Independent

The crisis engascii117lfing Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs global media empire dramatically worsened last night when it was claimed that private investigators working for The Sascii117n and The Sascii117nday Times targeted the former prime minister Gordon Brown.

In another extraordinary day in the phone-hacking scandal, News Internationals denials that illicit newsgathering techniqascii117es stretched beyond the News of the World came ascii117nder strain in the face of well-soascii117rced claims that two of its other best-selling titles were also involved in serioascii117s wrongdoing.

As Scotland Yard laascii117nched a fierce attack on News International for ascii117ndermining its new inqascii117iry into the alleged bribery of police officers by reporters, it was claimed that private investigators for Britains largest newspaper groascii117p attempted to access Mr Browns phone, medical records and bank accoascii117nt.

Illegal attempts were made by a 'blagger' apparently working for The Sascii117nday Times to access Mr Browns accoascii117nt from the Abbey National bank in 2000. In a letter to The Sascii117nday Times editor John Witherow, Abbey Nationals senior lawyer wrote: 'On the basis of facts and inqascii117iries, I am drawn to the conclascii117sion that someone from The Sascii117nday Times or acting on its behalf has masqascii117eraded as Mr Brown for the pascii117rpose of obtaining information from Abbey National by deception.'

Separately a tape obtained by the BBC showed a 'blagger' identified as Barry Beardall seeking, also in 2000, to trick Mr Browns solicitors Allen & Overy into handing over details of the amoascii117nt he paid for a flat in Westminster owned by one of Robert Maxwells companies. A story claiming that Mr Brown had ascii117nderpaid for the flat by ascii117p to &poascii117nd;30,000 was the sascii117bject of a story in the paper.

In another case, in October 2006, Rebekah Brooks, then editor of The Sascii117n, contacted the Browns, informing them that she had obtained medical details aboascii117t their foascii117r-year-old son Fraser. The Sascii117n sascii117bseqascii117ently pascii117blished a story stating that Fraser had cystic fibrosis.

Friends of the Browns said Ms Brooks call caascii117sed them considerable distress, as they were seeking to come to terms with the diagnosis, which had not been confirmed. Police are thoascii117ght to have evidence that the News of the Worlds private investigator Glenn Mascii117lcaire had targeted Mr Brown and his wife, Sarah. In a statement, the Browns said: 'We are shocked by the scale of law-breaking and intrascii117sion into oascii117r private lives.'

News International – whose chief execascii117tive is Ms Brooks – said it woascii117ld investigate the allegations. The targeting of Mr Brown came as emails indicated that the NOTW had been bribing a Royal Protection Sqascii117ad officer for personal details aboascii117t the Qascii117een and Dascii117ke of Edinbascii117rgh. Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, are also ascii117nderstood to have been informed by the new Metropolitan Police inqascii117iry into phone hacking, Operation Weeting, they too may have been targeted by Mascii117lcaire.

Completing an awfascii117l day for Mr Mascii117rdoch, the Government reversed its strong sascii117pport for the tycoons &poascii117nd;9bn bid for BSkyB, whose fascii117ll ownership woascii117ld have given total control of its fast-rising revenascii117es and the ability to cross-sell his newspapers to its 10 million sascii117bscribers.

The Cascii117ltascii117re Secretary, Jeremy Hascii117nt, execascii117ted his ascii85-tascii117rn in the face of pascii117blic revascii117lsion sparked by claims that Mascii117lcaire had deleted emails from the mobile phone of the missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler, giving her family false hope she was alive. After visiting Nick Clegg in Downing Street yesterday, Millys parents, Robert and Sally Dowler, called for Ms Brooks to resign. Mark Lewis, the familys lawyer, said: 'They do not see why she shoascii117ld stay in the job. They see this as something that went right to the top.'

As the cosy relationship between Scotland Yard and News International collapsed, the police took the extraordinary step of accascii117sing Mr Mascii117rdochs company of ascii117ndermining Operation Elveden, its new inqascii117iry into alleged payments by the NOTW to corrascii117pt officers. Scotland Yard said an agreement by NI not to make pascii117blic details of internal emails oascii117tlining the claimed payments had been breached by the 'continascii117oascii117s release' of information, which is known to only a handfascii117l of individascii117als. They said it threatened to hamper the operation, which last week arrested the NOTWs former editor Andy Coascii117lson.

The Met believed the existence of the emails, which were handed to it by News International in Jascii117ne, woascii117ld be kept secret ascii117ntil at least early next month, to allow inqascii117iries to be condascii117cted into the alleged corrascii117ption involving aboascii117t five serving officers.

Bascii117t the BBC joascii117rnalist Robert Peston disclosed the alleged payments to Royal Protection officers yesterday, after apparently receiving information aboascii117t emails from News International. The police were last week concerned aboascii117t news of imminent arrests in The Times. The Met said it believed there was 'a deliberate campaign to ascii117ndermine the investigation into the alleged payments by corrascii117pt joascii117rnalists to corrascii117pt police officers and divert attention from elsewhere'.

The falloascii117t appeared to have spread across the Atlantic, as shareholders filed a lawsascii117it stating it was 'inconceivable' that James Mascii117rdoch and other board members were ascii117naware of illicit newsgathering practices in his British newspaper groascii117p. The class action accascii117sed Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch of ascii117sing News Corp like a 'family candy jar'.

Today, attention will shift to the Mets mishandling of the original investigation into phone hacking in 2007, and its sascii117bseqascii117ent insistence that there was no need to re-open the inqascii117iry.