A dozen high-profile figures have contacted lawyers after their phones were allegedly hacked by a British tabloid with Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson also targeted, reports said yesterday.
The allegations against the News of the World deepened after the Guardian, which broke the original story on Thursday, said Mr Ferguson and former England captain Alan Shearer had their phones tapped by investigators for the paper. Both men are believed to have left messages on the mobile phone of Gordon Taylor, the chief executive officer of Professional Footballers' Association, who, the Guardian said received £700,000 (€820,000) in compensation from the paper last year.
The Guardian said actress Gwyneth Paltrow, singer George Michael, ex-England football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and former deputy prime minister John Prescott were among other celebrities targeted.
A media lawyer said he and several barristers and solicitors had been contacted by various public figures seeking advice about suing the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper, which sells 2.9 million copies each Sunday.
Mark Stephens, of London law firm Finers Stephens Innocent, said: "At the moment it's fair to say that people are looking at their options, they want to see what is going on.
"The first hurdle for any individual is to ascertain whether they were the subject of criminal behaviour or a conspiracy for criminal behaviour.
"That requires them to obtain from the police, the information commissioner or the court details of what was happening."
He said a legal action could result in a payout of more than half a million pounds (800,000 dollars) for each individual.
The News of the World's editor at the time of the phone-tapping was said to have taken place, Andy Coulson, is now the communications chief for the main opposition Conservative Party.Conservative leader David Cameron has stood by Mr Coulson, saying he is doing his job for the party in "an excellent job in a proper, upright way".
The News of the World's royal editor, Clive Goodman, was jailed in 2007 along with a private investigator after the phone messages of aides to Prince William, second in line to the throne, were illegally accessed.
The police has said it will not reopen its investigation in the light of the new allegations, but the director of public prosecutions has ordered a review of evidence.