Murdoch's UK 'police incompetent' comments in phone hacking case to be investigated

The Metropolitan Police is reportedly going to investigate media mogul Rupert Murdoch for calling the police incompetent in handling the alleged phone hacking case.

Murdoch had criticised the 'incompetent' police investigation that has led to the arrest of so many of his staff during a secret meeting with Sun journalists.

According to the Guardian, assistant commissioner Cressida Dick said that the police is seeking access to the secret meeting tape as part of the Operation Elveden inquiry into corrupt payments to public officials.

The police are investigating one of the offences related to the conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.

In the secret meeting Murdoch told the journalists that the culture of paying police officers for stories 'existed at every newspaper in Fleet Street, long since forgotten, but absolutely' and had existed long before Sun journalists had been arrested.

Commander Neil Basu, who is running the linked Operations Elveden, Weeting and Tuleta, said that he was not surprised by Murdoch's comments as they were made in a meeting that was about providing 'empathy for his staff'.

The report said that the police investigation is likely to cost almost 40 million pounds by 2015.

Basu further said that more arrests, numbering fewer than 10, were likely in the coming weeks and months but the police were coming to the end of the arrest phase, the report added.