'Someone's coming to get me': Terrified phone-hacking whistleblower feared for his life before he was found dead

By SAM GREENHILL, TOM KELLY and JAMES CHAPMAN

Found dead: Former News of the World journalist Sean Hoare was discovered at his home in Watford


Sean Hoare found dead at his flat in Watford, Herts

Ex NotW reporter's claims last autumn reignited scandal

Mr Hoare claimed Coulson's denials of phone hacking were 'a lie'

Police probing former showbiz reporter's 'suicide'

Friends suggest he may have died of natural causes

Post mortem being carried out this morning



Mr Hoare in the sitting room of his home. A friend and neighbour claimed Mr Hoare had become increasingly reclusive and paranoid in recent weeks


The man who launched the entire phone hacking scandal had become a paranoid recluse who believed someone was out to get him, a friend has revealed.

Sean Hoare, who was found dead at his flat in Watford, Hertfordshire, yesterday, had spent much of the last weeks of his life 'hiding' in his flat with the curtains drawn.

Last night a friend and neighbour claimed Mr Hoare, 47, had become increasingly reclusive and paranoid in recent weeks.

‘He would talk about someone from the Government coming to get him,' he said.


Tragic: Police are investigating the death of Mr Hoare after his body was found at his Hertfordshire home


'He’d say to me, “If anyone comes by, don’t say I’m in”.

'He was physically going downhill. He was yellow in colour and wasn’t looking well for the last month.

‘He had a constant struggle with alcohol and talked to me about how much he had put his wife through.

‘He did say something about phone hacking and I think that was his main worry. He had definite concerns with the media. He did mention he was paranoid and would mention conspiracy stuff.’

Former News of the World journalist Mr Hoare had accused former Tory media chief Andy Coulson of lying about his role in the affair.


Allegations: Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson was aware phone hacking took place at the paper, Mr Hoare claimed last year


He said that when editor of the paper, Mr Coulson actively encouraged his staff to intercept the calls of celebrities.

It was his explosive claims last autumn that reignited the scandal and ultimately led to the tumultuous events of the past fortnight which have shaken the political, police and media establishments.

Police were investigating the possibility that he had killed himself, saying his death was ‘not thought to be suspicious’.





His death came on a day when:

The Metropolitan Police was left in turmoil as counter-terrorism officer John Yates was forced to follow Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and resign;

Mr Yates faced investigation over claims that he secured a Scotland Yard job for the daughter of hacking suspect Neil Wallis;

David Cameron cut short a trip to Africa and said he will fly back to Britain today after agreeing to delay Parliament’s summer break to discuss the affair;

London Mayor Boris Johnson infuriated Number Ten by refusing to say whether the PM should quit over his hiring of Mr Coulson;

Police recovered a bag containing a computer, phone and paperwork found in a bin near Rebekah Brooks’s London home.


Investigation: Forensic officers and a policeman at the flat of Mr Hoare


The body of Mr Hoare, 47, was discovered by police yesterday morning at his modern first-floor flat in Watford.

The former reporter blew the whistle during an investigation by the New York Times last September, pointing the finger directly at Mr Coulson, by then the Prime Minister’s communications chief.

Until Mr Hoare spoke out in September, pressure had eased on Mr Coulson, recruited by David Cameron as his media chief in 2007 after resigning as editor of the News of the World when royal reporter Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed.


Guarded: Two police officers stand outside Mr Hoare's flat

source: dailymail