Glenn Mulcaire told to reveal names

Glenn Mulcaire was jailed in 2007 (PA)

The private detective jailed for illegally intercepting voicemail messages on behalf of a journalist at The News of the World has been ordered to reveal who asked him to carry out the phone-hacking.

The demand by the High Court will shed further light on how widespread the hacking practice was at the tabloid and add to the pressure on parent company News International.

Glenn Mulcaire was jailed in 2007 along with the paper's ex-royal correspondent Clive Goodman for illegally accessing the voicemails of royal aides and five other figures including the model Elle Macpherson.

Lawyers for actor Steve Coogan, who believes he is a victim of phone-hacking and is suing News International, said today the court had refused Mulcaire leave to appeal against a decision ordering him to reveal who instructed him to hack the phones.

John Kelly of law firm Schillings told Reuters that Mulcaire would have to answer their questions in a formal document to be filed at the court before September. This should be available for the public to see.

"He will now have to identify exactly who at the News of the World asked him to access the mobile phones of the named individuals and who he provided the information to at the News of the World," Kelly said.

"Mr Mulcaire is due to provide these answers by the end of the month and we await his answers with interest."

After Mulcaire and Goodman's conviction in 2007, News International repeatedly insisted that phone-hacking was limited to a single rogue reporter.

But in the face of civil action from Coogan and other figures, the company admitted earlier this year it had evidence that the practice was more widespread, prompting a new police inquiry.

Some executives, including Murdoch's son James, chairman of News International, are facing accusations that they knew about the illegal activities at a far earlier date than they had previously admitted.

Other senior figures, including former editorial staff on the now defunct paper, have been arrested by police probing the allegations.

Yesterday, News International confirmed it was being sued by Mulcaire for ceasing to pay his legal fees in July after James Murdoch told a parliamentary committee he was surprised the company was still footing the bill.

Reuters