Motorman chief was told 'the press is too big for us'

Alec Owens, who was the lead investigator in Operation Motorman, has described how a colleague told him it was not worth taking on the newspapers over phone hacking.

Speaking at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics, Mr Owens described how he presented his evidence to Francis Aldhouse, the deputy information commissioner at the time.

According to Mr Owens, Mr Aldhouse, who appeared stunned by the evidence, told him: "We can't take the press on, they're too big for us."