LONDON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- The now-defunct British tabloid News of the World once hired an ex-police officer to spy on more than 90 people, including Prince William, documents show.

The BBC reported it obtained a dossier of evidence from former policeman and MI5-trained Derek Webb showing he was paid by Rupert Murdoch's former tabloid newspaper to engage in covert surveillance on a large scale, targeting people such as the parents of actor Daniel Radcliffe, former Attorney General Peter Goldsmith and soccer commentator Gary Lineker.


Webb said News of the World contacted him shortly after he set up his private investigation agency, Silent Shadow, in 2003 and continued to spy for the tabloid until it was shuttered in July over allegations of the hacking of phones, including one belonging to murdered teen Milly Dowler.

"I was working for them extensively on many jobs throughout that time. I never knew when I was going to be required. They phoned me up by the day or by the night. It could be anywhere in the country," Webb told the BBC.

"I got calls from numerous journalists on the news desk."