Blogger exposes links of UK reporters,shady PI

The names of three dozen journalists allegedly involved with a shady private investigator have been leaked to the Internet,another potential embarrassment for Britain’s scandal-tarred media.

Paul Staines,who blogs under the name Guido Fawkes,has published what he says are more than 1,000 recorded transactions between News International staffers and disgraced detective Steve Whittamore.

The latter was convicted in 2005 as part of an investigation into the trade in ill-gotten information.

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Thousands of records recovered from Whittamore’s office suggested that a wide swathe of the UK press participated in the trade.

Although the Whittamore documents have been widely discussed,Tuesday’s disclosure is the first time that reporters’ names have come out.