Murdoch rushes to London to limit hacking damage

Murdoch Senior, the 80-year-old chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, is due in the UK to confront the growing crisis in his media group, the daily Telegraph reported.

His sudden dash to London comes as soon-to-be out of work journalists were readying the last edition of his largest selling tabloid which will hit the newsstands on Sunday.

Murdoch`s intervention comes as a third man was held last night in connection with alleged corrupt payments made to police officers. The man was later bailed until October.

A 63-year-old was arrested in Surrey as former News of the World editor Andy Coulson was released on police bail after being quizzed for nine hours over allegations of corruption and the phone-hacking scandal that forced the closure of the 168-year-old newspaper.

The Sunday tabloid`s former royal editor, Clive Goodman, was also questioned at a separate police station over claims that police officers were bribed.

Telegraph said Murdoch was rushing to London to limit the fallout of the crisis as he moves to take full control of satellite broadcaster BSkyB, on which the British government is due to decide soon.

Reports hinted that the Australian media baron had offered to sacrifice his tabloid to help him get the lucrative BSkyB.