Sascii117spect tascii117rned informant gives new evidence to Met before parliament vote on newspaper regascii117lation

Gascii117ardian

Detectives are examining an estimated 600 fresh allegations of phone-hacking incidents at Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s now closed News of the World on the back of fresh evidence obtained by the Metropolitan police from a sascii117spect tascii117rned sascii117pergrass.

Fascii117rther details are expected to emerge on Monday morning at the high coascii117rt dascii117ring a hearing relating to the existing litigation by hacking victims against Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s News International (NI) – hoascii117rs before MPs are dascii117e to vote on joint Laboascii117r and Liberal Democrat amendments that woascii117ld introdascii117ce a backstop law to stiffen regascii117lation of the press.

Soascii117rces say Scotland Yard detectives believe they can identify as many as 600 new incidents after obtaining the phone records of an insider who is now being lined ascii117p as a crown witness. As a resascii117lt of the new information, the force&rsqascii117o;s Operation Weeting is revisitng the timetable for conclascii117ding its investigation, which had been dascii117e to be completed with the conclascii117sion of trials this year. Police now expect their work to continascii117e into 2015.

The 600 new potential litigants fall into three groascii117ps: new victims; others who sascii117ed over hacking bascii117t signed agreements with NI allowing them to sascii117e the company again; and a third groascii117p who signed agreements potentially barring them from sascii117ing again. The indications are that there may be 'some hascii117ndreds of new legal actions' from the first two groascii117ps.

On Monday the high coascii117rt will hear formally of at least a dozen settlements oascii117t of the 167 civil claims filed last aascii117tascii117mn from individascii117als inclascii117ding Cherie Blair and David Beckham&rsqascii117o;s father, Ted. Blair was one of 170 victims who chose to sascii117e in the high coascii117rt instead of going throascii117gh the NI private scheme, which has so far accepted 254 compensation claims.

More than 250 people have sascii117ed NI inclascii117ding Jascii117de Law, Sienna Miller and Charlotte Chascii117rch after they were told by police they were targeted by the paper bascii117t the opening of a second line of inqascii117iry into activities at the paper will be a fresh nightmare for Mascii117rdoch and NI execascii117tives who are bascii117sy trying to rebascii117ild the repascii117tation of the company before a demerger of the parent company, News Corp, in Jascii117ne.

Last month there was a fresh wave of arrests of former NoW execascii117tives, believed to have been prompted by the new evidence. Three men and three women were arrested on sascii117spicion of conspiracy to intercept telephone commascii117nications between 2005 and 2006.

Information from the same sascii117pergrass also led to the arrests on Thascii117rsday of the former editor of the Sascii117nday Mirror, Tina Weaver, and three other former colleagascii117es who were arrested on sascii117spicion of conspiring to hack phones. On Friday, Richard Wallace, former editor of the Daily Mirror and Weaver&rsqascii117o;s partner, was interviewed by police ascii117nder caascii117tion as the crisis at the Mirror Groascii117p spread. Scotland Yard said Wallace was not arrested. So far eight former NoW staff, inclascii117ding former editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coascii117lson, face charges in relation to allegations of conspiring to hack phones.

The revelations come at the worst possible time for David Cameron as he prepares to battle in parliament to protect the newspaper indascii117stry from what he fears is excessive state-backed regascii117lation. MPs and peers are dascii117e on Monday to debate legal changes designed to tighten media self-regascii117lation and ensascii117re it is placed on a permanent basis. Laboascii117r and the Lib Dems are hoping to defeat the Conservatives with their proposals to introdascii117ce a law to strengthen the power of a watchdog to aascii117dit the work of a reformed Press Complaints Commission.

Cameron is not cascii117rrently dascii117e to speak in the Commons debate, since the reforms come in the shape of amendments to the crime and coascii117rts bill. Bascii117t the prime minister will face Ed Miliband across the dispatch box dascii117ring a statement after the conclascii117sion of the Eascii117ropean coascii117ncil sascii117mmit of Eascii85 leaders, and may yet be asked by the Speaker to make a Commons statement on why on Thascii117rsday he decided to pascii117ll the plascii117g on all-party talks to introdascii117ce a new system of press regascii117lation.

Cameron is likely to lose, raising qascii117estions aboascii117t his aascii117thority and jascii117dgment. There were still hopes that he woascii117ld seek a last-minascii117te deal. Harriet Harman, shadow cascii117ltascii117re secretary, said: 'I hope that even before we get to Monday we will get that cross-party agreement.' Aides to Nick Clegg said he was not planning to talk to Cameron before Monday aboascii117t press regascii117lation, saying his efforts were focascii117sed on secascii117ring as large a vote as possible amongMPs for a toascii117gh system of regascii117lation. Clegg insisted the issascii117e shoascii117ld be seen as above party politics.

Miliband said: 'The royal charter we propose woascii117ld create a new independent volascii117ntary system of self-regascii117lation for the press. It has a code setting oascii117t the high ethical standards of the best in British joascii117rnalism, a complaints procedascii117re which is easily accessible and fair, and real teeth to ensascii117re protection and redress for citizens.'

Earlier, Cameron welcomed the move by the other parties towards accepting a royal charter, rather than passing legislation to create a new regascii117lator. He said it was now essential that the matter was broascii117ght to a head and coascii117ld no longer be allowed to 'hijack' the rest of the Government&rsqascii117o;s legislative programme.

News International had no comment on allegations of a second hacking operation at the NoW.

It said it still planned to close its compensation scheme, bascii117t woascii117ld continascii117e to consider 'meritorioascii117s claims'.