The Mail on Sunday continued using convicted private investigator Steve Whittamore for 18 months after his arrest on suspicion of illegally trading information with national newspapers and magazines, the Leveson Inquiry heard this afternoon.

Whittamore’s home was raided by police and officers from the Information Commissioners Office in March 2003, when they discovered a ‘veritable treasure trove” of information on reporters ordering searches on everything from addresses to criminal records, including the MoS and Daily Mail.

In April 2005 Whittamore was given a two-year conditional discharge after he was found guilty of obtaining and disclosing information under the Data Protection Act and received a conditional discharge, though no journalists were ever prosecuted.