The ongoing News of the World (NotW) phone hacking story took a new turn today after a report in the Guardian claimed that (NotW) staff hacked into the voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

Ms Dowler's killer, Levi Bellfield was found guilty of murder last month, despite the crime taking place nearly a decade ago.

It is alleged that the hacking of Ms Dowler's phone led to complications in the police investigation and gave false hope to relatives and friends of Ms Dowler after her disappearance but before the discovery of her body.

By accessing Ms Dowler's voicemail any would be hackers would have given the false impression that Ms Dowler herself had cleared her voicemail and that she was therefore alive.

The phone hacking scandal cost the job of Andy Coulson, who was editor of the News of the World at the time. While he claimed he knew nothing of phone hacking he resigned on the grounds that the hacking had taken place on his watch.

He later became the communications chief for the Prime Minister David Cameron, a position he left earlier this year as the story continued to rumble on.