It appears News International have waived confidentiality to permit Harbottle & Lewis to talk to Parliamentary Commitees and the Police. There appears to be some doubt about the terms of that release (the Lawyer reports it in the following terms for instance):
However, on Wednesday evening, a statement, understood to be issued by parent company News Corp’s newly installed management and standards committee, released Harbottle from its obligations, allowing the firm to talk to police and parliament about the exact remit it was given by NI when it was instructed in 2007.
I have blogged previously on the background to this here. This is not such a noble act on their part. I am advised (hat tip to Carl Gardner) that according to Erksine May, parliamentary privilege permits the overriding of legal professional privilege. There is a fairly decent argument that privilege has been impliedly waived anyway by News International’s release of and comment upon the Harbottle advice and, in any event there may also be arguments as to whether privilege arises in the first place, in particular whether advice has been used by the client to further a criminal purpose....read more
http://lawyerwatch.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/hackgate-iii-some-possible-implications-of-harbottle%e2%80%99s-release/