Reporters told to keep documents in wake of UK hacking scandal

Rupert Murdoch's New York Post has ordered newsroom staff to keep all documents related to questionable reporting methods involving phone hacking or unlawful payments to government officials in light of the fire storm in the UK engulfing the newspaper's owner, News Corp. The company's legal department said in a memo on Friday: "As you have undoubtedly seen, there have been press accounts of inquiries into whether employees or agents of News Corporation or its subsidiaries have (a) accessed telephone and/or other personal data of third-parties without authorisation, and/or (b) made unlawful payments to government officials in order to obtain information. "As you also know, these stem from the actions at The News of the World in London, as well as unsourced, unsubstantiated reports in one London tabloid. "Starting today, all employees must preserve and maintain all documents and information that are related in any way to the above mentioned issues. "Please know we are sending this notice not because any recipient has done anything improper or unlawful. However, given what has taken place in London, we believe that taking this step will help to underscore how seriously we are taking this matter." A copy of the memo was obtained by Reuters. In a separate memo on Friday, the New York Post's editor-in-chief, Colin Allan, told the staff they had been asked to save documents, "in light of what has gone on in London at News of the World, and not because any recipient has done anything improper or unlawful." The memo went on to say: "As we watched the news in the UK over the last few weeks, we knew that as a News Corp tabloid, we would be looked at more closely. So this is not unexpected." From/ Gulf News