UK police investigate Murdoch tabloids hacking claims

Britain's most senior policeman ordered an inquiry yesterday into reports that journalists at Rupert Murdoch's bestselling British newspaper conspired to hack into the phones of celebrities, legislators and public figures.

London police chief Paul Stephenson said a senior officer will investigate allegations in the Guardian newspaper that News of the World reporters worked with private investigators to access "two or three thousand" private mobile phones.

The publisher of the News of the World, Sun and Times newspapers has made no comment.

Former British deputy prime minister John Prescott, US actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Australian model Elle Macpherson were among those targeted by reporters seeking exclusive stories for the tabloid, according to the report.

"These are serious allegations ... the Metropolitan Police will examine them," Home Office Minister David Hanson told Parliament. "We await their investigation and examination."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's official spokesman said Mr Brown was aware of the reports, adding, "(He) believes those people in public life should act with honesty and integrity."

The inquiry is being led by London's Assistant Commissioner John Yates, who investigated the so-called "cash for honours" scandal that overshadowed the end of Tony Blair's premiership.

The Guardian said private investigators working for the News of the World intercepted voicemail messages and gained access to personal data such as itemised phone bills and bank statements.

Ruling Labour Party politicians called for an inquiry into the role of the police, Mr Murdoch's newspapers and the opposition Conservative Party, which hired former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as its communications chief in May 2007.

Mr Coulson resigned as the paper's editor after royal reporter Clive Goodman was jailed a few months earlier for hacking into the phones of members of the royal family's household.

News International, the British newspaper subsidiary of media company News Corp., has already paid £1 million ($1.61 million) to settle court cases with three people - including football executive Gordon Taylor - whose phones were violated, the Guardian said.

"The enormity of this is just unbelievable and raises many, many questions," Mr Prescott told the BBC.

Britain's newspaper watchdog, the Press Complaints Commission, and parliament's media committee must investigate and the police have to explain why they made no arrests over the latest claims, Mr Prescott added.

Former Home Secretary (interior minister) Charles Clarke said Conservative leader David Cameron, who leads in the polls with an election less than a year away, should sack Mr Coulson.