IPCC investigates Surrey Police over Dowler hacking claims

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it has launched an investigation after receiving a voluntary referral from Surrey Police.

A deputy senior investigator was dispatched to Surrey Police this morning to gather more information about the case, the IPCC said.

The Dowlers were told in April that their daughter Milly‘s mobile phone may have been hacked in the days after her disappearance.

Today, the IPCC said it planned to write to the family of the murdered schoolgirl, offering to meet in person and keep them updated on the investigation.

The revelation last month that Milly’s phone may have been hacked while she was missing in 2002 was an extraordinary development in the phone hacking scandal.

The police have arrested 12 people in connection with their inquiries into the scandal so far. Those questioned have included former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and former Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson.

The News of the World, whose reporters have been at the eye of the storm, was closed down last month after allegations that 4,000 phones may have been hacked.

Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp, which owns News International, and his son James, News International’s chairman, apologised for the scandal while giving evidence to MPs at a select committee hearing last month.

Rupert Murdoch told MPs it was the most humble day of his life, adding that he was “absolutely shocked, appalled and ashamed” when he heard that Milly Dowler’s phone might have been hacked.