Phone-hacking: Bob Crow claims he may have been targeted
Bob Crow has asked police to investigate suspicions of phone-hacking. The RMT Union leader fears he may have been targeted by journalists between 2000 and the present day.
Bob Crow’s lawyers have written to the Metropolitan Police asking them to look into suspicions that his phone may have been hacked into.
Mr Crow said: “RMT has had suspicions that journalists may have had access to private information about my movements and my union’s activities that date back to the year 2000.
“We are now asking for the police, as part of their renewed investigation, to disclose to us any evidence or information that they may have uncovered in respect of the News of the World.”
Read more: Phone hacking is the story that won't go away
A string of politicians and showbiz figures, including John Prescott and Sienna Miller, have previously claimed that their phones were tapped, but this is the first time a union leader has raised suspicions.
It is understood that Mr Crow became worried that information about his movements had been accessed without his knowledge.
The union leader has been involved in a number of high-profile transport disputes in recent years, including strikes on London Underground.
News of the World
David Cameron’s communications chief Andy Coulson resigned earlier in January after claims of phone-hacking at News of the World.
Mr Coulson was the newspaper’s editor when Royal correspondent Clive Goodman was jailed for phone-hacking in 2007.
Mr Coulson has always denied any wrong-doing.
News International sacked former head of news at News of the World Ian Edmondson last week following an investigation into his possible involvement into phone-hacking.
Read more: Andy Coulson's red top ride into Downing Street.
Lost emails
The Independent claims that a hoard of “lost” emails, relating to the phone-hacking scandal at News International, has been found.
A senior editor at News International claimed in a high-profile criminal trial last year that “lots of emails” from editors and other staff had gone missing in a botched data transfer to India.
The Independent now claims it has established that the database, covering 2005-2006, is intact and apparently contains a full record of email traffic between the company’s senior staff.
Police are expected to examine the database in a bid to track down journalists who may have been involved in illegal phone-hacking.