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Lawyers & Lawcourts

Friday, 29 July 2011

The Lord Justice said the expansion of the terms of reference meant the first part might not be completed in a year

The man appointed to lead the judicial inquiry into phone hacking and press standards last night warned newspapers not to "close ranks" but help him expose the "depth" of journalistic malpractice.In his first public comments since being appointed, Lord Justice Leveson said he intended to call "waves" of witnesses including journalists, politicians and policemen starting in autumn. He also warned that the expansion of the terms of reference of his inquiry had been so broadened that he might not be able to complete the first part of the inquiry within the planned timescale of a year.The terms were expanded by David Cameron earlier this month after...

Former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan says comments he made on BBC radio in 2009 do not suggest he printed stories obtained through illegal reporting.

The CNN host released a statement after several news organisations published a transcript of his interview on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.In it, he admits "running the results" of work by third parties who did "rake through bins... tap people's phones".But Mr Morgan's statement repeated his recent denial of using phone hacking."There is no contradiction between my comments on Kirsty Young's Desert Island Discs show and my unequivocal statements with regard to phone hacking," it said."Millions of people heard these comments when I first made them in 2009 on one of the BBC's longest-running radio shows, and none deduced that I was admitting to, or condoning illegal reporting activity."On Tuesday, Trinity Mirror, publishers of the Mirror and Sunday Mirror, announced a review of editorial...

Thursday, 28 July 2011

Met Police to publish hospitality record

The acting head of the Metropolitan Police (Met) has said the force will examine its media relations and publish hospitality records "within weeks".Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin told a Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) meeting that corruption was not endemic in the force.The Met has been dogged by allegations that officers were too close to journalists involved in phone hacking.The Met's chief commissioner and his assistant quit over the scandal.The role of the Metropolitan Police has come under the microscope since the phone-hacking scandal arose, with allegations that officers took money from the News of the World for information.Health spaSir Paul Stephenson resigned as commissioner of the Met after it emerged the paper's former executive editor Neil Wallis had been employed by Scotland...

The judge leading the public inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal says he will use his powers to demand evidence from witnesses "as soon as possible

The judge leading the public inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal says he will use his powers to demand evidence from witnesses "as soon as possible".Lord Justice Leveson said he would also invite all editors, journalists and media owners to flag up what they saw as "inappropriate" practices.His inquiry will examine press ethics and practices in relation to the public, politicians and police.Public hearings will begin in September and he will report back within a year."It may be tempting for a number of people to close ranks and suggest the problem is or was local to a small group of journalists then operating at the News of the World," said Lord Justice Leveson."I would encourage all to take a wider picture of the public good, and help me grapple with the length, width and depth of the...

News of the World executives to appear before Parliament

The two senior News International figures said Mr Murdoch was "mistaken" when he claimed he was not shown an email containing evidence of phone hacking.Proprietor's son said he did not know about crucial emailThe "For Neville" email refers to Neville Thurbeck, the paper's chief reporter, and was sent by Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator hired by the News of the World to intercept voicemail messages.It is at the heart of the scandal as it appears to show that News International was aware that phone hacking was more widespread than a single "rogue reporter".Mr Crone and Mr Myler say they showed the email to Mr Murdoch before he sanctioned...

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Trinity Mirror has announced a review of editorial "controls and procedures" following the phone-hacking scandal.

The company said it was being conducted in the light of the current environment rather than a specific allegation.The BBC has found evidence of possible hacking at the Sunday Mirror, and there are separate claims Daily Mirror journalists hacked voicemails.The group said its journalists work within the criminal law and Press Complaints Commission code of conduct.The review comes after former Mirror editor Piers Morgan demanded an apology from Tory MP Louise Mensch for claiming in Parliament he had admitted using phone hacking to get stories when he was editor.Mrs Mensch made the remarks during the Commons culture, media and sport committee hearing...

