The ongoing investigation into charges of phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspapers in the United Kingdom has now been expanded to include allegations that much of the data was obtained from cell phones that were stolen from their owners.

Scotland Yard has confirmed that it is looking into other areas of alleged wrongdoing that are offshoots of the hacking scandal, including include payments made in return for confidential information, as well as illegal access to all kinds of personal information including medical and banking records.

The investigation began as a probe into the large-scale use of phone hacking to obtain information on public figures in the United Kingdom and has since expanded to include a number of other charges, including payoffs and obstruction of justice.  Since the investigation began, it has spread beyond the tabloids owned by Rupert Murdoch.

Now, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard says that the tabloid newspapers obtained data from at least 2 stolen cell phones.  One of the cell phones was stolen in Manchester, while the other was stolen in southwest London. 

The phones now show some evidence that they were examined with the aim of breaking the security code and accessing the data.  The data possibly includes e-mail contact information, telephone numbers, text messages and all kinds of other information.  Authorities are now investigating whether the cell phone thefts were simply two isolated incidents, or signify a need for more investigations into this angle.

At this point in time, Scotland Yard is not making it clear whether the cell phones were stolen at the request of tabloid reporters, or whether these were stolen, and then passed on to the reporters by people who found the phones, or stole them.