British politicians, police officers and senior News Corp executives were yesterday drawn into inquiries over the alleged hacking of high-profile figures' mobile telephones by journalists for some of Rupert Murdoch's UK newspapers.

The Information Commissioner's Office, which monitors privacy and access to official information in the UK, said that 31 journalists working for The News of the World and The Sun had paid investigators to obtain personal information through "blagging" - impersonating the target of a journalistic investigation.