Of the three people arrested Thursday in the U.K. press corruption probe, the highest profile belongs to Duncan Larcombe, the royal editor for The Sun, who Scotland Yard made it clear was arrested based on information provided by his employer, News Corporation. According to The Telegraph, Scotland Yard raided Lacombe and two others on Thursday for their alleged involvement in a scheme to pay off public officials, and we've got to believe those arrests sent a chill through the newsroom.

It's not like News Corp. ever promised to do anything but root out corruption at its properties and then turn people over to the cops, but its Management and Standards Committee has been at the center of a burgeoning staff revolt at The Sun, and Scotland Yard's statement about the committee's role in Thursday's arrests seems unlikely to quell that unrest in the slightest.

The Telegraph (whose report on Thursday's news is the most straightforward we've found), has the statement: "Today's operation is the result of information provided to police by News Corporation's management standards committee. It relates to suspected payments to a public official and is not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately."

So News Corp. journalists, in case there was any doubt: your employer is going to turn you in if it finds evidence against you. Better hope there isn't any.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at amartin at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Adam Martin