TIMELINE OF THE LEVESON ENQUIRY The Leveson Inquiry was set up after revelations that a private detective working for the News of the World hacked the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. Here is a timeline of events leading up to it phone hacking by the News of the World newspaper.

2000, Rebekah Brooks is English journalist and editor of the News of the World. At this time, aged just 32 the youngest national newspaper editor in the country. She begins a campaign to name and shame alleged paedophiles, leading to some alleged offenders being terrorised by angry mobs. She also campaigns for public access to the Sex Offenders Register, which eventually comes into law as "Sarah's Law." Brooks was a prominent figure in the News International phone hacking scandal, having been the editor of the News of the World when illegal phone hacking was carried out by the newspaper.

2002, Schoolgirl Milly Dowler, 13, disappears in the London suburb of Walton-on-Thames in March. Her remains are found in September. Her murder is one of the most notorious of the decade and her killer is convicted in 2011.

2005, November: The News of the World publishes a story about royal family member’s knee injury suffered by Prince William, Queen Elizabeth's grandson and second in line to the throne. That causes complaints by officials of the royal court about voic messages being intercepted. The complaints start a police inquiry. 2006, August: Detectives arrest the News of the World's royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire over allegations that they hacked into the mobile phones of members of the royal household. 2007, January: The News of the World's editor Clive Goodman is jailed for four months because of the story about Prince William. Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire is given a six-month prison term but also he has been pleaded guilty to five other charges of intercepting voic messages. December: James Murdoch is made chief executive of News Corporation's European and Asian operations

2008, April: James Murdoch agrees to pay Gordon Taylor £700,000 to settle a phone hacking claim. 2009, June: Rebekah Brooks becomes CEO of News International. July: Informations that News of the World reporters, with the knowledge of senior staff, illegally accessed messages from the mobile phones of celebrities and politicians while Coulson (Rebbeca brooks deputy editor since 2000, who became editor of the Sunday paper and then news of the World editor) was editor from 2003 to 2007 were disclosed. News Group Newspapers, which publishes the News of the World, has paid out more than £1 million to settle cases of phone hacking by its journalists. Also its editor Colin Myler states that “no evidence” of wrongdoing had been uncovered. Septmeber : At the start of the month, Rebekah Brooks leaves The Sun to become the chief executive of News International.

2010, May: Mr Coulson becomes head of the new coalition Government's media operation after David Cameron enters 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister. September: MPs ask parliament's standards watchdog to begin a new investigation into the hacking allegations at the Sunday tabloid and its former editor Coulson. The New York Times publishes a long article which claims Mr Coulson knew his staff was carrying out illegal phone hacking. New investigation began. November: Mr Coulson is interviewed as a witness by Metropolitan Police detectives investigating the phone tapping allegations. He is not cautioned or arrested. And the investigation finished as the witness refused to co-oparate with police.

2011, January : Andy Coulson resigns as Cameron's communications chief. March: The BBC's Panorama reveals that in 2006, Alex Marunchak, who works for the News of the World, obtained s belonging to an ex-British Army intelligence officer that had been hacked in to by a private detective. (Mr Marunchak denies any wrongdoing, while News International says it will act if shown new evidence of improper conduct.) June 7: News Group, owner of the News of the World, formally apologises to Sienna Miller for hacking into several of her mobile phones, and pays her a settlement of £100,000 for damages and legal costs. June 20: 300 s handed to Scotland Yard, which allegedly show that Mr Coulson had authorised payments to police officers.

June 23: Levi Bellfield is found guilty of murdering Milly Dowler in July4: A lawyer for Dowler's family says he learned from police that Milly Dowler's voic messages had been hacked, possibly by a News of the World investigator, while police were searching for her. The lawyers claim some of her voic s been deleted to make room for more messages, misleading police and her family into thinking Milly was still alive. July5: News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks says she is ''appalled and shocked'' that Milly Dowler's phone was hacked, while Prime Minister Cameron calls it a "truly dreadful act". July 8: Coulson is arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and suspicion of corruption. However he is bailed until October after nine hours at a police station. July 13: The family of Milly Dowler meet David Cameron in Downing Street. Meanwhile, Lord Justice Leveson is named as the chair of the public inquiry into the allegations of phone hacking

July 14: Rebekah Brooks agrees to appear before MPs on July 19, while James and Rupert Murdoch agree to appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee after the Deputy Serjeant at Arms hand delivers summonses to News International's offices July 15: Rebekah Brooks resigns, saying that her "desire to remain on the bridge" has made her the "focal point". In her statement, she goes on to say: "This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems." Rupert Murdoch, "humbled and shaken", meets the family of Milly Dowler, and apologises. July 16: Rupert Murdoch uses adverts in national newspapers to apologise for the News of the World's "serious wrongdoing". July 17 : Rebekah Brooks is arrested on suspicion of phone hacking and corruption after voluntarily attending a London police station for a pre-arranged appointment. July 18: Former News of the World showbiz reporter Sean Hoare, the first named journalist to allege that Andy Coulson was aware of phone hacking at the newspaper, is found dead at his home. Police say they are not treating his death as suspicious.

July 19: The Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee holds a hearing with former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, former Assistant Commissioner John Yates, James and Rupert Murdoch and former News International executive Rebekah Brooks. The committee's key questions cover the individuals' knowledge of phone hacking, police payments, use of private detectives and the withholding of potentially damaging information from senior officials and police. Murdoch Sr says that the News of the World staff, not himself, was responsible for the consequences of phone hacking. Rebekah Brooks is pressed by MPs on her knowledge of the News of the World's involvement with private detectives, police payments and covering the legal fees of Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman. July 24: Surrey Police reveal that a detective working on the Milly Dowler case in 2002 was dismissed the same year for leaking information. July 28: (?) New reports emerge that the News of the World targeted the mobile phone of Sarah Payne's mother, Sara. The phone was allegedly a gift from he News of the World and given to Payne personally by Rebekah Brooks. Eight-year-old Sarah was abducted and killed in July 2000, and her story was the impetus behind a News of the World campaign to make public the addresses of child sex offenders; the campaign became official in 2008 under the name Sarah's Law. MP Tom Watson describes the revelation as a "new low". Sara Payne had written a piece for the final issue of the News of the World, saying her case proved the paper was a "force for good".

July 29: PCC chairman Baroness Buscombe resigns over growing criticism of the PCC's handling of past phone hacking investigations. August 11: Rupert Murdoch endorses deputy chairman Chase Carey as his successor instead of James Murdoch. August 12: The IPCC reports it is investigating claims that a Scotland Yard police officer leaked information to News of the World about Milly Dowler in August 16: The Parliamentary Select Committee will share new evidence about the phone hacking scandal, including evidence that James Murdoch knew about more than one instance of phone hacking at the News of the World. October 21: Rupert Murdoch deflects attempts by investors to remove him as chairman of News Corp at the company's annual meeting. He also retains his sons James and Lachlan as directors. November 14: Lord Leveson begins his inquiry