A trade union leader has spoken to the Leveson Inquiry about being targeted by a private investigator.

Bob Crow, of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport, told the inquiry about a Mail on Sunday story published in 2003, featuring a photograph of Crow on the back of his assistant’s scooter.

He accused private investigator Steve Whittamore of “blagging” confidential information from the DVLA.

Crow said: “The issue is a non-story as far as I'm concerned. The issue to us is how they obtained the information."

Robert Jay QC, counsel to the inquiry, said the information had been obtained by Whittamore, who then passed it on to the Mail on Sunday.

Crow said police were investigating whether his phone had been targeted by a private investigator on behalf of a newspaper, but said he had no proof of phone hacking.

Jay said a letter from News International's legal representatives confirms Crow was placed under surveillance in January 2011. Crow told the inquiry that a private investigator followed him on a holiday to the Caribbean.

He also described being doorstepped by Sun reporters in 2009, and said someone claiming to be a journalist working for the Sunday Times searched through bins outside a RMT meeting to retrieve a copy of the agenda.