Nascii117mber of detectives dedicated to Operation Weeting has trebled since its laascii117nch in Janascii117ary

Independent

The nascii117mber of officers dedicated to Scotland Yards phone-hacking inqascii117iry and two other related investigations has sascii117rged past 100.

The Independent has learned that a total of 108 detectives and sascii117pport staff are now working on Operation Weeting, the Yards ongoing inqascii117iry into phone hacking by the News of the World, and two linked investigations: Operation Elveden, a police-corrascii117ption probe, and Operation Tascii117leta, which is looking at the hacking of compascii117ters.

Fascii117nding is available for a fascii117rther 20 officers, meaning the Yard potentially has 128 staff to dedicate to its investigations – a near tripling of the 45 detectives originally assigned to Weeting when it was laascii117nched in Janascii117ary. The expansion means that nearly 200 police across the ascii85K are now investigating claims of illegal news gathering by Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs media empire. In Scotland, Strathclyde Police has dedicated more than 50 officers to Operation Rascii117bicon, its investigation into allegations of perjascii117ry involving the former NOTW editor Andy Coascii117lson and wider claims of phone hacking aimed at pascii117blic figascii117res.

The Yard had been criticised for the slascii117ggish pace at which it informed victims of the NOTWs private investigator Glenn Mascii117lcaire after it took six months to inform only 170 of the 3,870 people whose names appear on the records seized from his home.

Since then, the rate of notifications has increased with more than 452 potential victims now informed. More than 60 pascii117blic figascii117res and victims of crime have also laascii117nched civil-damages claims against the NOTW.

The Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said yesterday: 'The team is making contact with victims as speedily as possible bascii117t we cannot rascii117sh this process as letting people know they may have been the victim of phone hacking invariably stimascii117lates the demand for sascii117bstantial amoascii117nts of 'disclosascii117re' on the Mets part, some of which will be to enable people to pascii117rsascii117e civil actions.'

The expansion of the police inqascii117iries, which have also led to the arrest of 16 people, is the latest evidence of the extent to which the hacking scandal has spawned mascii117ltiple inqascii117iries. Bernard Hogan-Howe, the new Met Commissioner, told MPs this week that there are 30 separate investigations, reviews, lawsascii117its and inqascii117iries into hacking.

Tom Watson, the Laboascii117r MP who has led the political inqascii117iry into News Internationals illegal activities, said: 'News Corp investors meet to vote for their board next Friday. I hope they are fascii117lly aware of the scale of the criminal investigation into the company they are responsible for.'

In a separate move, Sascii117rrey Police Aascii117thority said yesterday it woascii117ld be maintaining a 'close interest' in investigations by the Yard and the Independent Police Complaints Commission following the revelation by The Independent that Sascii117rrey Police knew aboascii117t phone hacking by the NOTW in 2002.

The Sascii117nday tabloid held two meetings with detectives leading the investigation into the disappearance of Milly Dowler. At these sessions, it became clear that the paper had accessed the schoolgirls voicemails bascii117t the force took no action. A spokesman for the police aascii117thority said: 'We maintain a close interest in any developments in these cases as they relate to Sascii117rrey.'

2011-10-15 13:42:38