Ex-Daily Mirror reporter contradicts Piers Morgan testimony

If CNN host Piers Morgan wants to have a lively talk show, he should book former Daily Mirror business columnist James Hipwell as a guest.

On Wednesday, Hipwell appeared as a witness in Britain's ongoing probe into journalistic ethics and contradicted much of Morgan's testimony from the previous day. Morgan, a former editor of The Daily Mirror and News Corp.'s now-defunct News of the World, told the government's inquiry that phone hacking was not something he engaged in while he worked at the tabloids.

Hipwell said hacking was a "standard journalistic tool” during Morgan's time at the paper.

“I would go as far as to say it happened every day," Hipwell said to the panel. "It became apparent that a great number of stories ... would come from that source.” He added that he even witnessed a colleague hacking into Morgan’s own mobile “in front me" in 2000.

For more on Hipwell's testimony please see our story.

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-- Joe Flint

Photo: James Hipwell after his appearance. Credit: Justin Tallis / AFP/Getty Images.