Hacker targeted Osborne, says dominatrix

George Osborne and the NOTW splash that he was targeted by (GETTY IMAGES)

A former dominatrix was targeted by the News of the World's phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire in a tabloid scramble to publish a picture of her posing with George Osborne in front of an alleged line of cocaine, i can reveal. Natalie Rowe, 47, who ran an agency supplying prostitutes, has been shown documents by Scotland Yard detectives showing that the hacker obtained her mobile number and information about at least one of Mr Osborne's friends, as newspapers investigated claims of drug use at the height of David Cameron's Conservative leadership bid in 2005.

The redacted document raises the possibility that the mobile phone of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was managing Mr Cameron's campaign, was also targeted by Glenn Mulcaire and raises fresh questions about Mr Osborne's relationship with Andy Coulson. Mr Coulson was editor of the NOTW when its story about Mr Osborne's friendship with Ms Rowe was published in October 2005.

Two years later, Mr Osborne played a key role in the decision to recruit Mr Coulson as Mr Cameron's spin doctor following his resignation over the hacking scandal. Ms Rowe's lawyer, Mark Lewis, is preparing a damages claim against News International after it became clear that she was targeted by Mr Mulcaire when she was cooperating with the NOTW's rival, the Sunday Mirror. Mr Osborne has confirmed he knew Ms Rowe in the 1990s but has always denied that he took cocaine with her.