‘E-mails hacked for information on IRA agent’

Published on 29/11/2011 00:00

The News of the World hacked into the e-mails of a former British Army intelligence officer in a possible attempt to find out information about the IRA double agent Stakeknife, the Leveson Inquiry heard.

Ian Hurst told the hearing yesterday he learned this year that the paper installed a “Trojan” programme on his family computer in 2006 that allowed it to access his messages and other documents. Mr Hurst served in covert army units in Northern Ireland between 1980 and 1991, specialising in recruiting and developing agents within paramilitary organisations, the inquiry heard.

He featured in a BBC Panorama programme broadcast in March this year which alleged that a fax containing extracts of his e-mails was sent to the paper’s Dublin office in July 2006, the hearing was told. Mr Hurst said in a statement to the inquiry the paper may have been trying to obtain information about the British intelligence agent within the IRA known as Stakeknife.