Britain to probe if tabloid made 3,000 illegal phone-taps (Lead)

British police and parliament said Thursday they will probe claims that a tabloid newspaper illegally tapped the telephones of thousands of high-profile figures, including a former deputy prime minister, and paid a million pound to victims.

The Guardian claimed Thursday three cases were settled out of court after journalists from the News of the World tabloid were accused of hiring private investigators who obtained information illegally.

The Guardian claimed that the tabloid, owned by Australian media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, targeted up to 3,000 high-profile figures, including former British deputy prime minister John Prescott, models Elle Macpherson and Lisa Snowdon, publicist Max Clifford, actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law, singer George Michael, ex-England football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, London Mayor Boris Johnson, the late reality television star Jade Goody and politicians from all the major British parties.

The British parliament's Culture Select Committee and London's Metropolitan Police said they will separately investigate the claims.

The Guardian said the tabloid made out-of-court payments to secure secrecy over the methods employed by its staff, and claimed Thursday's revelations may “open the door to hundreds more legal actions by victims

Last updated on Jul 9^th, 2009 at 18:56 pm IST--IANS