In the meantime, the FBI in the US opened an investigation into allegations that the Murdoch media empire sought to hack into the phones of Sept. 11 victims.

Those two developments — and the arrest of another former editor of a Murdoch tabloid — deepened the crisis for News Corp., which has seen its stock price sink as investors ask whether the scandal could drag down the whole company.

Murdoch defended News Corp.'s handling of the scandal, saying his media empire will recover from any damage caused by the phone-hacking and police bribery allegations against its journalists. The 80-year-old told The Wall Street Journal — which is owned by News Corp. — that he is "just getting annoyed" at all the recent negative press.

He also dismissed reports he would sell his U.K. newspapers to stem the scandal, calling the suggestion "total rubbish."

A law enforcement official in New York, meanwhile, said the FBI was investigating allegations that employees of News Corp. tried to hack into the telephones of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

AP