THE NEWS OF the World is to admit liability in connection with a phone hacking scandal in the UK.

The BBC reports that the owners of the paper News International, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, has already apologised to claimants in a number of cases. A compensation fund will also be established.

Police arrested two News of the World journalists on Tuesday as part of an investigation into phone hacking at the tabloid. Chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck and former news editor Ian Edmonson were arrested on suspicion of having unlawfully intercepted voicemail messages.

There are 24 individual cases and some have been brought by the likes of actress Sienna Miller, football pundit Andy Gray and former British culture secretary Tessa Jowell.

The hacking scandal has been ongoing since 2007, when a reporter and a private investigator were caught tapping the phones of the British royal family’s entourage.

News International says:

Past behaviour at the News of the World in relation to voicemail interception is a matter of genuine regret. It is now apparent that our previous inquiries failed to uncover important evidence and we acknowledge our actions were not sufficiently robust.

The Guardian is calling today’s development “one of the most dramatic apologies in the history of Fleet Street”.

The BBC’s Robert Peston said the people to whom apologies had been offered included: actress Sienna Miller, Labour politician Tessa Jowell and her estranged husband David Mills, interior designer Kelly Hoppen, football pundit Andy Gray, former political aide Joan Hammell, celebrity publicist Nicola Phillips, and football agent Sky Andrew.