Tabloid under probe for hacking 3,000 celebrities' phones

LONDON: Britain's most senior policeman ordered an inquiry yesterday into claims that journalists from a tabloid owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch illegally hacked into the mobile phones of hundreds of celebrities and politicians.

Lawmakers also demanded answers after The Guardian reported that the News of the World - the country's most popular Sunday paper - paid private investigators to obtain voice mail messages, private phone numbers, bank statements and other information about figures including Gwyneth Paltrow, George Michael and some of the country's most senior politicians.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson said he had appointed a senior Scotland Yard officer, Assistant Commissioner John Yates, to look into the allegations against the News of the World, which is owned by News International Ltd, a subsidiary of Murdoch's News Corp.