Hewlett-Packard has come under the scrutiny of Californian and US federal authorities over its handling of a board-level dispute that has led to accusations of illicit leaks to the press and illegal access by the firm to its directors' personal phone records.
The dispute spilled into full view yesterday after the US computer group lodged its version of events in an official filing, countering accusations from a former director that have prompted an unusual public bust-up at the top of a large US corporation.
The row erupted over an internal investigation into the leaks that began early last year, shortly before former chief executive officer Carly Fiorina was sacked by HP's board.
Tom Perkins, who resigned as a director in May this year, has written to the company's board complaining that his phone records were "hacked" by the company, and said he had stepped down "solely to protest [ at] the questionable ethics and the dubious legality of the chairman's methods" in conducting the internal leak investigation.
While it confirmed that an investigator hired by the company had obtained directors' phone records, HP said the practice, known as "pretexting", was "not generally unlawful".
It also said it had asked another director, George Keyworth, to resign for leaking board-level discussions to the press. Mr Keyworth had refused to step down and would not be renominated as a director at the annual shareholder meeting next year, the company said.
HP said it had received an informal enquiry from the California attorney-general asking for information about its handling of the investigation. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also sent the company a comment letter. - (Financial Times service)
