In what is believed to be the first such legal challenge to the authority of the investigatory powers tribunal (IPT), the campaign group Privacy International has launched a judicial review of the IPT's judgment this year that found "thematic warrants" authorising hacking by GCHQ were legal.
"This evidence does not establish that Mr Morgan authorised the hacking of voicemails or that journalists employed by TMG [Trinity Mirror Group] were indulging in this practice," said Leveson.
It went on to say that the evidence did not establish that he authorised the hacking of voicemails nor that journalists working for the Mirror did so.
This evidence does not establish that Mr Morgan authorised the hacking of voicemails or that journalists employed by TMG were indulging in this practice.
In a report made public on Tuesday, the firm, Mandiant, based in Alexandria, Virginia, said it could now back up suspicions it first reported in more qualified form in 2010.The firm had said then the Chinese government may have authorised the hacking activity it had traced to China, but that there was "no way to determine the extent" of official involvement.
On Thursday, Barack Obama's press secretary, Josh Earnest, said he shared the view of US intelligence officials that Putin had directly authorised the hack.
In a second tweet, the Monty Python co-founder, who has more than 4 million followers on the social networking site, added erroneously: "Anyway, I thought he was in jail after admitting he'd authorised phone-hacking at the Daily Mirror.
Court documents appear to show that Ian Edmondson, a senior News of the World journalist, had authorised Mr Mulcaire to hack phones belonging to Sienna Miller, an actress.
Two kinds of hacking are authorised by the bill – "targeted" and "bulk".
