British ex-PM Brown hacked by multiple Murdoch papers: report

Former prime minister Gordon Brown had his phone hacked and bank account breached by several British newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch's media empire, reports said Monday.

Paperwork seized from News of the World phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire by Scotland Yard had references to both Brown and his wife Sarah, according to an investigation by The Guardian.

The investigation found an agent acting on behalf of Murdoch's Sunday Times posed as Brown to obtain his account records from Abbey National bank.

Another conman working for Sunday Times allegedly tricked Brown's London lawyers, Allen & Overy, into handing over details about their client.

Brown and his wife also suspect that a third Murdoch paper, The Sun, obtained their son's medical records. In 2006, the paper revealed that the boy had cystic fibrosis.

It is the first time that hacking allegations have extended beyond the News of the World tabloid, which Murdoch closed down Sunday amid widespread phone hacking allegations.

Reports said Monday that News of the World also allegedly paid British royal protection officers for details about Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family.

The British tabloid Daily Mirrorreported late last week that News of the World had tried to hire a New York policeman to hack into the phones of 9/11 victims.

News of the World may have hacked phones on more than 4,000 occasions, according to reports. Other alleged targets included the families of dead soldiers, terrorism victims, and a 13-year-old who was later found murdered.

Police suspect that a senior Murdoch executive deleted "millions of emails" in an attempt to thwart an official investigation.

The media mogul flew to London last week to support embattled News International CEO Rebekah Brooks. The organization is trying to save its bid to take over British satellite broadcaster BSkyB.

-- with earlier reporting by AFP