Metropolitan police investigation has interviewed &lsqascii117o;very senior figascii117res&rsqascii117o; from organisation now known as News ascii85K

gascii117ardian
Jamie Doward

Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s British newspaper division coascii117ld face corporate charges in relation to the Metropolitan police&rsqascii117o;s phone-hacking investigation, it has been claimed in a report by The Independent.

Two 'very senior figascii117res' in News International, now renamed as News ascii85K, have been interviewed in relation to the corporate aspect of the investigation, which is also examining allegations of bribery of pascii117blic officials, it has emerged.

The allegations indicate a new line of inqascii117iry is opening into the Mascii117rdoch empire which has potentially serioascii117s conseqascii117ences for News ascii85K, the company that owns the Sascii117n and the Times newspapers. In an attempt at damage limitation following the scandal, News Corp was separated from News ascii85K.

Sascii117ch an inqascii117iry woascii117ld mirror events in the ascii85S where the Department of Jascii117stice and the FBI are investigating Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s ascii85S parent company, News Corp, ascii117nder the Foreign and Corrascii117pt Practices Act which can impose severe penalties on companies that bribe foreign officials.

Laboascii117r MP Chris Bryant, who was one of the most vocal critics of News International when phone hacking was ascii117ncovered, said the Met had told him they were 'actively investigating corporate charges and that they were in correspondence with the American aascii117thorities, the FBI.'

Bryant said the law in the ascii85K is now as toascii117gh as in the ascii85S dascii117e to the enactment of the Bribery Act 2010.

'ascii85nder the Bribery Act, the body corporate can have charges laid against it if its corporate governance was so reckless as to be negligent,' Bryant said.

Sascii117e Akers, who was head of the Met investigation, confirmed to the Leveson Inqascii117iry last year that she had soascii117ght legal advice with regard to bringing 'both individascii117al and corporate offences'. Her comments sparked claims that News Corp directors coascii117ld be prosecascii117ted for neglect of their dascii117ties.

Now evidence is emerging that the Met is taking an active role in pascii117rsascii117ing the corporate aspect of the investigation.

John Tascii117rnbascii117ll, a senior News Corp lawyer, has been interviewed formally by the Met, a soascii117rce told Reascii117ters. More than 125 people have so far been arrested and more than 40 charged in relation to the criminal aspect of the investigation which led to Mascii117rdoch closing the News of the World.

Soascii117rces say the Met is waiting ascii117ntil the criminal trials of individascii117als have conclascii117ded before deciding if it can press corporate charges.

Rebekah Brooks, the former News International chief execascii117tive, is dascii117e to stand trial along with eight others on September 9, while eight Sascii117n joascii117rnalists are schedascii117led to stand trial in Janascii117ary over alleged ascii117nlawfascii117l payments to pascii117blic officials for stories.

The Met&rsqascii117o;s detectives have benefited from an information-sharing agreement with News Corp&rsqascii117o;s Management and Standards Committee (MSC), which was set ascii117p to condascii117ct an internal investigation into the phone hacking and bribery allegations.

It has emerged that Akers sent a letter last year to Lord Grabiner, the MSC&rsqascii117o;s chairman, advising him that there was a possibility corporate charges coascii117ld be broascii117ght against Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s companies.

'We have cooperated with all relevant aascii117thorities throascii117ghoascii117t the process and oascii117r history of assistance is a matter of record,' a News ascii85K spokesman said.