Senior Met officers had 'strong links to phone-hackers'

The phone-hacking scandal goes beyond the News of the World and also incriminates top Metropolitan Police officers, it was claimed at the Leveson inquiry today.

Former British military intelligence officer Ian Hurst, who ran covert operations in Northern Ireland from 1980-91, said his computer was accessed in 2006. He believes he was targeted by people looking for information on an IRA mole codenamed "Steak-knife".

In a statement, Mr Hurst said: "There were other newspapers engaged in this type of illegal information gathering [hacking]. I'm also absolutely certain that there were strong links between certain newspapers and former and current members of the Metropolitan Police Service."

Mr Hurst told the inquiry: "The Metropolitan
Police Service have let society down. They should be making full disclosure" [of the evidence they hold in relation to phone-hacking]. It is believed the Sunday Times is the other News International title being referred to.