Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire has pleaded guilty to hacking the phone of murdered teenager Milliy Dowler.

The guilty plea of Mulcaire, who lives in Cheam, was revealed as the trial of former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks started this afternoon.

Reporting restrictions meant the 43-year-old private investigator and former AFC Wimbledon footballer's plea could not be reported until now.

The Old Bailey heard that Mulcaire, of Alberta Avenue, had a £100,000-a-year agreement with the News of the World and that he, along with three of the now-defunct paper's news editors, Greg Miskiw, Neville Thurlbeck and James Weatherup, have pleaded guilty to phone hacking.

Mulcaire has pleaded guilty to three counts of phone hacking. The counts include hacking the phone of Walton schoolgirl Millie Dowler while she was reported missing in 2002. 

He will be sentenced at a later date.