British police threw Rupert Murdoch's scandal-hit News Corporation into fresh turmoil on Saturday by arresting five senior staff at the top-selling daily The Sun in a probe into journalists paying police for tip-offs.
The move is part of a wider investigation into illegal newsgathering practices that has rocked Britain's political, media and police establishments and last year prompted the closure of the Sun's sister Sunday title, the News of the World.
Saturday's arrests came after the company passed information to the police, a move that Infuriated staff and sparked talk of a witch hunt among journalists by a proprietor who previously celebrated their work.
Four current and former Sun staff had already been arrested last month, and the latest detentions raise questions about the viability of Britain's best selling daily.
A source said the arrests included the Sun's deputy editor, picture editor, chief reporter and two other senior staff. Police said a serving police officer was among a total of eight people arrested on Saturday and later released on bail.
The source said a defense ministry employee and a member of the armed forces were the others. The ministry declined comment.
The current staff who were arrested in January have been suspended by the paper, and the same fate is likely to await those arrested on Saturday.
As no production staff have been arrested, the company should be able to get a paper published on Monday. Staff who were not due to work over the weekend volunteered their services to make sure the paper was produced, said a second source close to the situation.
Both sets of arrests resulted from information from News Corp's Management and Standards Committee (MSC), a fact-finding group the firm set up in a bid to rescue its reputation.
The MSC is working alongside up to 100 personnel from top law firms as well as forensic advisers and computer experts searching through more than 300 million e-mails, expense claims, phone records and other documents. Some 15 or 20 police are embedded with the team.
According to people familiar with the work of the MSC, the project could take at least another18 months. Piles of paperwork that cannot fit in the offices are stored in warehouses at another, secret location.
Murdoch shut the hugely popular News of the World last year after a public outcry over revelations that its reporters hacked the voicemail messages of celebrities and victims of crime.
Questions:
1. How many Sun staff had already been arrested last month?
2. What is the of News Corps' Management and Standards Committee?
3. How many more months may the project take?
Answers:
1. Four.
2. A fact-finding group set up by the firm.
3.18 months.