Murdoch expands internal inquiry of UK papers

By Mark Hosenball and Georgina Prodhan

WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - Lawyers for Rupert Murdoch's News International are conducting a broad inquiry into reporting practices at all of the company's UK newspapers, according to sources who have been briefed on the probe.

Attorneys for Linklaters, the large London law firm leading the probe, will be looking for anything that U.S. government investigators might be able to construe as evidence the company violated American law, particularly the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits corrupt payments to foreign officials, a source familiar with the investigation told Reuters.

In addition to conducting personal interviews with selected journalists, lawyers will also be looking at email and financial records, said this source.

Separately, Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, are to be questioned about the phone hacking scandal under oath in the UK High Court, the country's Telegraph newspaper reported.

A second source close to the company said that just because the internal inquiry is examining reporting standards across Murdoch's UK papers, this does not mean there is evidence inappropriate activity occurred at News International's currently operating British properties.

News Corp acknowledges an extensive review is under way, although the details it released have been sparse.

"As is widely known, a review of journalistic standards is underway at News International with Linklaters assisting in the process," a company spokesperson told Reuters.

The spokesperson added the review was "part of a process that started a number of weeks ago."