Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has aggressively defended the publication of pictures of Saddam Hussein in his underpants by the Sun and the New York Post in 2005, following suggestions that the publisher of the tabloids could face investigation in the US over payments made to obtain them.

The picture was run on the front pages of both newspapers in May 2005 -- prompting a complaint from President Bush's spokesperson -- and the Sun's managing editor Graham Dudman admitted paying for pictures of the late Iraqi dictator in captivity that were alleged to have come from the US military.

"The Tyrant's In His Pants," said the Sun's headline -- while the New York Post opted for "Butcher of Sagdad" against an image of Hussein wearing nothing more than a pair of white Y-fronts.