The lawyer representing Milly Dowler’s killer Levi Bellfield has said a recent allegation claiming the schoolgirl’s phone was hacked into by a national newspaper could mean his client’s conviction is unsafe.

Jeremy Moore, from Carter Moore Solicitors, told LBC radio he was waiting to hear more details about the allegation before deciding whether it could be grounds to appeal last month’s conviction.

Yesterday, the Guardian newspaper claimed messages on Milly Dowler’s mobile phone were being listened to and deleted by a private investigator employed by the News of the World in 2002, when the Walton schoolgirl first disappeared.

Following a trial at Old Bailey, Bellfield was sentenced to life for the murder of Milly.

Mr Moore told LBC: “We certainly need to hear more details about this before assessing our position. Certainly if, as it seems, messages were listened to and deleted, we weren't made aware of this at the time of the trial and this is certainly new, relevant material which was not disclosed and may have affected the trial."