Updated 5.05pm
FORMER BRITISH PRIME Minister Gordon Brown was repeatedly targeted by journalists from various newspapers in the News International stable, reports The Guardian.
It’s reported that information from his voicemail and his bank account was obtained, as well as legal files and his family’s medical records.
The Sunday Times is mentioned in relation to attempts to glean details from Brown’s bank account, while The Sun reportedly obtained details of his son’s serious illness, which subsequently appeared in a story in the paper. Abbey National bank had uncovered evidence that someone posing as Brown had succeeded in obtaining details from his account in 200o.
Brown and his wife were contacted by Rebekah Brooks, who was then the editor of The Sun in 2006, to tell them that the paper had details of their son’s illness. The details were not confirmed, but the story was published.
The search for information went on for more than ten years, with references to both Brown and his wife found in paperwork belonging to Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the News of the World hacking scandal.
The Guardian reports that there is evidence that there were attempts made to access the former prime minister’s legal, financial, tax, medical and police records.
Earlier it was revealed that the News of the World had secured the phone numbers for members of the royal family, their friends and their relatives, by buying them from a police officer.
Meanwhile News Corporation’s bid for BSKyB has today been referred to the Competition Commission by the UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, reports Reuters. It’s thought the move will push back the attempted takeover by at least six months.
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