Phone-hacking whistleblower found dead

LONDON (AP) -- Police say Sean Hoare, the whistleblower reporter who alleged widespread hacking at the News of the World, has been found dead.

Police said Hoare's death at his home in England was not considered to be suspicious, according to Britain's Press Association news agency.

Hoare was quoted by The New York Times as saying that phone-hacking was widely used and even encouraged at the News of the World tabloid under then-editor Andy Coulson.

Coulson -- who most recently served as Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief, was arrested as part of the widening investigation into phone hacking and police corruption.