The Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca) has withheld from MPs information about the criminal activity of large British firms, it has been alleged.

Soca uncovered illegal activity by insurance and telecoms companies, legal firms and wealthy individuals who paid private investigators to hack computers and steal information from rivals and private individuals.

According to a report leaked to the Independent, Soca compiled a report into private investigators but took no action into the illegal activity they discovered, effectively allowing it to continue.