UPDATE 1-British police vow robust probe into phone hacking

* Full investigation promised into claims

* Police deny they failed to take allegations seriously

(adds ex-minister's new claim of hacking)

By Michael Holden

LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - British police vowed on Thursday to leave "no stone unturned" in their new investigation into alleged phone hacking at top-selling newspapers, rejecting claims they failed to take the issue seriously in the past.

London's Metropolitan Police announced on Wednesday it had launched a new inquiry into claims of illegal activities at the News of the World, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWSA.O) media empire, after it sacked senior editor Ian Edmondson. [ID:nLDE70P26L]

The allegations have embroiled the royal family and showbusiness stars, forced Prime Minister David Cameron's media chief Andy Coulson to quit his job, and sent shockwaves through Britain's media industry.

Tim Godwin, acting head of the Metropolitan Police, said there had been "significant new evidence" from News Corp to warrant the new inquiry, which he promised would be swift and robust.

"It will be with no stone unturned," he told a meeting of his force's governing body. "It will restore confidence in victims who feel they have not been given a service."

The police have faced severe criticism from the media, politicians and alleged victims of the phone hacking that they did not handle past investigations properly.

The issue dates back to 2005/6 when the News of the World's royal reporter and a private detective were arrested and later jailed for snooping on the voicemail messages of royal aides.

Coulson, the paper's then editor, quit his job in 2007, saying he had known nothing about the hacking. He announced he would leave Cameron's team last week because he said continuing speculation about his previous role was distracting him from doing his government work.

No other journalists at the paper had faced any action until Edmondson's dismissal on Wednesday.

However, victims of the scam, some politicians and rival media organisations have always claimed the practice was rife, and there are reports it is still ongoing.

Former Labour minister Tessa Jowell told the BBC she was a previous victim of the News of the World tapping and that she had contacted police to say she suspected another attempt had been made to access her mobile phone's voicemail last week.

She said "the suggestion is pretty clear" that other newspapers were involved in the practice.

"I think that the question the public are entitled to ask is was this really the behaviour of one or two rogue agents of News of the World or is this behaviour endemic in the media culture," she told BBC TV.

Critics argue the original police probe did not go far enough, and some have suggested detectives were too close to the News of the World, claims police deny.

John Yates, whose unit headed the original investigation, told Thursday's public meeting some claims in the media had been "speculation and misreporting" and he had been asked to act on "rumour, innuendo, and gossip".

He said the latest information from News Corp was "the first new evidence that may have a chance of being admissible". (Additional reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)