Rupert Murdoch will fly to Britain this week to deal with a spiralling new crisis in his media empire after five members of his staff at his tabloid The Sun were arrested on corruption charges, sources said yesterday.

The Australian-born tycoon said he was committed to the UK’s biggest selling paper, but employees reportedly fear he could close The Sun as he shut the News of the World last July amid a scandal over phone hacking.

The latest allegations, involving Sun journalists bribing police and public officials for information, are a new blow for Mr Murdoch’s US-based News Corporation, which also owns Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.

Mr Murdoch will come to London “later in the week”, a person familiar with the matter said. The person added Mr Murdoch’s visit had already been planned before the arrests happened.

Another source said he would meet with Sun journalists to reassure them about their future in the tabloid, which sells around 2.5 million copies a day.

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