Former Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain has been warned his computer may have been hacked by private investigators.
Scotland Yard told the former British cabinet minister it is examining evidence that his files, as well as those of senior civil servants and intelligence agents, were targeted by private detectives who may have been working for News International, according to the Guardian.
The shadow Welsh secretary had access to classified information during his two-year tenure in the role, which ended in June 2007, including highly sensitive details about informers.
Police are to ask Mr Hain to confirm material obtained investigators came from his computer, the newspaper reported.
The investigation is part of Operation Tuleta, which is looking into privacy intrusions outside of the phone-hacking inquiry Operation Weeting.
A spokesman for Peter Hain said: “These are matters of national security and are subject to a police investigation so it would be inappropriate to comment.”
A News International spokeswoman said the company was “co-operating fully with the police” on all investigations.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We are not providing a running commentary on this investigation.”
PA