Ex-Sun editor Rebekah Brooks' phone was hacked 'twice a week'

London, Mar 1 (ANI): Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks had her phone hacked by News of the World twice a week while she was editor of The Sun, it has emerged.

The Leveson inquiry into press standards was told that Brooks heard from Scotland Yard detectives in 2006 that her phone number had appeared in the notes of Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator used by the Sunday tabloid, and asked whether she wanted to make a complaint to the police.

This emerged when Robert Jay, counsel to the inquiry, was quizzing one of the detectives in charge of the Metropolitan police investigation into News of the World phone hacking in 2006, The Guardian reports.

According to Jay, Brooks, then known by her maiden name Rebekah Wade, "was one of the most accessed since 2005 - twice a week" and the police sought a meeting with her to discuss it further.

Earlier this week the Leveson inquiry was shown an email from the head of legal affairs at the News of the World in September 2006 to the then editor of the paper, Andy Coulson.

In this email, Crone noted that the police were "going to contact RW [Rebekah Wade] today to see if she wishes to take it further".

Jay told the inquiry that 'this relates to a formal complaint that Rebekah Wade might make in her capacity as a victim.'

Detective chief superintendent Philip Williams told the inquiry that News International had been "obstructive" and was not forthcoming with information in relation to the police investigation into Mulcaire.

Williams said he was stonewalled when he wrote a letter to Burton Copeland, the law firm acting for the News of the World, demanding documents relating to Mulcaire's contract and details of phone numbers that could have been used to hack phones. (ANI)