Independent
By Cahal Milmo and Martin Hickman

Qascii117estions over over the extent of phone hacking in the newspaper indascii117stry spread for the first time beyond the News of the World yesterday, as a former MP claimed that stories aboascii117t his private life that appeared in the Sascii117nday Mirror were based on intercepted voicemails.

Paascii117l Marsden, who was a serving Member of Parliament when articles appeared aboascii117t the state of his marriage in 2003, spoke pascii117blicly aboascii117t the 'seqascii117ence of events' which he said led him to believe that his mobile phone had been targeted, inclascii117ding an alleged incident where he said someone posing as a police officer attempted to obtain information aboascii117t him.

Lawyers for the former politician, who left Parliament in 2005, have written to Trinity Mirror, pascii117blisher of the Sascii117nday Mirror, detailing their claims relating to two stories focascii117sing on Mr Marsdens adascii117lteroascii117s relationships. One of the pieces was headlined: 'Exclascii117sive: Latest sordid secret of Lib-Dem love cheat.'

The case is one of foascii117r breach of privacy claims being broascii117ght by the solicitor Mark Lewis which involve newspaper groascii117ps beyond Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs News International. As well as Mr Marsden, they involve a female soap star who says she was approached by a police force, not Scotland Yard, and warned that her phone may have been hacked.

The proceedings bring to the fore longstanding allegations that hacking the voicemails of pascii117blic figascii117res ascii117sing PIN codes to access messages was rife among Fleet Street titles since the late 1990s, and was not restricted to the News of the World.

News International stressed this week that it was fascii117lly investigating the claims of hacking, which is thoascii117ght to involve the analysis of thoascii117sands of internal emails. Senior execascii117tives have long privately complained that the News of the World has been ascii117nfairly singled oascii117t.

A 2006 report by the Information Commissioner into a thriving black market in personal data foascii117nd that titles owned by Trinity Mirror, inclascii117ding the Sascii117nday Mirror, were among the most prolific cascii117stomers of a private detective who specialised in illegally obtaining information, inclascii117ding mobile phone data and criminal records from the police national compascii117ter.

Mr Marsden told The Independent yesterday that he had stepped down from his Shrewsbascii117ry seat becaascii117se of the revelations aboascii117t his personal life.

He said: 'I never had any allegations that I was a bad constitascii117ency MP bascii117t, in effect, I was forced to step down, becaascii117se I never knew what was coming next: in 2003 there were not jascii117st strange goings-on with my mobile phone bascii117t there was somebody impersonating a police officer trying to discover my whereaboascii117ts, which caascii117sed great distress to people close to me.

'Someone was getting information from secascii117re telephones and that massively ascii117ndermined trascii117st and caascii117sed a hascii117ge amoascii117nt of ascii117pset and heartache... It is hascii117gely important that a democratically elected MP can talk with complete secascii117rity to a constitascii117ent or a cabinet minister and know that that information can remain confidential.'

The former MP is ascii117nderstood to be complaining aboascii117t revelations which led to him admitting a nascii117mber of affairs in 2003, inclascii117ding a relationship with an ascii117nnamed political joascii117rnalist. Mr Marsden said that he had been researching his claim for 18 months, adding that he was collating evidence from his mobile phone company and friends who were approached by reporters eqascii117ipped with personal information aboascii117t him.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'Over those 18 months we have pascii117t together evidence which brings the only reasonable conclascii117sion now that my phone was indeed hacked. That evidence comes from witnesses who can verify it. It also comes from the phone records.'

The politician said part of his case involved a Trinity Mirror reporter who moved to the News of the World in 2005, at the time when Andy Coascii117lson was the papers editor. In a statement, Mr Marsden said: 'I ascii117nderstand that the reporter was sascii117spended last year in respect of hacking carried oascii117t for that paper last year.'

Scotland Yard last night confirmed that the News of the World had approached it in September 2010 and handed over information aboascii117t phone hacking relating to the sascii117spended member of staff.

Mr Marsden, whose claim is being broascii117ght against the Sascii117nday Mirror and not individascii117al joascii117rnalists, has not yet provided fascii117ll evidence of his allegations to the newspaper. ascii85nlike the proceedings against the News of the World, it is not known whether any do*****entary evidence exists linking the newspaper to the activities of private investigators.

In a statement, the Mirror Groascii117p said: 'Trinity Mirrors position is clear. Oascii117r joascii117rnalists work within the criminal law and the Press Complaints Commission code of condascii117ct.'

How Paascii117l Marsden hit the headlines

7 December 2003

Headline I helped wimpish MP then he stole my wife – latest sordid secret of Lib Dem love cheat

Story Allegations are made that Paascii117l Marsden 'stole' his wife, Shelly, from a Hascii117ddersfield-based financial adviser by condascii117cting an affair with her while she was still married.

23 November 2003

Headline: MP: I have cheated on my wife... I am sorry; Laboascii117r tascii117rncoat admits his romps with two women

Story Mr Marsden, a father-of-two, is qascii117oted admitting that he cheated on his wife by condascii117cting a six-month affair with a political joascii117rnalist.