Six bailed in corruption probe
6:43pm Saturday 11th February 2012 in National News © Press Association 2011
Rupert Murdoch has reassured staff of his commitment to continue to publish The Sun
Six people arrested as part of an investigation into allegations of corruption have been released on bail, Scotland Yard said.
Sun journalists aged 52, 47 and 45, a 39-year-old Ministry of Defence employee and a 36-year-old member of the Armed Forces have been bailed to return in May, while a 39-year-old police officer has been bailed to return on a date in March.
Two other Sun journalists remain in custody over the probe into inappropriate payments to police and public officials.
Rupert Murdoch has reassured staff of his "total commitment" to continue to own and publish The Sun.
In an internal memo to staff at News International, the company that owns The Sun and The Times, chief executive Tom Mockridge said he had had a "personal assurance" from Rupert Murdoch that he plans to continue to own and publish The Sun. It is expected Mr Murdoch will visit staff in London towards the end of the week.
The editor of the newspaper, Dominic Mohan, said he was shocked by the developments but would focus on putting out Monday's edition.
An earlier statement from News Corporation, parent company of News International which owns The Sun and The Times, said its Management and Standards Committee (MSC) had provided information to the Elveden investigation which led to the arrests. It said it had also provided the option of "immediate legal representation" to those arrested.
Tom Watson MP, who sits on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, told Channel 4 News that News International may be called back to give further evidence to the committee.
"What we know now is that the company collaborated with the police. They have given evidence to the police that has led to some of these arrests," he said.
"What I think it's important to do, if they've got evidence that shows that in fact there is a reasonable suspicion that police were paid by News International then Parliament needs to know about it because it shows that we have potentially been misled and we are in the middle of an inquiry and we need to know what the company now knows."
