Report: Kate Middleton’s Phone, Bank Account Hacked
A British investigation into a shady private detective has exposed Kate Middleton as one of his high-profile targets. The Guardian reports that Jonathan Rees, hired by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., singled out Middleton when she was Prince William, and masterminded the hacking of her phone and bank account.
Other targets: Tony Blair, Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex, and some high-level politicians and bankers. Previously, the London paper learned that Rees had also hacked the private accounts of Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger and George Michael.
News Corps. owns the U.K. tabloids News of the World, the Sunday Mirror and the Daily Mirror. According to The Guardian, Reese charged the News of the World 150,000 pounds a year (or about $246,000) for information he obtained through illegal wiretapping; he's also accused of burglary, and using a computer hacker to dig up more dirt. (Last month, Sienna Miller won her lawsuit against the tabloid, which paid the actress $162,000 in damages for intercepting voicemails in 2004 and 2005.)
Rees reportedly targeted Middleton sometime around 2004, well before her romance with the Prince became official.
We don't condone nefarious and unlawful invasions of privacy, but we can't help but wonder if Rees and his minions got anything good on Middleton. Doubtful. The woman is basically the second coming of Mary Poppins.
