Clive Goodman

British police made their 11th arrest Tuesday in an investigation into phone hacking by the now-shuttered Sunday tabloid News of the World, owned by the British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. media empire. A 71-year-old man, named in news reports here as Stuart Kuttner, former managing editor of the News of the World, was arrested on charges of conspiracy to intercept communications and corruption when he voluntarily appeared for questioning at a central London police station.

LONDON -- A former senior aide to Prime Minister David Cameron and the onetime chief of Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers will be charged with bribery offenses in the latest legal action stemming from Britain's phone-hacking scandal, prosecutors said Tuesday. Authorities announced that Andy Coulson, who was Cameron's top communications deputy, and Rebekah Brooks, who served as head of Murdoch's News International, would be charged in connection with separate incidents in which journalists paid public officials for sensitive information.

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. The assertion by Colin Myler, the paper's last editor, and Tom Crone, its head in-house lawyer, boosted the likelihood that Murdoch will be called to appear again before Parliament to explain the discrepancy. Both he and his father, media magnate Rupert Murdoch, gave evidence to lawmakers in July after the phone-hacking scandal broke wide open and threw their massive News Corp.

Contradicting testimony by Piers Morgan, a former reporter said in a British inquiry that phone hacking was considered a "standard journalistic tool" at the tabloid once run by the CNN host. Former Daily Mirror business columnist James Hipwell's testimony on Wednesday clashed with Morgan's insistence a day earlier that he did not know the practice was used at the tabloid during his time as editor from 1995 to 2004. Hipwell, who was fired from the paper in 2000 and later convicted of buying low-priced shares before recommending them in his popular City Slickers column, is now a freelance writer.

Britain's chief prosecutor said Friday that he would not bring charges against a top prime ministerial aide embroiled in a scandal over the suspected hacking of cellphones belonging to celebrities, politicians and employees of the royal family. Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, said an investigation had not yielded sufficient evidence for charges to be filed against Andy Coulson, Prime Minister David Cameron's communications director and the onetime editor of the News of the World.

Rupert Murdoch's media empire suffered a potentially heavy blow in the British phone-hacking scandal Tuesday when Parliament released documents suggesting that reporters and top editors at the News of the World practiced and sanctioned the illegal interception of voicemails. An internal letter written in 2007 by Clive Goodman, a former reporter at the tabloid and the only one convicted so far in the scandal, alleged that phone hacking had the "full knowledge and support" of others at the paper and was "widely discussed" at daily editorial meetings.

Les Hinton, a former top publishing executive at News Corp. and longtime friend of its chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, has been called by a committee of British Parliament to answer a fresh round of questions this month about the phone hacking scandal roiling the media conglomerate. Hinton served for a dozen years as executive chairman of News Corp.'s British newspaper unit, News International, when the hacking allegedly occurred. He left in late 2007 to become chief executive of Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal.

Contradicting testimony by Piers Morgan, a former reporter said in a British inquiry that phone hacking was considered a "standard journalistic tool" at the tabloid once run by the CNN host. Former Daily Mirror business columnist James Hipwell's testimony on Wednesday clashed with Morgan's insistence a day earlier that he did not know the practice was used at the tabloid during his time as editor from 1995 to 2004. Hipwell, who was fired from the paper in 2000 and later convicted of buying low-priced shares before recommending them in his popular City Slickers column, is now a freelance writer.

LONDON -- A former senior aide to Prime Minister David Cameron and the onetime chief of Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers will be charged with bribery offenses in the latest legal action stemming from Britain's phone-hacking scandal, prosecutors said Tuesday. Authorities announced that Andy Coulson, who was Cameron's top communications deputy, and Rebekah Brooks, who served as head of Murdoch's News International, would be charged in connection with separate incidents in which journalists paid public officials for sensitive information.

A reporter for Britain's top-selling tabloid newspaper pleaded guilty to plotting to tap the telephones of the royal family. News of the World royal correspondent Clive Goodman was facing charges at London's Old Bailey criminal court, accused of unlawfully intercepting communications in the household of Prince Charles. Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who appeared with Goodman, admitted to the same charge and also pleaded guilty to five charges of unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages.

Les Hinton, a former top publishing executive at News Corp. and longtime friend of its chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, has been called by a committee of British Parliament to answer a fresh round of questions this month about the phone hacking scandal roiling the media conglomerate. Hinton served for a dozen years as executive chairman of News Corp.'s British newspaper unit, News International, when the hacking allegedly occurred. He left in late 2007 to become chief executive of Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal.

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. The assertion by Colin Myler, the paper's last editor, and Tom Crone, its head in-house lawyer, boosted the likelihood that Murdoch will be called to appear again before Parliament to explain the discrepancy. Both he and his father, media magnate Rupert Murdoch, gave evidence to lawmakers in July after the phone-hacking scandal broke wide open and threw their massive News Corp.

Rupert Murdoch's media empire suffered a potentially heavy blow in the British phone-hacking scandal Tuesday when Parliament released documents suggesting that reporters and top editors at the News of the World practiced and sanctioned the illegal interception of voicemails. An internal letter written in 2007 by Clive Goodman, a former reporter at the tabloid and the only one convicted so far in the scandal, alleged that phone hacking had the "full knowledge and support" of others at the paper and was "widely discussed" at daily editorial meetings.

British police made their 11th arrest Tuesday in an investigation into phone hacking by the now-shuttered Sunday tabloid News of the World, owned by the British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. media empire. A 71-year-old man, named in news reports here as Stuart Kuttner, former managing editor of the News of the World, was arrested on charges of conspiracy to intercept communications and corruption when he voluntarily appeared for questioning at a central London police station.

Britain's chief prosecutor said Friday that he would not bring charges against a top prime ministerial aide embroiled in a scandal over the suspected hacking of cellphones belonging to celebrities, politicians and employees of the royal family. Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, said an investigation had not yielded sufficient evidence for charges to be filed against Andy Coulson, Prime Minister David Cameron's communications director and the onetime editor of the News of the World.

A British tabloid journalist who hacked into royal officials' voicemail was sentenced to four months in prison, and his editor resigned. The judge called the actions by Clive Goodman, the royal editor of the News of the World, "reprehensible in the extreme." Goodman's accomplice, private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, was sentenced to six months in prison for hacking into the messages, including some from Princes William and Harry.

British police arrested three men Tuesday, including a newspaper section editor, in an investigation that began with complaints from Prince Charles' office about possible phone-tapping, police and the newspaper said. Police said they did not believe the phones of any members of the royal family had been tapped. But the calls of other public figures may have been intercepted, raising potential security issues, police said. They refused to say whose phone may have been tapped.