Four Journalists and One Police Officer Arrested in Britain’s Phone Hacking Scandal

British police have arrested one of their own officers and four journalists in connection with the phone hacking scandal that rocked Britain last year. The scandal brought an end to a 164 year old tabloid, “The News of the World.” However, the journalists arrested were said to be former and current employees of the Sun. That is a tabloid that is also owned by News International, which is part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp conglomerate.

Media reports from Britain list the four journalists as Graham Dudman, Fergus Shanahan, Chris Pharo, and Mike Sullivan. They are being investigated by police for the illegal phone hacking, as well as for possibly bribery of police officials. The police officer that was arrested was 29 years old and was charged with “misconduct in public office.”

Information for the arrests was reportedly given to police from the Management and Standards Committee of News Corp. According to police, the information specifically was in regards to payments or bribes to police officers.

There are three ongoing police investigations into the scandal. Operation Elveden, which is the one the arrests were made for, is looking into the hacking of emails and phones of celebrities, politicians, and crime victims. The investigations have revealed that many journalists employed by various newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch, used private investigators to hack cell phones and emails. Some reports have the incidents going back as far as ten years.

There have been some settlements paid out by News Corp; however, there could be thousands of victims affected by the scandal. The investigations are still underway and more arrests could be possible.

Related News / Articles:

1. 71 Year Old Man Arrested by British Police in Connection with Phone Hacking Scandal
2. News International Announces Compensation Plan for Phone Hacking Scandal
3. Metropolitan Police Authority Commissioner Stephenson Resigns Due to NoW Scandal
4. Third Largest News Corp Investor Urges Rupert Murdock to Unload Newspapers
5. News of the World Phone Hacking Scandal Investigation Widens to Include Computer Hacking
6. U.S. Authorities Investigating News Corp