British to Expand Inquiry Into Murdoch Media

Scotland Yard will expand its investigation of The News of the World and its parent company, police officials said, adding a new inquiry into possible instances of computer intrusion to the current accusations of phone hacking and payments to police officers.

The new investigation was opened after an examination of “a number of allegations regarding breach of privacy” received since the Metropolitan Police, also known as Scotland Yard, reopened inquiries in January into possible crimes by newspaper employees, a statement said. A police spokesman declined to answer further questions. But a former British Army intelligence officer, Ian Hurst, said in a statement that he had been contacted by investigators over allegations that he had made “in regards to my family’s computer being illegally accessed over a sustained period during 2006.” Hurst had worked in Northern Ireland, running undercover operations. The BBC reported this year that his computer had been hacked and sensitive e-mail had been provided to The News of the World. A spokeswoman for News International refused to comment on the new inquiry.