Steve Coogan tells Leveson enquiry that Andy Coulson attempted a 'sting' on him
Steve Coogan has given evidence to the Leveson inquiry into the phone hacking scandal, saying former News of the World editor Andy Coulson had attempted a “sting” on him.
The Alan Partridge star said he'd been tipped off that a girl would call him from Coulson’s office and try to pry private details from him. The call would be recorded, Coogan was told.
In the course of his evidence, Coogan said he’d “never entered into a Faustian pact” with the media. “I have never set myself up to be a paragon of virtue, a model of morality," he said. "I simply do what I do and that’s what I like to be judged on – my work.”
When asked why he hadn’t taken up his case with the PCC, Coogan remarked that the fact Daily Mail editor, Paul Dacre chairs the PCC “doesn’t fill you with confidence.”
He continued: “The biggest test in the last 40 years of their ability, the hacking scandal, passed them by so I don’t think my suspicions and prejudices about the PPC are without foundation.”