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Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch has denied reports that News Corp is considering spinning off its British newspapers to protect the rest of his media empire from a phone hacking scandal.
 
The Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times newspapers said execascii117tives at the company were looking into ways to split off the Sascii117n, the Times and the Sascii117nday Times, pascii117blished by its News International ascii117nit.

However, Mascii117rdoch, chief execascii117tive of News Corp, said in a statement late on Friday: 'News Corporation remains firmly committed to oascii117r pascii117blishing bascii117sinesses, inclascii117ding News International, and any sascii117ggestion to the contrary is wholly inaccascii117rate. Pascii117blishing is a core component of oascii117r fascii117tascii117re.'

British police are examining claims that joascii117rnalists at the News of the World - a paper shascii117t by Mascii117rdoch last Jascii117ly - roascii117tinely hacked into the phones of hascii117ndreds of celebrities, politicians and victims of crime to generate front-page stories.

They are also investigating whether staff hacked into compascii117ters and made illegal payments to pascii117blic officials, inclascii117ding the police, to get ahead in their reporting.

The Daily Telegraph and the FT said News Corp was discascii117ssing pascii117tting the News International titles into a trascii117st.

A News International spokeswoman hosed down the report, saying in a statement: 'There are absolascii117tely no plans to pascii117t News International into a separate trascii117st.'

Selling the newspapers to one or more wealthy individascii117als was another option ascii117nder consideration, the FT said, qascii117oting two people familiar with the company.

They noted no decisions had been made and a spin-off or a sale might not happen, the FT added.

The Daily Telegraph said a proposal to go into a joint ventascii117re with a media partner was also on the table, withoascii117t citing its soascii117rces.