News of the World investigator targeted families of dead soldiers

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Relatives of members of armed forces killed in combat told their details appear in Glenn Mulcaire’s notebooks The families of members of the armed forces killed in Afghanistan and Iraq have been told they were targeted by a private investigator who worked for the News of the World. Officers at Scotland Yard have contacted relatives to tell them their names and contact details appear in notebooks belonging to Glenn Mulcaire, who this week apologised for hacking into a huge number of mobile phones on behalf of the paper. The revelation is likely to further shock the public, who have already reacted with horror to news that the paper intercepted voicemails left on a phone belonging to murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler and targeted the phones of families of victims of the 7/7 attacks . MHP Solicitors, whose clients include Samantha Roberts, the widow of Sergeant Steven Roberts of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, said they had been contacted on Wednesday and told Roberts’s phone may have been hacked, along with a mobile belonging to Geraldine McCool, her lawyer. “We have been contacted this morning in connection with a possible phone-hacking on our clients, and Geraldine McCool, arising out of high profile military inquests in 2006/2007,” a statement from MPH said. “We are making efforts to verify this information.” Sergeant Roberts was one of the first Britons killed in Iraq in 2003, in a friendly fire incident. McCool said there was no evidence confidential information had been obtained, saying: “Solicitors are cautious when leaving messages due to client confidentiality and my military clients and their families come from a background that works on a ‘need to know’ basis.” However, McCool added: “I sincerely hope that any future revelations do not involve our clients and that full disclosure of the extent of this diabolical practice is now made”. The latest development in the ongoing scandal surrounding the Sunday tabloid sparked anger among relatives of dead servicemen. Graham Knight, whose son Ben was killed in the Nimrod explosion in Afghanistan in 2006, said: “It’s disgusting but it doesn’t surprise me.” The paper’s owner News International said it was contacting the Ministry of Defence to verify the claims. It said in a statement it would be “absolutely appalled and horrified” if they were true. An MoD spokesman said: “This is a matter for the Metropolitan police who are investigating these allegations. “It would be inappropriate for us to comment whilst this investigation is ongoing.” Phone hacking Military News of the World Glenn Mulcaire Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers James Robinson guardian.co.uk

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Posted by on July 6, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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