Friday, 22 July 2011

Tom Watson, the Labour MP who helped expose phone hacking, has warned that the illegal interception of emails will be the next big scandal to emerge

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Watson said he believed the illegal practices were restricted to the News International newspaper titles and not representative of the wider industry.He also warned David Cameron, the Prime Minister, against rushing through legislation to deal with the crisis and said the current system of self-regulation by newspapers should remain.Mr Watson has been pursuing News International for more than two years in a campaign which led to the disclosure that the mobile phone of Milly Dowler, the murdered schoolgirl, had been hacked. Today, he says he will continue to try to “force the truth” from News International and says that the scandal could move into a new area – email hacking – in the coming months.“I’ve got to be careful what I say but Glenn Mulcaire...

Four elderly Kenyans have been told they can sue the Foreign Office for their alleged torture by British colonial authorities 50 years ago.

The High Court said the group could seek damages over their treatment during the 1950s and 60s.Mr Justice McCombe said the claimants had an "arguable case" and it would be "dishonourable" to block the action.Ministers say the UK government is not responsible for the actions of the colonial administration.The decision means that the government will have to defend accusations of torture, murder, sexual assault and other alleged abuses at a full damages trial in 2012.The four Kenyans, Ndiku Mutwiwa Mutua, Paulo Muoka Nzili, Wambugu Wa Nyingi and Jane Muthoni Mara, all in their 70s and 80s, say ministers in London approved systematic abuse in special camps. A fifth claimant has died since the action began.The High Court heard that Mr Mutua and Mr Nzili had been castrated, Mr Nyingi was beaten...

Labour MP Tom Watson says he will ask the police to investigate evidence given by News International chairman James Murdoch after it was called into question by two former executives.

Mr Murdoch told the culture committee he had not been "aware" of an email suggesting the practice went wider than a "rogue" News of the World reporter.But ex-NoW editor Colin Myler and legal manager Tom Crone said they told him.Mr Murdoch later said he "stands by his testimony" to the committee on Tuesday.Mr Watson said he was going to formally bring it to the attention of Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, who is leading Operating Weeting, the investigation into phone hacking.He told the BBC: "This is the most significant moment of two years of investigation into phone hacking."Mr Watson said: "At the committee hearing on Tuesday, Labour's Tom Watson asked Mr Murdoch: "When you signed off the Taylor payment, did you see or were you made aware of the full email suggesting hacking was...

Neil Wallis met Andy Coulson in Downing Street

figure at the heart of the phone-hacking scandal was invited to a meeting in Downing Street after David Cameron became Prime Minister.Neil Wallis visited the PM’s then communications chief Andy Coulson in No 10 at the end of May last year. Mr Wallis, nicknamed The Wolfman, was Mr Coulson’s deputy when he was editor of the News of the World.The disclosure increased pressure on Mr Cameron, who was also facing questions over why Mr Coulson did not face rigorous security checks into his background. Neil Wallis leaves Hammersmith police station after his arrest a week agoA No 10 source admitted Mr Wallis, who was arrested last week on suspicion of conspiring to intercept mobile phone messages, had briefly visited Mr Coulson on May 26, three weeks after Mr Cameron arrived in Downing Street.The...

James Murdoch’s evidence challenged

There has been a potentially important development in respect of who knew what and when about the full extent of hacking and wrongdoing at the News of the World.Read this statement issued tonight on behalf of Colin Myler, former editor of the News of the World, and Tom Crone, former legal manager of the News of the World:"Just by way of clarification relating to Tuesday's Culture Media and Sport Select Committee hearing, we would like to point out that James Murdoch's recollection of what he was told when agreeing to settle the Gordon Taylor litigation was mistaken. In fact, we did inform him of the 'for Neville' email which had been produced to us by Gordon Taylor's lawyers."Before I go on, I should point out that News Corp has responded as follows: "James Murdoch stands by his testimony...

