City figures in Slickergate spotlight

THE investigation into the Mirror share dealing scandal is still going on - more than two years after the affair first came to light. It has also widened to take in two City figures, according to documents seen by the Daily Mail.

The Slickers - journalists Anil Bhoyrul, 36, and James Hipwell, 34, - are the subjects of an insider dealing probe by the Department of Trade and Industry, under Section 177 of the Financial Services Act of 1986, into trading in computer group Viglen.

The investigation also looked into the conduct of stockbroker Richard Grossman of Redmayne Bentley, who carried out deals for Hipwell. Grossman said: 'This is news to me. I was James Hipwell's broker but it was years ago.' Another individual, believed to be a day trader in frequent e-mail contact with the Slickers, was also under scrutiny.

Mirror editor Piers Morgan and his then-deputy, Tina Weaver, are also named, despite being cleared by the board of Trinity Mirror, the paper's owner.

Senior business journalist Clinton Manning said he had been questioned by inspectors, along with several other people. 'It would have been surprising if I had not been questioned, but I am not under investigation,' he added.

Hipwell, who now works for PR outfit Max Clifford Associates and is awaiting a kidney transplant, said: 'I am at the centre of this, but I have no idea what is going on. It is absurd. I think we have all been cleared, but the DTI does not tell you anything - you are left in limbo. They have blown the best part of £1m on this investigation.'

In their heyday, Hipwell and Bhoyrul, who writes for the Sunday Express under the name Frank Bailey, frequented London nightclub Stringfellows and wrote a book entitled Make a Million in Twelve Months.

The DTI never confirms or denies insider dealing investigations and is under no obligation to tell people when probes are finished. It does not disclose the cost of investigations.

How the Slickergate scandal developed