The crisis in Rupert Murdoch's news empire deepened last night when Sun journalists began planning legal action against their employer with the help of two things they have previously shunned - the Human Rights Act and the National Union of Journalists.

Several senior journalists have contacted the NUJ - to which they do not belong because News International has its own staff organisation - seeking its help in putting together a case claiming that the parent company has breached their right to freedom of expression by passing information about their sources to the Metropolitan Police.

Which is interesting given their normal attitude to anything European

The Sun says: The usual editorial line

'I am happy to point out the cases where the Act has been used to right a real wrong... Except that I can't think of any'

Jane Moore, 27 April 2011

'Soft judges must not put the human rights of dangerous fanatics above the right of decent citizens to live in safety'

Trevor Kavanagh, 28 may 2007

'We'd love to see Britain ignoring orders from Strasbourg judges that stop us deporting foreign killers'

Sun editorial, 21 September 2011

'How truly awful ... Is belonging to Europe a price worth paying for allowing creeps like this to hide behind the Human Rights Act?'