News Of The World, Phone-hacking Scandal | featured news

Prime Minister David Cameron's ex-media chief and Rupert Murdoch's former UK newspaper boss are to be charged with phone-hacking offences in the most significant development in a scandal that has rocked Britain's establishment.

Rupert Murdoch's News International has settled nearly all cases in the first wave of phone hacking lawsuits brought against his company.

Police investigating Britain's phone-hacking scandal made another arrest Friday, keeping up the pressure on Rupert Murdoch's media empire. Officers from Scotland Yard arrested a 47-year-old woman early Friday morning in Essex, a county just east of London. Police said she was the 17th person to be arrested as part of Operation Weeting, the official investigation into phone hacking.

Seven public figures have settled their claims against News of the World publisher News Group over phone hacking, News International says. They include former Lib Dem MP Mark Oaten, TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson and celebrities Abi Titmuss and Calum Best. The others were theatrical agent Michelle Milburn, Paul Dadge, who helped survivors of the 7/7 bombings, and former Army officer James Hewitt.

James Murdoch has resigned from the boards of the companies that publish its British newspapers including the now-defunct News of the World tabloid at the center of the phone hacking sandal, regulatory filings show.

A lawyer for many of Britain's phone hacking victims said Friday that legal action would be launched in the United States against Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

James Murdoch was aware that another News of the World reporter was seemingly implicated in illegal tapping, despite his statements to the contrary, say two top executives of the now-defunct newspaper. Media executive James Murdoch knew of a damaging piece of evidence three years ago that phone hacking was practiced by more than one reporter at the News of the World tabloid, despite his statements to the contrary, two of his former colleagues said Tuesday.

Even as his company weathers its biggest crisis ever, Rupert Murdoch is still pulling in a huge salary from News Corp.Regulatory filings released on Friday showed that Murdoch's total compensation for the 2011 fiscal year was $33.3 million. As technology writer Peter Kafka noted, this included a $12.5 million bonus. Murdoch also received $8.5 million in stock.

Andy Coulson, who worked as UK PM David Cameron's adviser, continued to receive payments from the newspaper at the centre of the UK phone hacking scandal, after he had left as editor.

Harbottle & Lewis, the law firm embroiled in the phone-hacking scandal sweeping Rupert Murdoch's News of the World newspaper, has taken the unusual step of fighting back against its former client to preserve its reputation.