The phone hacking scandal seems to have spread stateside with a US senator calling for an investigation to see if US citizens have been targeted by journalists working for News Corp.

Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller said the reports of hacking by Rupert Murdoch’s media group “raises serious questions about whether the company has broken US law” and warned of "serious consequences" if that were the case, The Guardian reports.

In light of the damaging allegations that the now defunct News of The World hacked into the phones of murdered teenager Milly Dowler and victims of the 7/7 bombing victims, Rockefeller expressed concern that victims of 9/11 and their families may have been targeted by News Corporation journalists.

"I encourage the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated," he said.

"The reported hacking by News Corporation newspapers against a range of individuals – including children – is offensive and a serious breach of journalistic ethics. This raises serious questions about whether the company has broken US law," he said.

Murdock presides over a media empire int the US which includes the New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Fox News and publisher Harper Collins.

The News Corp chief continues to face pressure to abandon his takeover of BSkyB.

MP will vote in parliament today on an opposition motion urging Murdoch and News Corporation to withdraw its bid for BSkyB.

This follows the closure of News International's 168 year old News of the World title on Sunday as a result of the hacking scandal.


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