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The ICO first became aware of the scale of the problem in November 2002, when an ICO investigator attended a search under warrant of [[John Boyall]],<ref name=WhatPricePrivacyNow>{{cite news|title=What Price Privacy Now?|url=http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/current_topics/what_price_privacy_now.aspx|accessdate=20 August 2011|newspaper=Information Commissioner's Office|date=December 2006}}</ref> a private investigator in Surrey. Documents found on the premises revealed the misuse of data from the [[Police National Computer]]. This discovery led to two investigations: Operation Motorman, conducted by the ICO and led by ICO Senior Investigator Alec Owens, who prior to joining the ICO had been a [[Merseyside Police]] [[Inspector]]; and [[Operation Glade]], conducted by the Metropolitan Police.<ref name=Whatprice/>
The ICO later obtained search warrants for the Hampshire office of a private detective Steve Whittamore.<ref name=Guardian21Sept>{{cite news |title=Newspapers used me as fall guy, says convicted private eye |author=James Robinson |url=
In February 2004, four suspects pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit misconduct in public office: Whittamore and Boyall, retired police officer Alan King, and Paul Marshall, a police communications officer.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jonathan Rees: private investigator who ran empire of tabloid corruption |author=Nick Davies |url=
In September 2011, former policeman Alec Owens, the original lead investigator of Operation Motorman, criticised the senior management of the ICO for the way in which the investigation was handled. He stated that investigators were prohibited from interviewing journalists and alleged that this was because the management "were frightened". He said that had the team been allowed to question journalists the use of phone hacking might have been uncovered earlier.<ref>{{cite news |title=Exposed after eight years: a private eye's dirty work for Fleet Street |author= |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/exposed-after-eight-years-a-private-eyes-dirty-work-for-fleet-street-2354360.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=14 September 2011 |accessdate=14 September 2011 |location=London |first1=Ian |last1=Burrell |first2=Mark |last2=Olden}}</ref> In November 2011, just a few days before Owens was due to give evidence to the [[Leveson Inquiry]], his home was raided under warrant by [[Cheshire Police]]. Before leaving under police caution for an interview at [[Wilmslow]] police station, Owens informed [[Brian Leveson|Lord Leveson]] by phone of the raid.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2063610/Leveson-inquiry-News-World-journalists-computers-grinder.html | location=London | work=Daily Mail | title=News of the World journalists' computers were destroyed by 'putting them through a grinder and smashing them up' | date=19 November 2011}}</ref>
On 9 April 2012 [[political]] [[blog]]ger [[Paul Staines]] released the "Blue Book" section from the Operation Motorman files, covering 1,028 [[News International]] related entries out of a total of 17,000.<ref name='Fawkes'>{{cite web|url=http://order-order.com/2012/04/10/britains-biggest-establishment-cover-up-conspiracy-thousands-of-crimes-committed-by-over-300-journalists-protected-from-exposure-by-a-judge-and-newspaper-editors/|title=Motorman: Britain's Biggest Establishment Cover-Up|publisher=Order Order|accessdate=2012-04-09|date=2012-04-09}}</ref> The day before the files were released ''[[The Guardian]]s''' "Media Monkey" column had reported rumours that Staines was going to release the files, and was preparing to fly to Ireland to escape British jurisdiction.<ref name="GuardApr12">{{cite web|url=
== See also ==
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