It was closed down in the hope that it would take the heat off the owner. There was never a need as such.
I had assumed they'd have checked why the VMs were deleted before claims were made. Surely there are enough lawsuits flying around to convince professinals to make that simple check before making accusations ?
Interesting spin ... the hackers may (or possibly may not) have actually deleted the messages - there is still much dispute about this.
BUT the mere act of a hacker reading the messages marked them as 'already read' - which then caused them to be auto-deleted by the voicemail system a day or two later - which caused the Dowler family to have their hopes cruelly and falsely raised that Milly was reading her voicemail and thus was alive.
So the NoW hacks WERE responsible whichever way the cookie is crumbled.
the Guardian don't get it wrong more than anyone else (what they're really famous for is typos); they do correct them more promptly than anyone else, though.
The perseverance of The Guardian opened up a can of worms,and thwarted whatever plans Cameron,Coulson.Osborne,Rebekah Wade and the Murdochs were hatching,..I dread to think!Thank you Guardian,and they deserve all the plaudits and awards,I am sure they will receive.
Now the truth is known that N.O.W did not delete Millys messages I see there is an outcry for Millys family to the return the £3 million they received.
The guardian jumped in , didnt have all the facts and now the reporter looks a plonker who admits he was wrong but stands by his story ! Sounds just like the NOTW funny that?