Kate Middleton’s Phone And Bank Account Hacked

The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton had her phone and bank details hacked by a private detective who once worked for the News of the World, it has been claimed.

Her account was reportedly accessed in 2005 by Jonathan Rees, who is also accused of illegally targeting Tony Blair, Jack Straw, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and John Yates, the Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner.

Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Labour MP Tom Watson announced that Scotland Yard has evidence that Rees targeted members of the royal family and senior politicians on behalf of News International, parent company of the News of the World.

However, Watson said that he had received a letter from the Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Sue Akers, who is leading the phone hacking enquiry, stating that the evidence may fall outside the scope of her investigation, known as Operation Weeting. Watson urged prime minister David Cameron to act to prevent “powerful forces” covering up what was happening.

News International denies allegations

A spokesman for News International claims that the allegations by Tom Watson (pictured) are “wholly inaccurate,” stating that Jonathan Rees worked for a variety of newspaper groups.

“The Met Police, with whom we are co-operating fully in Operation Weeting, have not asked us for any information regarding Jonathan Rees,” the spokesman told The Telegraph. “Tom Watson MP made these allegations under parliamentary privilege.”

It was announced back in January that British prosecutors were considering new evidence in their review of the phone hacking scandal that cost senior government aide Andy Coulson his job.

Many high-profile individuals have claimed their phones were hacked, including former prime minister Gordon Brown, who called in Scotland Yard over fears his private communications were compromised.

Meanwhile, Tony Blair – who did not have a personal mobile phone while in office – is also understood to have expressed concerns that hackers might have intercepted messages he had left on other people’s phones.

Phones and bank accounts hacked

In December, security researches Karsten Nohl and Sylvain Munaut demonstrated a phone hacking technique at the Chaos Computer Club Congress (CCC) in Berlin, that enabled them to intercept a call in 20 seconds. The researchers employed four cheap phones and open source software to eavesdrop on calls and text messages, storing data so that it could be decrypted at a later stage.

Mobile security firm GSMK has also warned that the growing threat of phone hacking puts senior politicians at risk and could compromise national security.

“All too often, sloppy security measures and unencrypted calls allow these hackers to gain access to correspondence completely undetected,” said Bjoern Rupp, CEO at GSMK. urging phone users to be vigilant when using mobile devices without any security protection.

Banks are also increasingly falling victim to hackers, with Morgan Stanley and RBS WorldPay both having account details compromised in the last year. Two teenagers from Brighton were also prosecuted by the Met police in May for hacking and stealing credit card details from casino sites.