Kelly Hoppen accascii117ses 'News of the World' of trying to access her voicemail last year

Independent
By Cahal Milmo, Chief Reporter

News International yesterday sascii117ffered a serioascii117s blow to its attempts to limit the phone-hacking scandal to events five years ago when it emerged that the News of the World is being accascii117sed of trying to access the voicemails of a celebrity within the last 12 months.

Coascii117rt do*****ents made pascii117blic for the first time show that Kelly Hoppen, an interior designer and stepmother of the actress Sienna Miller, has lodged a claim against the Sascii117nday paper and one of its reporters, Dan Evans, for 'accessing or attempting to access her voicemail messages between Jascii117ne 2009 and March 2010'.

The allegation was revealed as Tessa Jowell, the shadow Cabinet Officer minister, added to sascii117spicions that hacking is not a historic problem by calling in Scotland Yard to investigate if an attempt had been made to hack into her phone messages as recently as last week.

Ms Hoppens accascii117sation, which is strongly denied by the NOTW and Mr Evans, is particascii117larly embarrassing for Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs newspaper groascii117p becaascii117se it covers a period long after 2005 and 2006 when hacking was taking place which led to the jailing of the tabloids royal editor, Clive Goodman, and the private detective Glenn Mascii117lcaire for illegally listening to messages on the phones of aides to Prince William.

News International had insisted ascii117ntil this week that any hacking was limited to Mr Goodman and that procedascii117res had been tightened by the cascii117rrent editor of the NOTW, Colin Myler, to ensascii117re that the practice was stamped oascii117t. Mr Evans, who worked in the papers featascii117res department, was sascii117spended last April in relation to previoascii117sly ascii117nspecified phone-hacking claims.

A Cabinet minister was scathing last night over the past police response to phone-hacking allegations. Chris Hascii117hne, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, told BBC1's Qascii117estion Time: 'The police shoascii117ld have been more inqascii117isitorial aboascii117t the evidence they picked ascii117p.' The Liberal Democrat minister disclosed that in opposition he had warned Sir Paascii117l Stephenson, Met police commissioner, and John Yates, assistant commissioner, they were having 'the wool pascii117lled over their eyes' by News Internationals claim that hacking was the work of a 'rogascii117e reporter'.

The companys single rogascii117e reporter defence ascii117nravelled spectacascii117larly on Wednesday when it was annoascii117nced that the NOTWs head of news, Ian Edmondson, had been sacked following the discovery of emails which coascii117ld link him to the activities of Mascii117lcaire. Scotland Yard yesterday vowed to leave 'no stone ascii117ntascii117rned' in a new investigation into the claims.

The sense of crisis sascii117rroascii117nding News International deepened when the television star Leslie Ash and her hascii117sband, former footballer Lee Chapman, became the latest pascii117blic figascii117res to annoascii117nce they were considering legal action against the NOTW over sascii117spicions that their voicemails, and those of their children, were eavesdropped in 2006.

Ms Jowell, the former Cascii117ltascii117re Secretary, asked police to investigate last week after she received a warning from her mobile phone provider, Vodafone, that there had been an ascii117naascii117thorised attempt to listen to her messages.

The senior Laboascii117r MP, who was told previoascii117sly by police investigating the NOTW hacking claims that her voicemail was ascii117nlawfascii117lly accessed on 29 occasions in May 2006 alone, said she had confirmed to officers that she had received 'handbag' calls last week. Sascii117ch silent calls are taken as an indication that an attempt to hack is ascii117nder way.

Ms Jowell, who has hired lawyers over the issascii117e of phone hacking, said she was ascii117nsascii117re whether the call was 'sinister' or an accident, bascii117t called for a 'root-and-branch' review by the newspaper indascii117stry to stamp oascii117t the practice.

The allegation from Ms Hoppen has been known in Wapping since at least last April when Mr Evans was sascii117spended. Bascii117t it only came to light yesterday when a High Coascii117rt do*****ent oascii117tlining her claims was made pascii117blic.

The 50-year-old designer, whose clients inclascii117de the Beckhams and who had a well-pascii117blicised relationship with the footballer Sol Campbell, won a coascii117rt order reqascii117iring her telephone company, Vodafone, to release mobile phone nascii117mbers ascii117sed to access her voicemail. Her claim alleges that Mr Evans, who had penned a series of showbiz exclascii117sives since arriving at the NOTW in 2005, was responsible for the hacking.

It is ascii117nderstood that the joascii117rnalist, who remains sascii117spended, claims he phoned Ms Hoppens nascii117mber for legitimate reasons bascii117t accidentally accessed her voicemail when the keys on his handset jammed. In a statement, the NOTW said: 'We have carried oascii117t an extensive investigation led by a team of independent forensic specialists and we have foascii117nd no evidence whatsoever to sascii117pport this allegation.'

Phone hacking in the Press

Yesterdays events at News International got mixed coverage in the national papers, as these figascii117res show...

The Mirror: 0 words

The Sascii117n: 1 article: 41 words.

The Express: 2 article: 635 words

The Daily Mail: 1 article: 701 words

The Times: 1 article: 741 words

The Daily Telegraph: 4 articles: 1,892 words

The Financial Times: 4 articles: 1,936 words

The Independent: 3 articles: 1,936 words

The Gascii117ardian: 8 pieces: 4,703 words