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John Prescott, the former British deputy prime minister, said he would seek a judicial review if Scotland Yard did not reveal whether he was one of those targeted by the tabloid, Britain's biggest-selling newspaper.
Clive Goodman, the News of the World's then royal editor, and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed in 2007 after the phone messages of aides to Prince William, second in line to the throne, were illegally accessed.
Prominent police, military and sporting figures were also allegedly targeted at the time.
The New York Times report alleged that Coulson knew about some of the phone voicemail hacking. Coulson resigned over the affair but strongly denies any knowledge of hacking.
Scotland Yard issued a statement saying it "rejects the suggestion by The New York Times that police 'failed to follow-up on clear leads' and 'declined to pursue other evidence of criminality by others'" in the phone-hacking probe.
"In this case the Met (Scotland Yard) has had to balance a number of competing interests, but has been as open as possible, whilst maintaining and protecting individuals' personal information and respecting privacy," it said.
However, the statement said it was "seeking to clarify some aspects" of the article with The New York Times, without elaborating.
Coulson is now communications chief for Cameron's Conservative Party, which leads Britain's governing coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
The News of the World -- published by News International, the British subsidiary of Murdoch's News Corporation -- on Friday dismissed the allegations by the American newspaper.
It said a reporter had been suspended pending an investigation into "a serious allegation" about conduct, but rejected suggestions that there either had been or was still a "culture" of hacking at the paper.
Prescott however said he now wanted to "find the truth" about whether his phone had been tapped, adding that he expected to hear from Scotland Yard by September 11 over the issue.
"If they fail to give us that information, which is clearly available but has to be given to us, I will seek a judicial review," he told BBC radio.
Former interior minister Alan Johnson said Friday that there might be an argument for a police watchdog to probe the case, and that he would be going to the Home Office to review relevant papers from when he was in office.
"Convention allows former ministers to review papers relating to their tenure in office. It is therefore my intention to go back to the Home Office to review the files relating to the phone-tapping allegations," he said.
News International in February strongly rejected suggestions by a committee of lawmakers that it suffered "collective amnesia" over the hacking claims.
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Clive Goodman, the News of the World's then royal editor, and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed in 2007 after the phone messages of aides to Prince William, second in line to the throne, were illegally accessed.
Prominent police, military and sporting figures were also allegedly targeted at the time.
The New York Times report alleged that Coulson knew about some of the phone voicemail hacking. Coulson resigned over the affair but strongly denies any knowledge of hacking.
Scotland Yard issued a statement saying it "rejects the suggestion by The New York Times that police 'failed to follow-up on clear leads' and 'declined to pursue other evidence of criminality by others'" in the phone-hacking probe.
"In this case the Met (Scotland Yard) has had to balance a number of competing interests, but has been as open as possible, whilst maintaining and protecting individuals' personal information and respecting privacy," it said.
However, the statement said it was "seeking to clarify some aspects" of the article with The New York Times, without elaborating.
Coulson is now communications chief for Cameron's Conservative Party, which leads Britain's governing coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
The News of the World -- published by News International, the British subsidiary of Murdoch's News Corporation -- on Friday dismissed the allegations by the American newspaper.
It said a reporter had been suspended pending an investigation into "a serious allegation" about conduct, but rejected suggestions that there either had been or was still a "culture" of hacking at the paper.
Prescott however said he now wanted to "find the truth" about whether his phone had been tapped, adding that he expected to hear from Scotland Yard by September 11 over the issue.
"If they fail to give us that information, which is clearly available but has to be given to us, I will seek a judicial review," he told BBC radio.
Former interior minister Alan Johnson said Friday that there might be an argument for a police watchdog to probe the case, and that he would be going to the Home Office to review relevant papers from when he was in office.
"Convention allows former ministers to review papers relating to their tenure in office. It is therefore my intention to go back to the Home Office to review the files relating to the phone-tapping allegations," he said.
News International in February strongly rejected suggestions by a committee of lawmakers that it suffered "collective amnesia" over the hacking claims.
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