Tuesday, 19 July 2011

The independent directors of News Corp have appointed their own legal team as the company faces shareholder law suits and an investigation by the US authorities.

News Corp's nine independent directors include Rod Eddington, the former chief executive of BA, John Thornton, former president of Goldman Sachs and José María Aznar, the former prime minister of Spain.Another board member, billionaire investor Tom Perkins, has told the Wall Street Journal the directors have appointed law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, to advise them on the handling of the escalating phone-hacking crisis.Perkins said: "The board honestly thinks Rupert is a genius and we need him and the company needs him. Our worry is the shareholders at this point. The British police will take care of the hacking victims. The next step is not to let the company go down the drain on this thing because we're focused on events in London that are a small percentage of our business overall."But...

A phone-hacking suspect used to work as informer for senior detectives while he was the chief crime reporter at the News of the World.

Neville Thurlbeck, a senior reporter and news editor at the paper, passed on information to detectives and was given access to data from the Police National Computer to help with stories in return. The activities will trigger fresh concerns over links between the now defunct tabloid and the Metropolitan Police. It emerged yesterday that a senior executive at the News of the World moonlighted as an interpreter for the Metropolitan Police for 20 years while still at the newspaper. Alex Marunchak, an executive editor on the Sunday tabloid, worked for the force between 1980 and 2000 translating for Ukrainian suspects. Mr Thurlbeck, who was arrested on suspicion of illegally accessing voicemail messages in April, worked as an unpaid police source under the code name "George".&nb...

News Corp board shocked at evidence of payments to police, says former DPP

"Blindingly obvious" evidence of corrupt payments to police officers was found by the former director of public prosecutions, Lord Macdonald, when he inspected News of the World emails, the home affairs select committee was told.Explaining how he had been called in by solicitors acting for Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation board, Lord Macdonald said that when he inspected the messages it took him between "three to five minutes" to decide that the material had to be passed to police."The material I saw was so blindingly obvious that trying to argue that it should not be given to the police would have been a hard task. It was evidence of serious criminal offences."He first showed it to the News Corp board in June this year. "There was no dissent," he recalled. "They were stunned. They were shocked....

The former News of the World deputy editor arrested last week over allegations of phone hacking was an adviser to the Conservative party before the election.

Neil Wallis helped the prime minister's director of communications, Andy Coulson, in 2009, as they prepared for the general election campaign.A source said Wallis worked on a "short-term project" believed to have lasted around a week although he did not receive payment.It is understood Wallis, who was Coulson's deputy when he edited the News of the World, was advising on how best to get coverage in tabloid newspapers on a "specific" policy proposal.It is not known whether Wallis attended Conservative party central headquarters and the party would not disclose details about the issue on which he worked. A party source insisted, however, that it had nothing to do with phone hacking. "It was uncontroversial," he added.A Tory party spokesman said Wallis's involvement emerged over the weekend when...

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation assaulted wife comes to the rescue

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, on Tuesday denied responsibility for alleged phone hacking at his News of the World newspaper but admitted to a committee of MPs that the heads of his British business had failed to inform him of key developments as the scandal unfolded.Mr Murdoch, flanked by his son James, described his appearance before the media select committee as “the most humble day of my life”.He said that he was “clearly” misled by his staff after originally claiming that phone hacking was the work of a small number of rogue employees, following the first police investigation into the practice in 2007.Questioned by Tom Watson, the Labour MP, Mr Murdoch said that he was not informed about allegations that News of the World employees made payments to police,...

Monday, 18 July 2011

Detectives are examining a computer, paperwork and a phone found in a bin near the riverside London home of Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News International.

The Guardian has learned that a bag containing the items was found in an underground car park in the Design Centre at the exclusive Chelsea Harbour development on Monday afternoon.The car park, under a shopping centre, is yards from the gated apartment block where Brooks lives with her husband, a former racehorse trainer and close friend of the prime minister David Cameron.It is understood the bag was handed into security at around 3pm and that shortly afterwards, Brooks's husband, Charlie, arrived and tried to reclaim it. He was unable to prove the bag was his and the security guard refused to release it.Instead, it is understood that the security...

