LONDON — Rupert Murdoch’s scandal-hit News International confirmed Tuesday that it was reviewing journalistic standards across the company, a U.K. media group that includes The Times of London newspaper.
The British newspaper arm of Murdoch’s global empire has been shaken by allegations of illegal behaviour at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid, once Britain’s most popular Sunday paper. More than a dozen former News of the World journalists and executives have been arrested over claims that they systematically intercepted mobile phone messages and illegally paid police for tips.
Allegations of wrongdoing at other U.K. newspapers have since spread a cloud of suspicion over the country’s entire media industry. The publishers of the Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail, which both compete with Murdoch’s papers, have announced their own separate reviews of editorial procedure in the wake of the scandal in the past month or so.
In a statement, News International said its internal review was launched “a number of weeks ago” and was being carried out with the assistance of London law firm, Linklaters.