Murdoch Jr hires top legal firm

James Murdoch has instructed one of the world's biggest law firms to represent him over the phone-hacking scandal.

The chairman of News International has hired Jeremy Sandelson, global head of litigation at Clifford Chance, in a move that distances himself from his company.

Mr Murdoch, 38, is under pressure over claims he knew for years that the News of the World engaged in phone-hacking on an "industrial scale". He is due to face a parliamentary inquiry next week. He was represented by lawyers for News Corp last time he appeared with his father Rupert in July.

Mr Sandelson once helped clear ex-Daily Mirror and News of the World editor Piers Morgan during a share-tipping scandal.

Detectives investigating claims of corrupt payments by the News of the World made a sixth arrest this morning. The man, 48, is believed to be a journalist associated with the Sunday newspaper.