Police say 5,800 may have had phones hacked, with number set to rise

Yesterday’s total had reached 5,795, the Metropolitan Police said last night.

This is just under 2,000 more than the previous figure of 3,870 given at July’s Home Affairs Committee meeting into the scandal.

Police said in a statement: “Operation Weeting continues to analyse relevant material.

“It is not possible to give a precise figure about the number of people whose phones have actually been ‘hacked’ but we can confirm that as of today’s date (November 3) the current number of potentially identifiable persons who appear in the material (and who may therefore be victims), where names are noted, is 5,795.

“This figure is very likely to be revised in the future as a result of further analysis.”

The new total came as Carol Caplin, who worked with former Prime Minister Tony Blair, became the latest celebrity to emerge as a possible victim.

A spokesman for Ms Caplin, 49, said she had been notified by police her mobile phone messages were hacked by Glenn Mulcaire while he was working for the now defunct Sunday paper.

A number of high-profile figures have taken legal action against News International since the scandal emerged, among them the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler who received £2m in settlement of their civil claim over the interception of her voicemail messages by a private investigator for the newspaper when she went missing in 2002.

Rupert Murdoch also donated £1m to charities chosen by her family to underscore his regret for the “abhorrent” hacking

The revelation her phone was hacked by the News of the World triggered a storm of outrage which led to the Sunday tabloid’s closure in July.