Police probe fresh Mirror hacking claims The Metropolitan Police has launched a preliminary probe into allegations by Murray Harkin, the former business partner of Sophie, Countess of Wessex, that a 2001 Sunday Mirror article was published based on information obtained from his voicemail. Mr Harkin suspects he was followed while on holiday abroad by somebody who would not have known his travel details and specific whereabouts without having information obtained from his mobile phone. Mr Harkin is the fifth complainant against Mirror Group Newspapers and his allegations could raise concerns that there may be others considering legal action against the publisher, which also publishes the Daily Mirror and The People. Trinity Mirror initiated an investigation into four recent allegations of phone hacking at three of its titles on Wednesday following statements from some shareholders that they were preparing to ask the board to carry out an investigation. A spokesman for Trinity Mirror, the parent company of MGN, repeated what Simon Fox, chief executive, said earlier this week: "It would be irresponsible of me not to ask our lawyers to look into the four claims that have attracted this recent attention." The publisher's investigation will be carried out by its in-house legal team. One top-five shareholder has called for an independent inquiry, following dissatisfaction at how the company's previous management dealt with the issue last year. Mr Fox has said that he believes the company's editorial staff adhere to the law and the Press Complaint Commission's code of practice. On Monday four high-profile individuals, including Sven-Göran Erikkson, the former manager of the England football team, issued privacy claims against Mirror Group Newspapers in relation to allegations of phone hacking. Tina Weaver was the editor of the Sunday Mirror in 2001 at the time the article was published. There is no suggestion she was aware of any alleged unlawful conduct. She told the Leveson inquiry into press ethics in January that she believed hacking did not take place but that was she not in a position to give a guarantee. Ms Weaver could not be reached for comment.