Murdoch pledges "unwavering support" for crisis-hit tabloid

Feb 17, 2012, 16:57 GMT

London - Media mogul Rupert Murdoch Friday gave full backing to his crisis-ridden British operations and said he would launch a new national Sunday tabloid 'very soon' to prove it.

However, he warned that 'illegal practices' alleged to have been used by journalists at the Sun newspaper would 'not be tolerated,' and he renewed his support for current police investigations into alleged corrupts payments to public officials.

The new sister paper of the Sun, which is to be known as the Sun on Sunday, would be launched shortly to replace its predecessor, the News of the World, closed down at the height of last year's phone-hacking scandal.

'We will build on the Sun's proud heritage by launching the Sun on Sunday very soon,' Murdoch said in a message to staff at the headquarters of his British operations, News International, in London.

He said that while the allegations made against journalists had been a 'source of great pain' for him, he remained proud of the 'unique and important position' held by the Sun within his newspaper empire.

'It is part of me and is one of our proudest achievements,' said Murdoch, who bought the paper in 1969. The Sun has a daily circulation of about 3 million.

Ten Sun journalists have been arrested - and released on bail - since last year over a police investigation into allegations that payments were made to public officials in exchange for information.

Journalists at the paper have been angered by the cooperation of News International with the police investigation, which they have described as 'betrayal.'

A committee set up by Murdoch last year, in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal, is said to have supplied police with millions of emails for their corruption investigation.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has raised concerns over the threat to press freedom in connection with the crisis.

The NUJ said news organizations had a duty to protect their sources, and did not rule out legal action to challenge News International's conduct in the affair.

However, Murdoch made clear Friday that he would continue to assist the police investigations to 'get to the bottom of our problems.'

'We will obey the law. Illegal activities simply will not be tolerated at any of our publications ... We cannot protect people who have paid public officials,' he said.

Murdoch said he would stay in London for the next few weeks to demonstrate his 'unwavering support' to the Sun and its journalists.

'I am confident we will get through this together and emerge stronger,' he said.