HUNDREDS of people in Oxfordshire have contacted their MPs with concerns about the phone hacking scandal.

Last night Oxford West and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood said she hoped she had helped put things right after quizzing officials on the issue.

The Conservative backbencher is a member of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, which yesterday published a report containing a series of recommendations after MPs questioned senior police officers.

Ms Blackwood’s constituency office normally receives about 20 letters or emails addressing single issues, but she said about 500 constituents have been in touch regarding phone hacking and the relationship between police, politicians and the media.

She said: “In setting in place a new police investigation, and a new judge-led public inquiry, David Cameron has done exactly the right thing, and publishing all the meetings between top politicians and media bodies is a good step in transparency between politicians and the media.

“We will be writing to all the constituents who have contacted us on this issue.

“I have been right in the middle of this, which I would not normally have expected during my first year.”

Staff at the MP’s office said the correspondence was on a range of issues relating to the phone- hacking affair, including Mr Murdoch’s bid for BSkyB, but none of the correspondents claimed to have been hacked themselves.

The report published by the Home Affairs Committee said 12,800 people may have been affected by phone hacking, although only 170 have so far been alerted that they may have been victims.

The Commons Home Affairs Committee has recommended extra resources should be allocated to the latest police investigation, and expressed concern about the scope of legislation on phone hacking under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

It said phone-hacking victims should be given a means of seeking formal advice from the Information Commissioner and easier access to redress.

A spokesman for Banbury MP Tony Baldry said the Conservative MP had received 50 letters and emails on the issue, while Henley MP John Howell said he had received two letters and a number addressing Rupert Murdoch’s bid for BSkyB.

Witney MP David Cameron’s constituency agent Barry Norton, Wantage MP Ed Vaizey and East Oxford MP Andrew Smith were all unavailable to comment.

Last night Oxford Brookes University Chancellor Shami Chakrabarti, the Liberty director, was named as one of the panel members of the judicial inquiry into phone hacking.