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Last updated: Friday, July 10, 2009

Britain’s most senior policeman ordered an inquiry Thursday into claims that journalists from a tabloid owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch illegally hacked into the mobile phones of hundreds of celebrities and politicians. Lawmakers also demanded answers after The Guardian reported that the News of the World — the country’s most popular Sunday paper — paid private investigators to obtain voice mail messages, private phone numbers, bank statements and other information about figures including Gwyneth Paltrow, George Michael and some of the country’s most senior politicians. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the story “raises questions that are serious and will obviously have to be answered.” Metropolitan Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson said he had appointed a senior Scotland Yard officer to look into the allegations against the News of the World, which is owned by News International Ltd., a subsidiary of Murdoch’s News Corp., owner of U.S. media outlets including Fox Television, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. “We will investigate thoroughly and follow the case to where it leads us,” Stephenson told Sky News. Home Office Minister David Hanson said police would make a statement later Thursday on the “serious allegations.” Citing anonymous senior police sources, The Guardian reported that journalists at the tabloid used private investigators to hack into private voice mail messages, using the information to “gain unlawful access to confidential personal data, including tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemized phone bills.” It said targets of hacking and other forms of illegal information-gathering included London Mayor Boris Johnson, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson and politicians from Britain’s three main parties. The Guardian wrote that the News of the World had paid more than 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) in secret out-of-court settlements to three of the targets, including Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association. News International said in a…

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Report: UK Tabloid Hacked Into Voice Mails

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