• Call from Brooks caused Brown 'immense distress'
  • News International 'accessed Brown's bank details and tricked lawyers into handing over information'
  • Blagger phoned Abbey National SIX times to get information about Brown's account
  • News International comfortable information came from 'legitimate sources'

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 6:27 PM on 11th July 2011


Rebekah Brooks phoned Gordon Brown to tell him that The Sun newspaper had obtained details of his sick son Fraser's medical records, it was alleged today.

The confidential health documents revealed that the youngster was suffering from cystic fibrosis, the Guardian reported today.

Friends of the former Prime Minister and his family said Brooks's call in October 2006 had caused them immense distress.

News International is apparently comfortable that the information for its stories about Brown's children came from 'legitimate sources', according to Sky News.

Rebekah Brooks, left, phoned Gordon Brown, right, to tell him that The Sun had obtained his four month old son's medical records

The leak, which appears to be a blatant breach of the Data Protection Act, came five years after a story about the Browns' first child revealed she had suffered a brain hemorrhage.

Only a small team of medical specialists had been aware of the girl's condition before her death on January 6, 2002.

Today's revelations by the Guardian also included allegations that his bank details and legal file were also accessed by News International.

In dramatic new developments, the News of the World's stablemate the Sunday Times was drawn into the hacking row today.

A blagger working for the paper apparently posed as the former Prime Minister on six occasions to obtain details from an Abbey National account.

The politician's lawyers, Allen & Overy, were also tricked into handing over confidential information by a conman working for the Sunday Times, the Guardian revealed.

The Sun also obtained details from Mr Brown's son's medical record and published a story about them, it was claimed.

Abbey National carried out an internal investigation and discovered that in January 2000 - when Gordon Brown was Chancellor - someone pretended six times to be the high-profile politician.

They rang the Bradford call centre and were able to get details from his account. Despite the investigation, the bank never worked out who was responsible.

At the same time, the Sunday Times apparently used Barry Beardall, who was later jailed for fraud, to trick solicitors into giving out information from his files.

A man said he was an accountant interested in buying Mr Brown's flat.

The new allegations emerged as it was reported Prince Charles and Camilla were warned they could have been targeted by phone hackers.