Rupert Murdoch has reassured staff of his "total commitment" to continue to own and publish The Sun after five members of staff were arrested today, it has emerged.
The men were among eight people arrested today in connection with the probe into inappropriate payments to police and public officials, which also included a serving member of the Armed Forces, a Ministry of Defence employee and a serving officer at Surrey Police.
Six of those arrested have since been released on bail, Sky News reported.
In an internal memo to staff at News International, the company that owns The Sun and The Times, chief executive Tom Mockridge said he had had a "personal assurance" from Rupert Murdoch today that he plans to continue to own and publish The Sun.
In the memo, Mr Mockridge said: "I understand the pressure many of you are under and have the greatest admiration for everyone's continued professionalism.
"The Sun has a proud history of delivering ground-breaking journalism. You should know that I have had a personal assurance today from Rupert Murdoch about his total commitment to continue to own and publish The Sun newspaper."
He also told staff: "Today we are facing our greatest challenge" and added he was "very saddened" by the arrests of deputy editor Geoff Webster, picture editor John Edwards, chief reporter John Kay, chief foreign correspondent Nick Parker, and John Sturgis, who is a news editor.
"This news is difficult for everyone on The Sun and particularly for those of you who work closely with those involved.
"Some of the individuals arrested have been instrumental in breaking important stories about public bodies, for example the scandal of our under-resourced troops in Iraq."
He said they must take care not to "pre-judge" the outcome of police interviews and said it was vital that "proper due process should take its course". He confirmed the company had provided legal support.
Mr Mockridge said he had written to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to seek clarification about the process of independent oversight of the police investigation.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Murdoch is once again flying to London to handle a crisis with one of his newspapers.
This is the full text of the memo from News International's Tom Mockridge to employees:
Dear colleagues,
I am very saddened that a further five colleagues from The Sun have been arrested this morning by the Police. It has already been widely reported the individuals involved are Geoff Webster, John Edwards, John Kay, John Sturgis and Nick Parker.
This news is difficult for everyone on The Sun and particularly for those of you who work closely with those involved.
Some of the individuals arrested have been instrumental in breaking important stories about public bodies, for example the scandal of our under resourced troops in Iraq.
We must take care not to pre-judge the outcome of the police interviews. It is vitally important for all those involved that proper due process should take its course. The company has provided legal support to those interviewed today.
I remind you that News Corporation has empowered an independent body, the MSC, to cooperate fully with the Police. The MSC has reiterated to me that this is being carried out with regard to the protection of legitimate journalistic sources.
In light of these further developments, I have today written to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to seek clarification from them about the process of independent oversight of the Police investigation.
I understand the pressure many of you are under and have the greatest admiration for everyone's continued professionalism.
The Sun has a proud history of delivering ground-breaking journalism. You should know that I have had a personal assurance today from Rupert Murdoch about his total commitment to continue to own and publish The Sun newspaper.
Today we are facing our greatest challenge. Dominic is committed to leading the paper through this difficult period and, while today's arrests are shocking, we need to support him and his team to serve the loyal readers of The Sun and produce a great paper for Monday.
Thank you