Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's News International media empire who had stepped down in the wake of the phone hacking scandal, is likely to be re-hired by the media tycoon.

Brooks is now expected to begin a new role at News Corp owned media agency 'Storyful' that will focus on new avenues for digital and social media, according to media reports.

The new role is likely to be based in the UK but involve frequent trips to Dublin in Ireland, where 'Storyful' is based. Brooks had stepped down in the wake of the phone hacking scandal that led to the closure of UK-based tabloid News of the World.

She was acquitted last year of charges related to phone hacking during her time as editor of the Sun and now defunct News of the World newspapers and perverting the course of justice. The revelations that journalists at the News of the World hacked phones led to wide-ranging investigations and the conviction of another former editor Andy Coulson.