Senior executives and staff at the News of the World attempted to obstruct the police investigation into telephone hacking by deleting millions of emails and hiding evidence from detectives, it was claimed last night.

An executive from News International, the tabloid’s parent company, allegedly deleted potentially incriminating emails from an internal archive shortly after Scotland Yard began its second investigation in January.

It is also alleged that the contents of a reporter’s desk were removed following his arrest before police had an opportunity to conduct a search.

The allegations came as The Daily Telegraph learnt that detectives have been handed a list of potential telephone hacking victims linked to the Madeleine McCann case.

The list of 67 names and numbers includes Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of the missing child, and politicians including Nick Clegg and Sir Menzies Campbell. It was handed to officers working on Operation Weeting, the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into telephone hacking at the News of the World last year.

The alleged mass deletion of emails, reported by The Guardian newspaper last night, has exacerbated tensions between News International and Scotland Yard

Last month, News International handed over evidence of journalists’ alleged involvement in bribing police officers, but was warned by Scotland Yard not to make a public announcement. When the existence of the emails became public this week detectives concluded that the agreement had been breached.

It is also claimed that after the arrest of James Weatherup, a senior journalist at the newspaper, in April, his desk was cleared and its contents lodged with a firm of solicitors. The Metropolitan Police is said to have consulted the Crown Prosecution Service over whether charges could be brought.

Meanwhile, the list containing details of people linked to the Madeleine investigation suggests the victims of telephone hacking are not confined to names seized from Glenn Mulcaire following his arrest in 2006. Although the three year-old went missing in May 2007, after Mulcaire, the private investigator at the heart of the scandal, had been jailed, some connected to the investigation into her disappearance have raised concerns that their telephones may have been hacked.

One is understood to be Justine McGuinness, a Liberal Democrat adviser who was a spokesman for the McCanns. The list of possible victims also features Miss McGuinness’s Lib Dem colleagues, Mr Clegg and Sir Menzies, and Jane Tanner, who was on holiday with the McCanns in Praia da Luz, Portugal, and is convinced she saw Madeleine being carried off by a man.

Detectives were said to have interviewed Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, about the list, although he was unaware how it came into fruition. Mr Mitchell has confirmed that he met officers after attempts were made to access his Vodafone account.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said of the list: “If anyone is concerned about telephone hacking we are duty bound to take it seriously.”