Third arrest in World newspaper probe

LONDON, July 9 (UPI) -- A third man has been arrested in the investigation into the News of the World newspaper's alleged illegal activities, British police said.

An unidentified 63-year-old private investigator once employed by the tabloid was arrested on charges related to illegal payments made to police officers, Sky News reported Saturday. The man was immediately released on bail.

The British broadcaster said it had learned employees were told when they left their jobs for the last time, the offices would be classified as a police crime scene.

Some 250 staff at the newspaper were preparing the 168-year-old Sunday tabloid's final edition Saturday.

The chairman of the newspaper's corporate parent News Corp., Rupert Murdoch was flying to London Saturday to oversee the closure he ordered earlier this week after allegations arose the paper had authorized telephone hacking of as many as 4,000 people and made illegal payments of at least $160,000 to police and other officials.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister David Cameron ordered two inquiries to focus on the phone hacking allegations and ethical conduct.

Two other men have been arrested and charged so far. They are former News of the World Editor Andy Coulson and former royal reporter Clive Goodman, both of whom are free on bail, the report said.