Les Hinton, Murdoch’s top executive in the UK was called to depose before the Parliamentary Select Committee on media. He too claimed that Goodman was the only one involved in the hackings.

Publicist Max Clifford and football agent Sky Andrews and many other victims were on Friday busy seeking legal advice. Meanwhile, the Scotland Yard has ruled out further action because the Guardian has presented no new evidence that might be tested in a court of law.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has announced a review of available evidence. The Parliamentary Select Committee has decided to call senior Murdoch executives to find out how much they knew of their journalist’s misdemeanour. The Press Complaints Commission has also announced an enquiry.

The question is, how much did Rupert Murdoch know about these hacking activities? “That we will never know”, said Andrew Neil, one of his close confidants.