Report: Murdoch insider arrested in hacking probe
London (CNN) — Rebekah Brooks, the former editor of the British tabloid News of the World and a close confidante of its owner, Rupert Murdoch, was rearrested Tuesday in connection with a phone-hacking investigation, police confirmed to CNN.
London’s Metropolitan Police refused to name her, but said the woman arrested Tuesday had previously been arrested July 17 — the date that Brooks was arrested. She was the only one arrested in connection with phone hacking that day.
Dozens of current and former employees of News International, the News Corp. subsidiary that publishes Murdoch’s British newspapers, have been arrested on suspicion of bribing police, or illegally intercepting voice mail or e-mail. No one has been charged.
Former Murdoch executive rearrested
Tension high at “The Sun” newspaper
Murdoch to meet with staff
Bernstein criticizes Murdoch’s standards
Explain it to me: UK tabloid scandal
Accusations of widespread phone hacking on behalf of News of the World prompted its publisher to shut it down in July.
Brooks was previously arrested in connection with phone hacking and police bribery, and was released on bail after a day of questioning.
She was among six people detained Tuesday on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, police said.
Tuesday’s arrest could mean that she will face additional charges in an ever-widening scandal that has spawned three police investigations, two parliamentary committee probes and an independent inquiry.
Her husband, Charlie Brooks, was also arrested Tuesday, according to reports in Murdoch outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and Sky News. Charlie Brooks did not return a voice mail message from CNN on Tuesday.
Rebekah Brooks, a former editor of the News of the World and the daily tabloid The Sun, was chief executive of News International until she resigned days before her arrest in July.
Police investigating phone hacking say that about 5,800 people, including celebrities, crime victims, politicians and members of the British royal family, could have been targets of the practice by journalists in search of stories.
It involves illegally eavesdropping on voice mail by entering a personal identification number, or PIN, to access messages remotely.
CNN’s Alysen Miller contributed to this report.
Share this on:
Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_world/~3/KLNwq-rd3dk/index.html