17/07/2011 BBC Weekend News

Hello. Good evening. The former Chief Executive of News

International, Rebekah Brooks, has been arrested on suspicion of

involvement in phone hacking and bribing police officers for

information. Mrs Brooks, who resigned on Friday, was arrested at

lunch time after going to a London police station by appointment. With

the latest, here's our business editor Robert Peston. His Rory

McIlroy roar. The most powerful woman in

newspapers, Rebekah Brooks, quit from Rupert Murdoch's News

International on Friday, today arrested on suspicion of phone

hacking and corruption. She started to face barrage of criticism eight

months ago when there were allegation the News of the World

had hacked the phone of Milly Dowler. Here's the lawyer for the

Dowler family. The arrest is so important. It's

the first time we have seen someone at a real management-directer level

that there are no holds barred. This is now going to be a full

investigation going to the very top of the company. Mrs Brooks is the

10th person to have been arrested in relation to allegations that the

News of the World instigated phone hacking and bribery of the police.

On July the 8th, Clive Goodman, the paper's former Royal editor, was

arrested on suspicion of making illegal payments to the police. The

same day, Andy Coulson, the former editor of News of the World and

until January David Cameron's Director of Communications at

Number Ten Downing Street was arrested on suspicion of phone

hacking and corruption. Neil Wallis, who went on to be a PR advisor to

the police, was arrested, then today came the arrest of Rebekah

Brooks. She had a strikingly close relationship with Rupert Murdoch,

the chairman and owner of the media empire that owns News International.

He said protecting her was his priority. James McAvoy, Rupert

Murdoch and Mrs Brooks are all supposed to give evidence to the

Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Now that she has been arrested, she

may be constrained on what she can say. The concern is this is a

little bit veen. It might mean Rebekah Brooks and the Murdochs are

unable to avoid questioning Tuesday in committee. I don't think that'll

wash. I don't think it will work. Few in the media were as friendly

as Mrs Brooks - the most powerful in the land. They may be a bit

relieved if she can't give very public evidence to MPs Tuesday. As

for Rupert and James Murdoch, for them she was something of a human

shield. With her arrest and in spite of her claim she knew nothing

of the systematic alleged malpractices at the News of the

World, the pressure on them to explain precisely what they knew

and when will only intensify. There's growing pressure on the

Metropolitan Police over its handling of the hacking inquiry.

Tomorrow the Home Secretary, Theresa May, will make a statement

about the relationship between the Met and a public relations company

run by a former News of the World journalist, Neil Wallis. He has

been arrested in connection with phone hacking. The pressure is on

the man at the top, Sir Paul Stevenson, more questions over his

judgment. It's his links to the criminal suspect Neil Wallis which

drew him into the scandal. This time last year, the former News of

the World executive was working for Sir Paul and the Met Police. Three

days ago they arrested him. The two men both have a link to Champneys

Health Spa. Neil Wallis has been doing PR for them. Earlier this

year Sir Paul stayed here for five weeks courtesy of the boss, who is

a family friend, while recuperating from surgery. The Met paid for his

physiotherapy. Scotland Yard says he did not know then about the

Wallis collection and has declared the stay. But concern now about how

the public is viewing all of this... I think when the public starts

losing faith in the police, it's altogether much more sear you, and

we really are in some trouble. That's why I think it's very

important that the Commissioner should answer the questions which

have been put to him. The Home Secretary, Theresa May, has already

demanded a explanation as to Neil Wallis's role at the Meet. She's

said to still have some concerns. Tomorrow she'll make a statement in

the Commons. Let's get the thoughts now of our

business editor Robert Peston. Where on earth do today's

developments leave News International? I have been utterly

immersed in this story now for a fortnight. One of the things that

has been very, very clear to me has been how important it has been for

News International and also for Rupert Murdoch personally - the de

facto founder of this extraordinary media empie, News Corporation, that

owns News International, to protect Rebekah Brooks. The whole thrust of

their strategy has been to say that what went wrong at the News of the

World was confined to executives close to the News of the World and

to those working directly for the News of the World, but senior

people, like Mrs Brooks, much higher up the chain, the Chief

Executive of News International - the whole thrust of what they have

been trying to do was prove that she was ignorant of all of that.

Now, today's arrest completely blows up that strategy. And it's

therefore terribly, terribly damaging both to News International

and to Rupert Murdoch and his son James Murdoch because if her

defence of saying she knew nothing about it, nonetheless, led to her

arrest, there have got to be concerns that perhaps the Murdochs,

who themselves say they knew nothing about what was going on -

that there will be really difficult further questions for them to

answer. Robert, thank you for now, Robert Peston.

Now the rest of the news: The Defence Select Committee of MPs has

strongly criticised the British military deployment to Afghanistan

five years ago, saying that too few troops were sent and they didn't

have the right equipment. Their report came as political and

military leaders met in the central province of Bamiyan as it became

the first to be handed over to Afghan police by NATO troops.

Northern Ireland's dare thairs won the 140th Open Championship at

Royal St Georges despite strong wind and rain. Clarke held on to

his overnight lead to win by three shots and lift the Claret Jug -

Darren Clarke. Tim Franks reports from Sandwich. This was Darren

Clarke's 20th attempt to win the Open. Swirling around him on the

Kent coast was a surge of goodwill. A rescued par on first was followed

two. But behind the big fellow from Northern Ireland was a bear from

America. Phil Mickelson was on the rampage - three birdies, and then

this for eagle on the seventh. Half an hour later, it was Darren

Clarke's turn. Same green, same result. The sun was shining on the

leader, if not on everyone else. As the chasing pack lost their teeth,

Darren Clarke's win was just like his figure, comfortable.