The NUJ said it was now considering writing to the MSC to seek reassurances that journalists’ sources are being protected.
The News Corporation team responsible for investigating alleged illegal payments by Sun journalists has defended its activities, dismissing as a "complete red herring" the claim that it is passing information to the police about expenses claims for lunch or drinks with contacts.
A spokesman for News Corp's management and standards committee (MSC) said it will not be disclosing the names of police officers or any other public servants simply because they appear on expense claims for lunches or any other "socialising", amid fears that journalists' relationships with sources are becoming criminalised.
"The information handed to police is [relating to] unlawful material. The information is redacted to ensure that lawful journalistic inquiries are not threatened," the spokesman added.
Information supplied by the MSC to the Metropolitan police has led to the arrest of nine current and former Sun journalists, two police officers, an MoD employee and a member of the armed forces in relation to alleged illegal payments to public officials in the past three weeks.
The MSC spokesman said: "The work of the MSC is focused on payments that look unlawful on the advice of lawyers who are expert in these matters, where there is evidence which looks to be payments to public officials, policemen or others, that is deemed to be relevant to the Elveden inquiry. It is not about lunches or drinks. That is a complete red herring.
"This is about significant payments to a number of state officials that appear to be in breach of the law."
However, he could not give reassurances that names would not be disclosed, even if stories that resulted from a public official being paid were in the public interest.
"There is no public interest defence in law for public officials accepting bribes," he said.
The MSC spokesman added that the release of information that led to the recent arrests of Sun staff did not breach the newspaper industry's code of conduct, which requires sources to be protected, adding that it has a legitimate obligation to co-operate with the police.
The comments come amid fears that the release of material by the MSC, set up by News Corp in July last year to conduct an internal inquiry into phone hacking and other allegations of illegal practices by News International journalists, will put whistleblowers at risk.
On Tuesday, the Times reported that the MSC had disclosed the identity of police officers, a civil servant and an army officer to Scotland Yard because it did not believe they were "legitimate sources".
The National Union of Journalists said it was now considering writing to the MSC to seek reassurances that journalists' sources are being protected.
The NUJ plans to get in touch with journalists from the Sun and appealed for staff on the paper to contact it to discuss concerns. The union is not recognised by News International, but said this would not prevent staff joining or talking to its officers.
Michelle Stanistreet, the NUJ general secretary, said it believed that newspapers should co-operate with the police where there is evidence of illegal activity, "but making this material available without consultation with the journalists involved is unacceptable".
Stanistreet added: "We are receiving calls from whistleblowers who had been assured that they would be protected, and who now fear for their jobs and worse. Journalists at the Sun – who are offered no protection from a union independent from the News International management, which is now sacrificing them to appease America."
Some newspaper industry insiders predict that legitimate sources with stories in key public sectors such as government, police and customs may now start to dry up amid a fear, however misplaced, that they may no longer have full protection.
Journalists across News International's three titles – the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times – fear there are more arrests to come.
"How do we know the names of people in emails written five or six years ago are not being handed to police? Or a lunch or drinks you might have had with a police officer now constitutes bribery?" said one senior News International journalist. The MSC protests that there is a misunderstanding about how its relationship with police officers, who are effectively in residence in the building it occupies in Wapping, works.
According to one source familiar with the MSC operation, it is not trawling through internal email correspondence and other documentation and saying to police "we have a good one for you". "The police already have identified the areas" they are investigating and "only things that show prima facie evidence of criminality" are being shared with detectives, the source said.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/feb/14/news-corp-police-disclosures
The News Corporation team responsible for investigating alleged illegal payments by Sun journalists has defended its activities, dismissing as a "complete red herring" the claim that it is passing information to the police about expenses claims for lunch or drinks with contacts.
A spokesman for News Corp's management and standards committee (MSC) said it will not be disclosing the names of police officers or any other public servants simply because they appear on expense claims for lunches or any other "socialising", amid fears that journalists' relationships with sources are becoming criminalised.
"The information handed to police is [relating to] unlawful material. The information is redacted to ensure that lawful journalistic inquiries are not threatened," the spokesman added.
Information supplied by the MSC to the Metropolitan police has led to the arrest of nine current and former Sun journalists, two police officers, an MoD employee and a member of the armed forces in relation to alleged illegal payments to public officials in the past three weeks.
The MSC spokesman said: "The work of the MSC is focused on payments that look unlawful on the advice of lawyers who are expert in these matters, where there is evidence which looks to be payments to public officials, policemen or others, that is deemed to be relevant to the Elveden inquiry. It is not about lunches or drinks. That is a complete red herring.
"This is about significant payments to a number of state officials that appear to be in breach of the law."
However, he could not give reassurances that names would not be disclosed, even if stories that resulted from a public official being paid were in the public interest.
"There is no public interest defence in law for public officials accepting bribes," he said.
The MSC spokesman added that the release of information that led to the recent arrests of Sun staff did not breach the newspaper industry's code of conduct, which requires sources to be protected, adding that it has a legitimate obligation to co-operate with the police.
The comments come amid fears that the release of material by the MSC, set up by News Corp in July last year to conduct an internal inquiry into phone hacking and other allegations of illegal practices by News International journalists, will put whistleblowers at risk.
On Tuesday, the Times reported that the MSC had disclosed the identity of police officers, a civil servant and an army officer to Scotland Yard because it did not believe they were "legitimate sources".
The National Union of Journalists said it was now considering writing to the MSC to seek reassurances that journalists' sources are being protected.
The NUJ plans to get in touch with journalists from the Sun and appealed for staff on the paper to contact it to discuss concerns. The union is not recognised by News International, but said this would not prevent staff joining or talking to its officers.
Michelle Stanistreet, the NUJ general secretary, said it believed that newspapers should co-operate with the police where there is evidence of illegal activity, "but making this material available without consultation with the journalists involved is unacceptable".
Stanistreet added: "We are receiving calls from whistleblowers who had been assured that they would be protected, and who now fear for their jobs and worse. Journalists at the Sun – who are offered no protection from a union independent from the News International management, which is now sacrificing them to appease America."
Some newspaper industry insiders predict that legitimate sources with stories in key public sectors such as government, police and customs may now start to dry up amid a fear, however misplaced, that they may no longer have full protection.
Journalists across News International's three titles – the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times – fear there are more arrests to come.
"How do we know the names of people in emails written five or six years ago are not being handed to police? Or a lunch or drinks you might have had with a police officer now constitutes bribery?" said one senior News International journalist. The MSC protests that there is a misunderstanding about how its relationship with police officers, who are effectively in residence in the building it occupies in Wapping, works.
According to one source familiar with the MSC operation, it is not trawling through internal email correspondence and other documentation and saying to police "we have a good one for you". "The police already have identified the areas" they are investigating and "only things that show prima facie evidence of criminality" are being shared with detectives, the source said.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/feb/14/news-corp-police-disclosures
