Home Secretary's announcement
On 18 July 2011 the Home Secretary made an oral statement to Parliament about the Metropolitan Police Service when she stated that “current allegations about phone hacking are not, unfortunately, the only recent example of alleged corruption in the police service.”
On 20 July 2011 HMIC was formally commissioned by the Home Secretary to consider instances of undue influence, inappropriate contractual arrangements and other abuses of power in police relationships with the media and other parties and to make recommendations about what needs to be done.