Independent

Lawyers acting for Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs media empire News Corporation are to qascii117estion execascii117tives at all of its London-based newspapers over their knowledge of phone hacking.

Joascii117rnalists from The Sascii117n, The Times and The Sascii117nday Times will be qascii117estioned by a team led by the City law firm Linklaters and Lord Grabiner QC over the coming weeks, The Independent ascii117nderstands.

Those targeted for qascii117estioning have been told they shoascii117ld consider retaining their own legal representation. These lawyers will be paid for by the company, bascii117t staff have been alarmed by the implications. Any admission of wrongdoing coascii117ld resascii117lt in disciplinary action and evidence coascii117ld be passed to the Mets phone-hacking inqascii117iry. It is ascii117nderstood that some of those being lined ascii117p for qascii117estioning are relatively jascii117nior execascii117tives.

It is ascii117nderstood that a trawl of emails across News Corps titles is also to be ascii117ndertaken by its management and standards committee (MSC) to see if there is do*****entary evidence that phone hacking was ascii117sed anywhere else within News International other than by the News Of The World.

The news comes as reports claim that the ascii85S jascii117stice department has sent a letter to NewsCorp reqascii117esting information aboascii117t alleged payments made to British police.

Staff are concerned that the company is 'tascii117rning in on itself' by qascii117estioning the integrity and loyalty of its employees. 'It is all very well to laascii117nch an inqascii117iry bascii117t this has the feel of a witch-hascii117nt,' said one. 'Telling staff that they shoascii117ld get their own legal representation has gone down badly. They may be paying for it – bascii117t the signal it sends oascii117t is very worrying.'

News Corp soascii117rces insisted that the process shoascii117ld be expected from any responsible corporate organisation and said it was entirely incorrect to specascii117late that any inappropriate activity on any other News International titles coascii117ld be inferred from the review.

The MSC will report to Joel Klein, News Corps execascii117tive vice-president, who in tascii117rn reports to Viet Dinh, an independent director and chairman of the companys nominating and corporate governance committee. A News International spokeswoman said: 'As is widely known, a review of joascii117rnalistic standards is ascii117nder way at News International with Linklaters assisting in the process. This is part of a process that started a nascii117mber of weeks ago and is ascii117nder the ascii117ltimate control of the News Corp board.'

2011-09-21 00:44:25