Rebekah Brooks Stays On As News Of The World Winds Down

Rebekah Brooks Stays On At News International
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Rebekah Brooks, the News International chief will be staying on in her role despite mounting calls for her to step down.

The embattled executive told around 200 staff at the News of the World who are expected to lose their jobs that the company would try to find them new roles within News International.

In a letter to staff leaked on Friday she wrote: "The company will focus over the coming months on finding as many jobs as possible for the News of the World staff both within News International and the wider company".

A Comres poll of 2,028 people commissioned by Five News earlier in the week showed that 75% of people believe Brooks should leave her role as a result of the phone hacking scandal, which will see the News of the World publish its final edition on Sunday.

Angry staff staff at the paper are calling for her resignation while other commentators are also adding pressure.

The phone hacking scandal deepened on Friday when Andy Coulson, former News of the World editor and ex-spin doctor for David Cameron, the prime minister, was arrested in central London.

Clive Goodman, former royal editor at News of the World, was also been arrested for the second time in connection with the phone hacking scandal. He was jailed for four months in 2007 after he pleaded guilty to intercepting phone messages.

Reports have suggested that a further three former employees could be arrested over the scandal in the coming days.

Coulson was detained at 10:30am on Friday in South London by detectives investigating allegations of phone hacking and officers in charge of a corruption inquiry.

"Officers from Operation Weeting together with officers from Operation Elveden arrested a man on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to Section1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977 and on suspicion of corruption allegations contrary to Section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906," Scotland Yard said in a statement.

He was later released on bail until October, police said.

David Cameron, who employed Coulson as his media adviser, has come under fire for his decision. He defended the move at a press conference but said that Rebekah Brooks should have stepped down over the allegations.

The News of the World publishes its final edition on Sunday after James Murdoch, chairman of publishers News International, said the 168-year history of Britain's best-selling newspaper would come to an end.

Advertisers had deserted the News of the World in droves and police revealed 4,000 people may have had their phones hacked by the tabloid. The Royal British Legion dropped the News of the World as its campaigning partner and expressed "revulsion" at allegations that war widows' phones may have been hacked.

Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, pulled the plug on the paper after claims that it paid private investigators to illegally intercept the voicemail messages of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, bereaved military families and relatives of 7/7 bombing victims. It also stands accused of paying thousands of pounds illegally to corrupt police officers.