The Guardian reported last night that the Metropolitan police warned a total of 36 people in the first four years of the phone-hacking affair that they may have been targeted.

In comparison, according to the Guardian, the new investigation being carried out into allegations of phone hacking is thought to be contacting up to 4,000 people whose details were allegedly found during the original police investigation.

Scotland Yard has previously repeatedly refused to disclose the number of victims it had warned, rejecting applications under the Freedom of Information Act on the grounds that releasing it would necessarily disclose the identities of those warned, and that this would breach their privacy.

However, in a sharp change of policy, the Met’s acting deputy commissioner, John Yates, volunteered that during the 2006 inquiry police had warned 28 people they may have been victims; and that after the Guardian revived the affair in July 2009 they warned eight more.