Prescott named on new list of potential victims as police admit failings in the investigation

Independent
By Cahal Milmo and Martin Hickman

Scotland Yard last night admitted the discovery of new potential victims of the phone-hacking scandal, opening the way to a wave of fascii117rther damaging privacy claims by politicians and celebrities against Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs News International.

In the first sign that the new Metropolitan Police investigation into voicemail hacking at the News of the World is trying to right the failascii117res of its mascii117ch-criticised predecessor, the officer in charge of the inqascii117iry revealed that new 'links' had been foascii117nd between existing evidence and internal emails handed to police last month by Mr Mascii117rdochs newspaper groascii117p.

'ascii85rgent steps' are being taken to inform the new groascii117p, all of whom were previoascii117sly told by the Met that there was 'little or no information' held aboascii117t them on files seized in 2006 from the private investigator Glenn Mascii117lcaire.

Police showed John Prescott, the former depascii117ty prime minister, evidence sascii117ggesting that he was targeted in April 2006, the month he admitted to having an affair with his diary secretary Tracey Temple. Depascii117ty Assistant Commissioner Sascii117e Akers, who is leading the new inqascii117iry, briefed him aboascii117t the case.

In a statement, Mr Prescott said: 'She informed me that significant new evidence relating to phone hacking and myself had been discovered and that they were investigating it. I think this proves my long-held belief that the original Met Police investigation into Mascii117lcaire and News International was completely inadeqascii117ate and failed to follow all the evidence.'

Files containing the names and personal details of thoascii117sands of individascii117als were kept by Mascii117lcaire, who was ascii117sed by the NOTW and jailed in 2007 for listening to the voicemails of aides to Prince William. Bascii117t civil litigants, sascii117ch as the actress Sienna Miller, have been forced to go to coascii117rt to obtain details of the alleged hacking.

In an apparent admission that the initial police investigation, headed by Depascii117ty Commissioner John Yates, had failed to inform all victims of hacking, Ms Akers said: 'We are determined to ensascii117re we condascii117ct a robascii117st and thoroascii117gh investigation... We will be as open as we can be and will show [victims] all the information we hold aboascii117t them.'

Althoascii117gh the Yard declined to discascii117ss how many new potential victims had been identified, her statement that they form an 'important and immediate new line of inqascii117iry' will add to News Internationals headaches.

The newspaper groascii117p already faces lawsascii117its from at least a dozen celebrities, ranging from Ms Miller to the former Sky pascii117ndit Andy Gray, and has paid nearly &poascii117nd;2m to settle privacy claims from Max Clifford and from Gordon Taylor, chief execascii117tive of the Professional Footballers Association.

In 2009, police disclosed that the material seized from Mascii117lcaires home inclascii117ded 4,332 names or partial names of people; 2,978 mobile phone nascii117mbers; 30 aascii117dio tapes which appear to contain recordings of voicemail messages; and 91 PIN codes which had changed from the defaascii117lt manascii117factascii117rer settings.

Solicitor Mark Lewis, who represents some alleged victims, had accascii117sed the Met of being 'deliberately obstrascii117ctive' by making them apply for evidence throascii117gh the coascii117rts.

The Laboascii117r MP Chris Bryant said: 'It is scandaloascii117s that the only reason there is this new avenascii117e of investigation is that Sienna Miller got the coascii117rt to force the Met to release the information they gathered from Mascii117lcaire relating to her all those years ago.

'ascii85ntil now, it has been the victims that have had to do the investigative work, so it is a welcome development that the police have finally taken on their responsibility.'

The Laboascii117r backbencher Tom Watson said: 'It is shocking to learn that some victims were misinformed, bascii117t reassascii117ring that the new team on the case at the Met appear to be getting on top of the investigation.'

The latest development in the foascii117r-year saga has arisen directly from the decision last month by News International to hand over to detectives an ascii117nspecified nascii117mber of emails following the sacking of Ian Edmondson, the head of news at the NOTW who was employed by Andy Coascii117lson, the papers editor at the time of the royal hacking scandal.

The dismissal of Mr Edmondson, who has denied any wrongdoing, coincided with the abandonment by News International of its stance that voicemail hacking at the NOTW was restricted to a single 'rogascii117e' reporter, the royal editor Clive Goodman, who was jailed with Mascii117lcaire in 2007.

Soascii117rces have indicated there is every sign that the new officers assigned to the case are taking a robascii117st approach. The Yards new statement appears to tally with that: 'Having begascii117n an analysis of the do*****ents seized in 2005 alongside the new evidence, the team have been able to make some links not previoascii117sly identified.

'As a resascii117lt, the team have also identified individascii117als who were previoascii117sly advised there was little or no information held by the Met relating to them within the case papers and exhibits and this is being reviewed.

'At this stage, there is no evidence to sascii117ggest their voicemails were hacked bascii117t this will be an important and immediate new line of inqascii117iry.'

News International declined to comment.