Report: UK tabloid spied on Prince William

LONDON?? The News of the World newspaper, a tabloid at the center of the News Corp phone-hacking scandal, paid a private investigator to spy on Britain's Prince William and a host of other high-profile targets, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

The report, based on an interview with the private detective, is yet another damaging revelation for News Corp's British operation and comes in the week Rupert Murdoch's son James will testify for a second time before British lawmakers.

Story: News Corp. told in 2008 its reporters broke law

According to former police officer Derek Webb, the now defunct News of the World asked him to carry out surveillance on Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince William, his brother Harry's former girlfriend, former Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith and the parents of "Harry Potter" actor Daniel Radcliffe.

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"I was working for them extensively on many jobs throughout that time," Webb said according to quotes on the BBC website.

"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."

William, who the report said was trailed in 2006 while in western England, was one of more than 90 people Webb was asked to follow in eight years of working for the paper from 2003 until it was closed down in July.

The prince's office said it had no comment on the story.

"Basically I would write down what they were wearing at the time, what car they were in, who they met, the location they met, the times -- the times were very important -- and I would keep that," Webb was quoted as saying.

While surveillance is not illegal, the latest revelations add to the perception that the News of the World went beyond acceptable behavior. The paper was shut down this year after it emerged that it had widely engaged in the practice of illegally listening to people's telephone messages.

Webb stood behind the work he did for the newspaper in his interview with the BBC, saying it was not illlegal.

"The News of The World employed me to do a job, I did the job to the best of my ability. I didn't infringe on private ground, on private property... I never did anything which is unlawful," he said.

On Monday, News International, the UK newspaper arm of News Corp, admitted its staff had ordered surveillance of two lawyers representing victims suing the media group over the phone-hacking.

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The company described the surveillance of the two lawyers as "inappropriate." It said on Tuesday it would not comment on specific work carried out by Webb.

On Thursday, James Murdoch, who is chairman of News International, will return to face parliament's powerful culture and media committee to explain discrepancies in evidence he gave at a previous hearing in July.

Former senior executives from News International have indicated to the committee that he was aware of the extent of the hacking earlier than he had acknowledged.

Until this year, News International had said the practice was limited to one rogue reporter who had been jailed.

Detectives have now arrested 17 people, including former senior News International figures as part of a new inquiry into phone-hacking and illegal payments to police officers, and say that almost 5,800 people had been targeted.

Dozens of hacking victims have filed lawsuits against News International, with police still to contact the vast majority of suspected targets, according to lawyers involved in the process.

The company has already settled in some of the most high-profile cases, including that of actress Sienna Miller and the parents of murdered British schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45211327/ns/world_news-europe/

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