Sky news admits authorising journalist to hack 'Canoe Man' Darwin's emails

London, April 6 (ANI): Senior executives at Sky News reportedly allowed a journalist to illegally hack the emails of "Canoe Man" John Darwin, who has been accused of faking his own death in 2002 to claim insurance money.

The UK-based broadcaster revealed that it permitted journalist Gerard Tubb to carry out the hacking, a breach of the Computer Misuse Act, on two separate occasions, including accessing the email accounts of a suspected paedophile in an investigation that did not lead to any material being published or broadcasted, that it believed were in the public interest.

According to the Telegraph, Sky News Managing Director Simon Cole approved both instances of hacking.

John Ryley, head of Sky News, said the broadcaster had authorised its journalist to access the emails of individuals who were suspected of criminal activities, and claimed the hacking in both cases was justified.

Sky News sought permission to access the emails after it discovered that Darwin declared dead after vanishing in March 2002, used the identity of a friend John Jones.

Their conspiracy was exposed in 2007 after Darwin turned up at a London police station claiming to be a missing person and suffering from amnesia. He pleaded guilty to seven charges of deception, while his wife, Anne, faced six charges of deception and nine for money laundering.(ANI)