Linklaters litigation partner John Turnbull has been interviewed under police caution on behalf of Rupert Murdoch's News UK, it has emerged, amid further revelations in the investigation into the hacking scandal.

News UK – which rebranded from its former identity of News International last month – is being investigated by Scotland Yard as a "corporate suspect" over hacking and bribery offences, according to The Independent.

It is understood that Turnbull – a partner at Linklaters since 1989 – answered formal questions from detectives earlier this year.

Parliamentary records show the magic circle firm was brought in to advise News Corporation's management and standards committee in July 2011. The committee, chaired by Lord Grabiner QC, was set up to lead News Corporation's response to the phone-hacking scandal at now-defunct Sunday tabloid News of the World.

In March the following year, Linklaters also took over from Olswang to advise News International on all outstanding civil litigation claims relating to the scandal. Other Linklaters partners to have advised News Corp or News UK on civil litigation matters include Satindar Dogra, Harriet Ellis and Christa Band.

In statement, News UK said: "We have co-operated with all relevant authorities throughout the process and our history of assistance is a matter of record in Lord Justice Leveson's report."

Linklaters declined to comment.

The news comes after Linklaters' role in the hacking investigation was been thrown back into the spotlight last month by a leaked recording of a meeting between Murdoch and staff from The Sun. A transcript of the March meeting, published by investigative news website Exaro – included comments from an unidentified journalist at The Sun saying staff were "deeply suspicious of Linklaters' role" in the investigation process.

Arnold & Porter partner Kathleen Harris, who has also advised the MSC since its formation in 2011, was singled out by Murdoch in the meeting as a "terrific lawyer".

News UK's parent News Corp last year split off its television and film assets – including Fox News and 21st Century Fox – into a separate entity to the UK newspaper group, a deal on which Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom took the lead role.