Rebekah Brooks, the Rupert Murdoch protegee cleared last year of criminal wrongdoing in one of the biggest media scandals to hit Britain, will return to her old job running News Corp's British newspaper arm next week.

Brooks, who worked her way up from the bottom of Murdoch's media empire to become one of the most influential people in Britain, quit as chief executive in 2011 after her now defunct News of the World tabloid admitted hacking into thousands of phones to generate front page stories.

She was charged with conspiracy to hack into phones, conspiracy to pay public officials and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice but was found not guilty following an eight-month trial which itself became front page news.

"I am delighted to return to News UK," she said. "It is a privilege to be back amongst the most talented journalists and executives in the business."

Her return marks one of the most stunning comebacks in British public life. A televised inquiry which ran through 2011 and 2012 exposed the close ties between senior executives at Murdoch's newspapers, the police and leading politicians, including Prime Minister David Cameron.

News Corp also said Tony Gallagher, currently deputy editor at the Daily Mail, a rival to the Murdoch titles, would become editor-in-chief of the Sun, its daily tabloid which is the highest-selling newspaper in Britain.