A corporate charge against News International over making payments to public officials could have destroyed the company, a court heard yesterday.

The parent company of the Sun and the News of the World (chief exec Rupert Murdoch pictured above with Sun staff) had worked fully with police but the co-operation allegedly lessened as more reporters were arrested and the threat of a corporate charge remained.

Detectives on Operation Elveden were accused of attacking the freedom of the press as they carried on the investigation, Kingston Crown Court heard.