Campaign For Rebekah's Law Begins

Rebekah’s Law will ensure that anyone who wants to know if they live within a 10-mile radius of a News Corp. journalist can consult a special database.

The Home Office pilot is being extended to eight more forces in England next year.

There are fears however among police forces in England and Wales that Rebekah’s Law could encourage vigilantes to seek revenge against News of the World, Sun and Times journalists or anything else owned by the Murdochs.

“It is a very real danger that there could be some real hacking going on. We’re talking about machete and axe type hacking, not the kind that the News Corp. journalists are party to,” Chief Constable Tommy Dowler of the Association of Chief Police Officers said.

“We remain concerned about the risk of vigilante action and News International journalists going underground. All new local schemes need close management and proper resourcing to avoid this,” a concerned citizen told the BBC yesterday.

But Chief Constable Dowler said people would not need to share the information as police would inform any affected party.