UK police investigate Murdoch paper hacking claims

By Peter Griffiths

LONDON (Reuters) - British police will investigate claims 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 examine allegations in the Guardian newspaper that News of the World reporters worked with private investigators to access "two or three thousand" private mobile phones.

Actors Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow, Australian model Elle Macpherson and former British deputy prime minister John Prescott were among those targeted by reporters seeking stories for the Sunday newspaper, according to the report.

The case has reignited debate over the ethics of Britain's fiercely competitive tabloids, which thrived for years on a brash mix of sex, scandal and "showbiz exclusives" before seeing sales fall sharply in the face of Internet competition.

"There are serious questions to be answered," Prime Minister Gordon Brown told reporters in Italy, where he was attending a G8 summit.

News International, the British newspaper subsidiary of media company News Corp, has already paid 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) to settle court cases with three people -- including soccer executive Gordon Taylor -- whose phones were violated, the Guardian said. The company has made no comment.

The inquiry is being led by London's Assistant Commissioner John Yates, who investigated the so-called "cash for honors" 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 itemized phone bills and bank statements.

CONSERVATIVE CONNECTION

Ruling Labour Party politicians called for an inquiry into the role of the police, 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.

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.

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 Coulson.

Cameron said he would not get rid of Coulson, adding, "I believe in giving people a second chance."

Privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office, said it gave Taylor's lawyers evidence last year of News International reporters buying and selling personal information after the ICO received a court order.

"This included material that showed that 31 journalists working for The News of the World and The Sun had acquired people's personal information through 'blagging'," the Assistant Information Commissioner Mick Gorrill said in a statement.

"Blagging" is a form of deception where a person pretends to be someone else in an attempt to obtain information from sources such banks or telephone companies, the watchdog said.

Macpherson's publicist said in a statement, "Elle is obviously very concerned that her private telephone conversations and those of other people may have been intruded upon by reputable newspapers."

(Additional reporting by Tim Castle and Luke Baker; Editing by Louise Ireland)