Union boss says police still probing claim he was phone-hacking victim

POLICE have not ruled out claims the telephone of RMT union leader Bob Crow may have been hacked into, he said yesterday.

In a letter to the rail union's lawyers, Sue Akers, deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said Mr Crow's complaint was being investigated as part of the new police probe into phone hacking.

"As you are aware, the Metropolitan Police Service commenced a new investigation into phone hacking, following the emergence of new evidence provided by News International," she wrote. "This investigation is being conducted by a team from the Specialist Crime Directorate and we have taken a fresh approach to informing victims and potential victims involved .

"The latest evidence has enabled us to make some links not previously identified and, as a result, we have started a review of all of the material gathered to date, to ensure that we can complete a comprehensive and accurate analysis. This is clearly a major task and will take some time to complete.

"However, we are committed to sharing with your client any information that is relevant to him as soon as we are confident of the accuracy."

Mr Crow welcomed the "prompt response" from police. "As we said at the outset, RMT has had suspicions that journalists may have had access to private information as to my movements and my union's activities that date back to the year 2000.

"We welcome the assurance from the police that they will disclose to us any relevant evidence or information that they may have uncovered," he said.