Top British police chief resigns over phone hacking

Britain's senior police chief Paul Stephenson, London's police commissioner, resigned on Sunday over allegations about the police's handling of phone hacking investigations.

Britain's senior police chief Paul Stephenson, London's police commissioner, resigned on Sunday over allegations about the police's handling of phone hacking investigations.

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In a statement he read to TV news channels, Stephenson said he had no knowledge of the extent of phone hacking allegations at the now defunct News of the World newspaper, owned by News International, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp media empire.

Britain's police have been criticised over allegations of accepting money from News of the World and other newspapers and of not doing enough to investigate phone hacking allegations.

Stephenson said he did not want criticism of his conduct to detract from ensuring security at the Olympic Games, which are due to be held in London next year.