Hugh Grant and Jemima Khan hacking order by judge

Actor Hugh Grant and writer Jemima Khan must be shown police information which indicates that their telephone messages might have been intercepted by a private investigator working for the press, a High Court judge ruled today.

Mr Justice Vos ordered the Metropolitan Police to disclose information detectives had gathered during inquiries into alleged telephone hacking to Mr Grant and Ms Khan.

The judge said Mr Grant and Ms Khan were entitled to see police documentation concerning messages allegedly intercepted by private investigator Glenn Mulcaire and used in articles in "the News of the World and other newspapers".

Lawyers for Mr Grant and Ms Khan had asked for the disclosure order during a High Court hearing in London. The application was not opposed by police.

They said police had indicated that they had material which suggested that messages received and sent by Mr Grant and Ms Khan might have been intercepted.

Neither Mr Grant, 50, nor Ms Khan, 37, daughter of billionaire financier Sir James Goldsmith and ex-wife of former Pakistan cricket star Imran Khan, were at the hearing.

Four years ago Mulcaire and former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman were given jail terms after the Old Bailey heard how they plotted to hack into royal aides' telephone messages.

New police inquiries have started since then and a number of high-profile figures, including Labour politician Lord Prescott, actor Jude Law, television presenter Ulrika Jonsson and ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne, have launched damages claims against News Group Newspapers, publishers of the News of the World.

A civil trial at the High Court is due in January.

Around 30 people, including jockey Kieren Fallon, politicians Tessa Jowell, Chris Bryant and Mark Oaten, interior designer Kelly Hoppen, sports agent Sky Andrew and former Football Association boss David Davies and ex-soccer player and Professional Footballers' Association boss Mick McGuire, have made damages claims, say lawyers.

Mr Justice Vos is due to hear evidence relating to a group of "lead claimants" at the trial in January and assess damages. Any rulings he makes are expected to provide a blueprint for the way other claims are dealt with.

Actress Sienna Miller and footballer-turned-pundit Andy Gray have already won damages in civil claims against News Group Newspapers.

Earlier this month, Ms Khan told how she had become a member of "the hacked club" in an article on the website of The Independent. She said police working on the inquiry into alleged phone hacking had contacted her.

In April, Mr Grant wrote an article in the New Statesman magazine, in which he told how a former News of the World executive told him that his phone had been "hacked".