Targeted? Patrick Sensburg (above), the head of Germany's spying inquiry, claims his own encrypted mobile phone may have been hacked . The head of a German inquiry into foreign spying believes his own mobile phone may have been hacked, it has been reported. Patrick Sensburg is chairman of a committee set up last year over claims the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had listened in to Angela Merkel's phone calls. Mr Sensburg and other political figures had been issued with encrypted mobile phones that were said to be watertight against any hacking attempt. He is reported to have sent his phone to Germany's IT security service in a lead-lined sealed container by German courier company DHL to be examined. But when it arrived at the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the package had been opened and tampered with, according to the Daily Telegraph which cited a report by Welt newspaper. The BSI is now examining the phone. If proven to be the case, it could have potentially damaging repercussions for relations between Germany and UK, which has already expressed concerns about the investigation. It was reported last month that the UK government had threatened to end its co-operation with German intelligence agencies if members of the inquiry were given access to classified information. This threat was neither confirmed or denied by the UK, but a Whitehall source said the government was 'working closely with the German government to engage with the parliamentary inquiry'. The German government has since been seeking a compromise that would only allow Mr Sensburg to see that data which he would then relay to the other members, German media reported. Any apparent breach to Mr Sensburg's security would most likely scupper what is already a fragile compromise. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden claimed in October that the U.S. security service had been listening in on the calls of up to 35 prominent allies, including France and Germany. Eavesdropping: The German Parliamentary inquiry was set up last year over claims the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had listened in to Angela Merkel's phone calls . That lead to claims Angela Merkel's personal mobile phone was tapped and caused the German Chancellor to demand answers from the U.S. government. While American authorities never acknowledged whether spying took place, Barack Obama was forced to offer Mrs Merkel an apology. Then in December it was reported that Mrs Merkel had also fallen victim to hacking after a sophisticated computer virus was discovered on the USB drive of one of her aides. The Reign virus, which is believed to have been developed by U.S. and British spying agencies, was detected after one of Mrs Merkel's employees plugged her personal drive into a work laptop. The woman, who works in close contact with Mrs Merkel, had loaded a speech she was editing on to the drive, took it home to continue working on it, before returning to the office. It is also not known what, if any, information was taken. Reign allows users to take pictures of a computer screen, take control of the mouse, record passwords and restore deleted files.
Patrick Sensburg heads committee set up to investigate foreign spying . Set up over claims U.S. spies had listened in to Angela Merkel's calls . Mr Sensburg sent encrypted phone to IT specialists in lead-lined package . But when it arrived, the container 'had been opened and tampered with'