Police Arrest Five at The Sun Newspaper Unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Police on Saturday arrested five people at The Sun newspaper, its parent News Corp. said, as part of an investigation into illegal news gathering that forced the closure of another of the firm's British tabloids.

Media sources said a police officer and a defense-ministry employee were among eight people arrested in total on Saturday, in a branch of the inquiry named Operation Elveden that is investigating bribes to police in return for story tip-offs.

Metropolitan Police Service [MPS] officers from Operation Elveden today arrested five employees of The Sun newspaper. Searches have taken place at the homes and offices of those arrested, the News Corp. said in a statement.

Last month, police arrested four current and former staff members at Rupert Murdoch's best-selling Sun tabloid plus a policeman as they focused on suspected payments by journalists to officers.

A phone hacking scandal at News Corp.'s News of the World newspaper prompted the publication's closure last year. The company has since set up a Management and Standards Committee as part of a drive to repair the firm's reputational damage.

The company said the committee had provided police with the information that led to Saturday's arrests.

All five were arrested on suspicion of corruption ... aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office ... and conspiracy in relation to both these offences, police said in a statement. It relates to suspected payments to police officers and public officials.

(Reporting by Mohammed Abbas; Editing by Rosalind Russell)