In a letter to RMT lawyers, Sue Akers, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has refused to rule out suspicions that the telephone of RMT General Secretary Bob Crow may been hacked.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed today that the issue is being investigated as part of Operating Weeting - the new police probe into phone hacking.

The letter to RMT’s lawyers - following the approach from the union at the end of January, says:

“As you are aware, the Metropolitan Police Service commenced a new investigation into phone hacking, following the emergence of new evidence provided by News International. This investigation is being conducted by a team from the Specialist Crime Directorate and we have taken a fresh approach to informing victims and potential victims involved .

“The latest evidence has enabled us to make some links not previously identified and, as a result, we have started a review of all the of the material gathered to date, to ensure that we can complete a complete a comprehensive and accurate analysis. This is clearly a major task and will take some time to complete.

“However, we are committed to sharing with your client any information that is relevant to him as soon as we are confident of the accuracy…”

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“RMT welcomes the prompt response from the Metropolitan Police to the concerns over phone hacking that our lawyers have raised and the confirmation that a new and thorough investigation is now under way.

“As we said at the outset, RMT has had suspicions that journalists may have had access to private information as to my movements and my union’s activities that date back to the year 2000 . We welcome the assurance from the police today that, as part of their renewed investigation, they will disclose to us any relevant evidence or information that they may have uncovered in respect of Operation Weeting.”