Wikimedia Commons When British police began investigating phone hacking claims in 2006, senior investigators soon found their own phones most likely being hacked, reports The New York Times.

If true, the allegations appear to show that News of the World journalists or investigators were attempting to influence the investigation.

Several scandalous stories later came out about senior police officers, which may have been discovered through phone hacking.

Of particular note, an investigation by Channel 4 News (a television news show not owned by Murdoch) led to the lead police investigator on the phone-hacking case, Andy Hayman, resigning in 2007. It was reported Hayman had been having a relationship with a member of the Independent Police Complaints Commission and fiddling his expense reports.

(It should be noted the New York Times does not allege this particular information was discovered via phone hacking, but it certainly raises some interesting possibilities.)

Read on for more details over at the New York Times >