & Media Ltd