Rebekah Brooks, who was in charge of Rupert Murdoch’s vast media empire in the UK, was arrested Sunday on allegations of cellphone hacking and paying off corrupt cops for information.
She’s the highest official of News Corp. to be arrested so far. According to The Washington Post, she was arrested for “conspiring to intercept communications and on corruption allegations.”
Brooks had resigned her position on Friday as chief executive of News International, according to The Telegraph. She is alleged to have authorized electronic eavesdropping of the cellphones of hundreds of unknowing victims, tapping into the voicemail of a 13-year-old murder victim, and intercepting phone calls of numerous politicians and scores of celebrities.
Formerly part of a tight-knit group of top executives at Murdoch’s News Corp., she led the now-closed News of the World tabloid to hundreds of scoops, many of which are alleged to have originated from information obtained by bribing police.
As is the custom in the UK, Brooks wasn’t named as the person who was arrested, with Scotland Yard issuing the following statement after she appeared for a noon appointment to be arrested:
“At approximately 12.00 hrs a 43-year-old woman was arrested by appointment at a London police station by officers from Operation Weeting together with officers from Operation Elveden and is currently in custody.”
Now that Brooks is behind bars, the question remains, will she still testify about the scandal before members of Parliament on Tuesday? That might be in conflict with British laws that protect police inquiries.
Readers, do you think there other news organizations hacking cellphones and bribing police?
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