Re-examination of evidence held for years combined with new evidence has given 'important and immediate new line of inquiry'

This article is the subject of a legal complaint made on behalf of Acting Deputy Commissioner John Yates. Acting Deputy Commissioner John Yates says it is entirely untrue that he misled Parliament in the evidence he gave to a Home Affairs Select Committee concerning phone hacking by the News of the World. He says he made clear when giving evidence to the Select Committee that the Metropolitan Police could at that time "prove a crime against a very small number of people and that number is about 10 to 12 people" and that this conclusion was reached by the Metropolitan Police based on the advice they had been given by Leading Counsel.



The reopened police investigation into phone hacking by News of the World journalists has identified a number of new potential victims, including Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, the Guardian has learned.

Just a fortnight after reopening their inquiry, in the wake of an 18-month campaign by the Guardian, police said a re-examination of the evidence they had held for years, but failed to fully investigate, combined with new evidence from the Sunday tabloid, had thrown up an "important and immediate new line of inquiry". The new investigation, they said, had already established "reasonable evidence" that up to 20 people, mainly prominent public figures, were targeted by the paper.

The development represents Scotland Yard finally beginning to take the lid off the phone-hacking scandal. More than five years after they first started to investigate the illegal interception of voicemail messages by a private investigator working for the News of the World, the Met announced that its new inquiry would:

• Review all the decisions made by their two previous inquiries.

• Contact thousands of public figures who have never been told that their personal details were recorded by the private investigator.

• Warn some public figures that they had previously been misled when they asked the Yard for information.

Police had been dismissive of Prescott's suspicions that he had been targeted, but the head of the new investigation, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, saw Prescott on Wednesday. He was told that invoices recovered by police showed he was targeted by Glenn Mulcaire, the private eye used by the NoW, who was an expert in phone hacking. They also have notes made by Mulcaire about Prescott, who as deputy prime minister was in possession of highly sensitive information. After his briefing by the police chief, Prescott told the Guardian that previous police investigations had been "completely inadequate".

The new evidence is understood to show that Prescott was targeted in April 2006, the month he admitted to having an affair with his diary secretary Tracey Temple. In a statement Prescott told the Guardian: "I can confirm that at her request I met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers today. She informed me that significant new evidence relating to phone hacking and myself had been discovered and that they were investigating it. I think this proves my long-held belief that the original Met police investigation into Mulcaire and News International was completely inadequate and failed to follow all the evidence. I now look forward to the Met police finally uncovering the truth."

Prescott issued his statement as Akers announced that she had contacted other victims whose phones may have been hacked. This is likely to be an alarming development for senior figures at Rupert Murdoch's News International and at Scotland Yard. Numerous journalists who worked for the NoW say hacking was widespread and common knowledge among journalists and executives. Scotland Yard originally presented the case as involving only one "rogue journalist".

The reopening of the inquiry follows evidence being handed over last month by News International. This includes emails sent by Ian Edmondson, the senior editor it sacked last month. Scotland Yard said: "The new evidence recently provided by News International is being considered alongside material already in the Metropolitan Police Service's (MPS) possession … having begun an analysis of the documents seized in 2005 alongside the new evidence, the team have been able to make some links not previously identified.

"As a result, the team have also identified some individuals who were previously advised that there was little or no information held by the MPS relating to them within the case papers and exhibits and this is now being reviewed. At this stage, there is no evidence to suggest that their voicemails were hacked but this will be an important and immediate new line of inquiry." Scotland Yard has been facing an application from Prescott and others for a judicial review of its previous handling of the case. The statement from the Yard appears to reinforce the case for a review. The lawyer making the application, Tamsin Allen of Bindman's, said: "The statement is strongly supportive of our clients' position. We will cite it at the hearing."

Mark Lewis, the solicitor who represented Gordon Taylor in the legal action that first broke open the scandal, said: "[This] is an incredible U-turn by the Met. And it raises questions about statements which were made to the media select committee by assistant commissioner John Yates. He is on record as saying there were only 10 or 12 high-profile victims. That was not correct. He should resign: he misled parliament."

Charlotte Harris, who is suing the NoW and Mulcaire on behalf of numerous public figures, said: "It is a breathtaking about turn by the Met. The confession that individuals were misled is alarming. People have claims and the Met told them that they did not. A full and proper investigation is needed now."