UPDATE 1-Murdoch UK publisher paid 1 mln stg over phone taps
(Updates with details, Prescott comments)
LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News International has paid 1 million pounds ($1.61 million) to settle court cases involving allegations its reporters worked with private investigators to tap people's phones, the Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday.
High profile figures targeted include politicians from all three parties, Cabinet ministers and celebrities, the paper said.
Former Labour deputy prime minister John Prescott, former Labour culture secretary Tessa Jowell, publicist Max Clifford and model Elle Macpherson were among individuals who had their mobile phone messages hacked into, it said.
News International, the British newspaper subsidiary of global media company News Corp (NWSA.O), said in a statement it "felt it is inappropriate to comment at this time."
The report on the Guardian website said that the publisher of the Sun, News of the World and Times newspapers made payments to settle three cases out of court.
Reporters were alleged to have worked with private investigators to access the phones of public figures to find material for stories, the Guardian said. Citing a senior London police source, the Guardian said police had found evidence of News Group staff using private investigators who hacked into "thousands" of phones.
Prescott reacted angrily to the hacking report and demanded a full explanation from British police.
"I find it staggering that there could be a list known to the police of people who had their phone tapped," he told broadcaster Channel 4 News.
"I'm named as one of them. For such a criminal act not to be reported to me, and for action not to be taken against the people who have done it, reflects very badly on the police, and I want to know their answer," he said.
In a statement the Metropolitan Police said an investigation had been carried out into the alleged unlawful interception of telephone calls at the time.
"Two people were charged and subsequently convicted and jailed. We are not prepared to comment further," it said.
The News of the World's royal affairs editor, Clive Goodman, was jailed for four months in 2007 for hacking into the phones of members of the royal family's household several hundred times to obtain exclusive stories.
A British lawmaker whose parliamentary committee investigated the Goodman case said he was concerned by the latest allegations in the Guardian.
"The committee will want to discuss it very urgently, I think we will do so tomorrow morning," John Whittingdale, chairman of the lower house's committee on culture, media and sport, told Channel 4 News. "We will want to ask News International about all of these payments and about anybody who was employed who might have known more." Continued...
