The British Metropolitan police have informed Andy Coulson, former media adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, that he will be arrested Friday in connection with the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.
Coulson (left), who resigned as Cameron's director of commuications in January, was contacted by detectives on Thursday and told to appear for formal questioning on Friday.
Also read: The 'News of the World' Phone Hacking Scandal: A Timeline of Tabloid Espionage
The scandal dominated headlines in the United Kingdom and United States on Thursday and left Murdoch - who was at a mogul's retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho - avoiding journalists.
James Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corp. Europe and Asia, said News of the World will close Sunday after 168 years in operation.
"The good things the News of the World does ... have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong," Murdoch, son of News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, said in a statement. "If recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company."
Also read: James Murdoch's Statement in Full
The action was an extraordinary admission of the damage the tabloid has caused with allegations that journalists have hacked the phones of everyone from juvenile victims of terrorism to the royal family, as well as suspected corruption of the police.
News Corp. boss Murdoch kept a low profile at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley on Thursday as the scandal deepened, declining further comment on the matter. While a throng of media swarmed around him, the mogul avoided questions and said that he had nothing more to add to a statement. he "mostly kept his head down and swiftly moved through the pack, only repeating that he had nothing more to add to his statement."
Cameron's decision to hire Coulson was always viewed as risky because the former News of the World editor had to resign his post at the tabloid in 2007 after early developments emerged in the News Corp. hacking scandal. Coulson resigned the day his former royal editor, Clive Goodman, was imprisioned.
Coulson said he resigned from his post in Cameron's administration because the allegations inhibited him from performing his job. That did not mean he admitted to any impropriety.
Coulson consistently asserted his own personal innocence, and both Cameron and News Corp. supported him -- until this week.
With the scandal escalating to another level, both Cameron and News Corp. have stopped defending Coulson. In fact, News International has begun to shift attention to the misdeeds while Coulson was editor, ostensibly to protect his predecessor (and News International chief executive) Rebekah Brooks.
The Guardian is reporting that another former senior journalist form the World will be arrested soon.
Previously:
When new accusations emerged Wednesday, the British government announced it would launch an inquiry and rumors spread that up to five journalists and executives would be arrested.
