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Paul McCartney to contact police over phone-hack claims

By PA Mediapoint

Sir Paul McCartney said he plans to contact police over allegations that his voicemail messages were intercepted.

His remark came after his ex-wife Heather Mills claimed a senior Mirror Group journalist admitted hacking voicemails left for her by the former Beatle.

Sir Paul told an association of TV journalists in the American city of Cincinnati, Ohio, that the allegation that Mills’ phone had been hacked was something he wanted to speak to police about.

In comments to the Television Critics Association delivered via a video feed, he said: “Apparently I have been hacked.”

The musician said that hacking was “horrendous”, adding that he would be in touch with police as soon as he had finished his summer tour.

“I will be talking to them about that,” he said. “I don’t think it’s great. I do think it is a horrendous violation of privacy, and I do think it’s been going on a long time, and I do think more people than we know knew about it.

“But I think I should just listen and hear what the facts are before I comment.”

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His remarks came after Ms Mills told BBC2’s Newsnight programme that the Mirror Group journalist made the admission in 2001.

The BBC, which declined to name the journalist allegedly involved, said it was not Piers Morgan, who was editor of the Daily Mirror at the time.

But the message in question appeared to be the same as one which Morgan later admitted listening to, a spokesman for the programme said.

‘Unsubstantiated’ claims

In a 2006 article in the Daily Mail, Morgan referred to hearing a recorded message which Sir Paul had left for Mills, the spokesman said.

He wrote: “At one stage I was played a tape of a message Paul had left for Heather on her mobile phone.”

Morgan issued a statement describing Ms Mills’ claims as “unsubstantiated”.

But the Culture Committee chairman has called for Morgan to return to the UK to answer “some very serious questions” over allegations of phone hacking.

Conservative MP John Whittingdale said Mr Morgan could be quizzed by the Metropolitan Police on the basis of recent evidence.

He said Morgan would not immediately be called in front of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which is investigating phone hacking, because the police inquiry “has to be the priority”.

The former tabloid editor tweeted yesterday: “So heart-warming that everyone in UK’s missing me so much they want me to come home. #swoon.”

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