Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks was arrested by British police on Sunday while her former boss, Rupert Murdoch, pledged in a second newspaper ad to make amends for the phone hacking and bribery scandal that sank both the tabloid and his bid to buy British Sky Broadcasting.
Brooks, 43, was arrested at a London police station at noon Sunday by appointment. She is being questioned on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications -- phone hacking -- and on suspicion of corruption, which relates to bribing police for information.
Brooks says she is "assisting the police with their inquiries."
Sunday also saw the resignation of Paul Stephenson, the commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police Force, amid questions about that organization's role in the scandal and its ties to former NOTW executive Neil Wallis.
Stephenson had been criticized for hiring Wallis as a part-time public relations consultant.
But the police chief denied any wrongdoing and said he did not make the decision to hire Wallis.
"I will not lose any sleep over my personal integrity," he said.
Brooks is the former British CEO for Murdoch's embattled News Corporation, which is still struggling to contain the scandal stemming from accusations that journalists working for its papers hacked into the phones of murder victims and the families of dead British soldiers.
The arrest is "absolutely catastrophic" for both Brooks and News Corporation according to Martin Bentham, home affairs editor of the London Evening Standard.
"I would be very worried if I were in her shoes," Bentham told CTV News Channel on Sunday. "Clearly the police believe they have significant evidence."
Brooks was editor of News of the World from 2000 to 2003, when some of the most high-profile hacking occurred.
She resigned from News Corp. earlier this week and in two days is due to answer questions from a parliamentary committee investigating the hacking. Murdoch and his son James are also due to give evidence.
Bentham doubts Brooks will show up. "There's not much she can say because pretty well every question they'll want to ask will be related to what did she know about alleged hacking act, what did she know about alleged corruption? Every single answer will be potentially incriminating," he said.
Brooks, who has denied knowledge of the hacking, is the tenth person arrested in connection with the scandal.
On Sunday, Murdoch took out a second newspaper ad promising that News Corp. is "putting right what went wrong" and that there would be "no place to hide" for wrongdoers.
The scandal has scuttled Murdoch's bid to buy British Sky Broadcasting, a multi-million dollar deal from which the media tycoon withdrew last week.
"It may take some time for us to rebuild trust and confidence, but we are determined to live up to the expectations of our readers, colleagues and partners," the ad said.
The company on Saturday took out full-page ads in British newspapers declaring "We are sorry."
With files from Associated Press
