The Guardian said it had uncovered evidence that Brown was targeted during a period of more than 10 years, both as Chancellor of the Exchequer and as prime minister. The BBC later reported that The Sunday Times had targeted Brown when he was finance minister, obtaining private financial and property details. Mr Brown is expected to speak at the House of Commons this afternoon. As the hacking scandal grows, News Corporation's controversial attempt to buy the remainder of shares in BSkyB will be referred to the Competition Commission, British Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt told MPs this afternoon. The U-turn followed News Corporation's decision to withdraw the offer to hive off Sky News as a separate company as part of its approach for BSkyB.