News Corp hands over journalists' sources to police investigating corruption allegations

The ongoing 'civil war' in Rupert Murdoch's media empire has apparently deepened as the firm has handed over details of some of its journalists' sources to police investigating corruption allegations.

According to a Times report, confidential information about journalists' sources were being passed to the police on the grounds 'they do not deserve protection because there is evidence they may have been paid for information'.

The paper said it was not clear whether the investigation had identified the sources without considering "whether the publication of stories based on their information was in the public interest".

The latest sign of growing tensions in the firm emerge a day after one of The Sun's most senior journalists said the internal inquiry was a "witch hunt" designed to protect Murdoch's US-based media firm News Corporation, The Telegraph reports.

According to the paper, it also emerged that the investigation by News Corporation's Management and Standards Committee (MSC) also includes The Times and The Sunday Times after the main focus was on The Sun and the now defunct British tabloid News of the World.

The National Union of Journalists said it had received calls from reporters on the Times titles who were concerned that their reputations could be damaged.

According to the report, the journalists said they felt they were being offered as a "sacrifice".

The MSC is examining over 300million emails, expenses claims and payment records to identify any unlawful activity, including payments to police officers and other public officials.

The Times reported that the investigation by the MSC included looking for keywords such as "bribe" and "bung". (ANI)