A one-time News of the World journalist's accusation the journal paid military to follow mobile phones raises major questions about the UK's eavesdropping laws, according to experts.
Sean Hoare mentioned it was probable to "ping" a handset's place for 300.
While there is no definite indication to encouragement the accusation, if loyal it would criticise safeguards inside of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.
The law outlines a network of checks expected to stop it being abused.
Police can inquire mobile networks to establish the place of a phone, formed on data from within reach air wave masts.
Only a handful of officers in any force is certified to make such enquiries, and their requests are ostensible to be granted by a comparison colleague.
The network is regulated and audited by the Interception of Communications Commissioner, Sir Paul Kennedy.
In his many new inform , Sir Paul found in 10% of cases where law coercion bodies sought communications information, there was bad correspondence with the rules.
Such audits are formed on a sampling of military requests - something that leaves the network open to abuse, according to barrister promoter Simon McKay, writer of Covert Policing: Law and Practice.
"The resources of the government official empowered by statute to examination it are sincerely restrictive, so environment foreordain that a minuscule suit of authorisations performed will ever be reviewed meaningfully or critically by the commissioner," he told BBC News.
Mr McKay updated he would not be astounded if leaks had been done in lapse for cash.
"You are normally traffic with people that are gifted in using and deploying growth policing techniques and thus their tradecraft equips them quite good to minimise the chance of detection," he said.
A new law, now being deliberate by council - the Protection of Freedoms Bill - would need legal consent for a few Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) disclosures, but not the requested by police.
The BBC approached the government to see if it programmed to inquire Sir Paul to re-examine the safeguards around military use of RIPA.
A Home Office orator mentioned it would not be receiving such action before the important apportion had summarized the conditions of anxiety for his two enquiries in to the phone-hacking scandal.
Daniel Hamilton, the executive of promotion organisation Big Brother Watch , mentioned he was cheerful to wait, supposing there was finally a review.
"I would have elite if action had been taken progressing and intercepts had not been used on such a far-reaching basis, but we regard it creates clarity now an exploration has been set up and we have received assurances from the PM and the military that there will be a in depth investigation.
"I hope at the finish it will be an well-timed time to revisit these processes," he said.
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