Families of war dead hacked by tabloid

The families of dead soldiers are the latest victims of the News of the World phone hacking scandal, according to reports in Britain’s Daily Telegraph.

Personal details of families of servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were found in notebooks belonging to Glenn Mulcaire, the private detective employed by the tabloid newspaper to hack into the voicemail of celebrities, politicians and – as it was revealed this week – victims of crime.

Soldiers’ charities demanded that the police release the names contained in Mulcaire’s 9,200 pages of notes so they can discover whether their voicemail was hacked.

Col Douglas Young, the chairman of the British Armed Forces Federation, told the Telegraph that police were causing distress to families by ‘leaving them in the dark’ as to whether they were victims.

The News of the World has already been accused this week of breaking into the voicemail account of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler and accounts belonging to victims of the July 7, 2005 terrorist attacks in London.

Public disgust at the allegations and the prospect of advertisers fleeing the newspaper has prompted management of the paper to address the accusations.

Rupert Murdoch, proprietor of News International, the News of the World’s parent company said the allegations of phone hacking and payments to police at the News of the World were "deplorable" and "unacceptable.”

Yet he did not heed calls to sack top News International executive Rebekah Brooks, who at the time of the scandal was editor of the tabloid. Murdoch indicated that Brooks would continue in her job.

"I have made clear that our company must fully and proactively cooperate with the police in all investigations and that is exactly what News International has been doing and will continue to do under Rebekah Brooks' leadership," he said in a statement.

Brooks has previously said it was "inconceivable" that she knew about the hacking at the time and claims to have been holidaying in Italy when the voicemail of Milly Fowler was hacked into.

British Prime Minister David Cameron backed calls for a public inquiry into the "absolutely disgusting" claims.

Cameron, who is friends with Brooks, clashed with parliamentary colleagues over the nature of the inquiry and whether it should be presided over by a judge.