Britain’s most popular daily tabloid, The Sun, had a culture of corrupt payments to a network of public officials which was authorised at a senior level, the police officer leading a police inquiry into bribery by journalists told a public inquiry yesterday.
Sue Akers, deputy assistant commissioner, said at the Leveson inquiry in London that evidence showed payments were “frequent, regular and on occasion significant sums were involved”. The revelations came just 24 hours after Rupert Murdoch launched The Sun on Sunday.
One source was paid £80,000 over a period of years, Ms Akers said, while one journalist channelled more than £150,000 to various sources.