LABOUR MP Nick Brown triggered a new phone hacking scandal last night – by suggesting intruders bugged his landline.

Telephone engineers confirmed his landline had been tampered with after the Labour MP became suspicious.

Police also warned his mobile phone might have been illegally accessed, said the Newcastle East MP.

Mr Brown’s revelations come as police have reopened their inquiry into phone hacking of celebrities and politicians, with the News of the World at the eye of the storm.

David Cameron has also been caught up in the row. His former spin doctor Andy Coulson was News of the World editor at the time, but has insisted he did not know about what was happening.

Gordon Brown, a close friend of Nick Brown, has also asked police whether his phone had been illegally accessed when he was Prime Minister.

Speaking to The Journal, the Newcastle East MP revealed his landline had been bugged after becoming suspicious following a conversation with an “important” person.

“I picked up a landline telephone very quickly after a making to a call to make another call straight away.

“And the line clicked and then I heard my last conversation played back to me, which was quite eerie,” said Mr Brown, recounting the incident from a few years ago.

“I got onto British Telecom straight away. They have a division that deals with this sort of thing. They said the line showed every signs of having been intercepted manually, not through scanners.”

He added: “It was a amateurish attempt involving the physical intervention of the line with a recording device.”

And the senior politician’s mobile phone may also have been accessed.

Mr Brown said: “It was a West Country police force saying they were prosecuting an individual for telephone tapping and that I was one of the people who may had his telephone tapped.”

And while he got in touch with officers, they were unable to say much because it was going to trial.

Despite efforts of police and prosecutors, Mr Brown said rulings by the judge meant the case did not go ahead.

“Given that it was near Highgrove, my assumption was that this might involve the Royal Family. But I was never explicitly told that,” said the Labour MP.

Asked if he had spoken again with police, he said: “It seems to me once the court says the court cannot proceed, I am not quite sure what there is left to do.”