UK officer investigated for slain schoolgirl leak

LONDON (AP) — Britain's police watchdog said Friday it is looking into claims an officer from an area outside London gave information about a murdered schoolgirl's case to the now-shuttered News of the World tabloid.



The 13-year-old Milly Dowler was abducted and killed by a pedophile in 2002. The revelation last month that her voicemail messages had been accessed by the News of the World while she was still missing outraged British opinion and ignited a scandal that also sparked allegations of police corruption and prompted Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. to close the tabloid.



Two of London's most senior police officials resigned as the crisis unfolded, bringing the relationships between the police and press under a harsh light even as detectives continued to investigate claims the newspaper illegally eavesdropped on the phone messages of celebrities, politicians and crime victims such as Dowler.



The Independent Police Complaints Commission said it decided to launch an independent probe after receiving a voluntary referral from police in Surrey, outside London, over claims an officer gave information to the newspaper in relation to the ongoing Dowler investigation.



Mark Lewis, a lawyer representing the Dowler family, said his clients "welcome the full investigation into what happened at the time of the initial inquiry into Milly's disappearance."



The IPCC's decision to investigate comes after Surrey Police last month confirmed that an unnamed officer was given "words of advice" and taken off the inquiry into Dowler's disappearance in 2002 for telling a friend — a retired police officer — details about the case.



At the time, Surrey police said there was no suggestion that any officer had shared information with the News of the World.