John Yates allegedly secured work at Scotland Yard for the daughter of former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis a source claimed this evening.

On the day Yates resigned as assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, he was also referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission over his alleged involved in helping a friend's daughter get a job.It understood that this woman is Wallis's daughter but neither the Met or IPCC would confirm this. Allegations: Sources have revealed this evening that John Yates allegedly secured work for the daughter of Neil WallisThe revelations come hours after the IPCC said it was launching an investigation into four former and serving senior Metropolitan Police officers over their handling of the phone hacking scandal.Five issues have been referred to the IPCC, including questions about the conduct of both Yates and Sir Paul Stephenson, who resigned last night. As well as the revelation...

Honeymoon murder suspect facing extradition to South Africa is deemed too 'fragile' to face British court

British man accused of arranging for his wife to be murdered while they were on honeymoon in South Africa would be considered unfit to stand trial if he was facing a British court, his extradition hearing has been told.Shrien Dewani faces being sent back to South Africa to be put on trial for allegedly conspiring to kill his wife, Anni, in a fake carjacking in Cape Town. However, he has been diagnosed as suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and his barrister, Clare Montgomery QC, argued that if he was facing domestic proceedings he would be "simply unfit to stand trial".Dewani, who is being treated in a medium secure hospital, was excused from staying in court to hear proceedings after Montgomery claimed it would be "inhuman" to force him to remain.Montgomery said Dewani had...

John Whittingdale: I am not too close to Murdochs

John Whittingdale, who will be in the chair when MPs question Rupert and James Murdoch tomorrow, had to fend off accusations yesterday that he was too close to the pair.The Conservative chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee defended his contacts with Rebekah Brooks and Les Hinton, two senior figures in the Murdoch empire who have resigned over the hacking scandal&nb...

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has indicated that the assistant commissioner of the Met, John Yates, will be investigated by the Metropolitan Police Authority.

The MPA's Professional Standards committee will meet on Monday morning, Johnson said, where "questions surrounding other officers" will be discussed.Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Johnson also said that he was "very, very angry" that City Hall was not told about the Metropolitan Police's employment of Neil Wallis, the former-News of The World executive arrested last week."Clearly there are now questions about [Yates'] relationship with Wallis and all the rest of it and I'm sure that the MPA is going to be having a look at it."However Johnson said that he did not tell Met commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson to resign.The mayor said that "there was a real sense of disappointment in City Hall" and that he felt personally "hacked off" when the relationship between Wallis and the Met was revealed. He said...

John Yates facing 'questions' over Neil Wallis links

The Assistant Commissioner will face “questions” over his links with the newspaper's former deputy editor, Boris Johnson, the London Mayor said.Just hours after Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner resigned as Britain’s top policeman Mr Yates came come under pressure to explain his links to Mr Wallis.On Monday, the BBC reported that Mr Yates was the official "tasked with carrying out due diligence before the Metropolitan Police awarded a contract to the firm" operated by Mr Wallis.It was claimed that Mr Yates "received categorial assurances from (Mr) Wallis that nothing would emerge that would embarrass either of them or the commissioner".Earlier, in a radio interview Mr Johnson suggested that Mr Yates, who is in charge of the Yard's anti-terror unit, will be investigated...

Met demands cut-price rates as scandal hots up

Legal advisers have been stunned by the Metropolitan Police requesting rock-bottom hourly rates in its latest panel review, at a time when it faces an increasing chance of court action over its handling of the News International phone-hacking scandal.The Met’s legal department is seeking rates of a maximum of £130 per hour from firms reappointed to its panel, prompting some to question the quality of service that the new legal roster will provide.&nb...

phone-hacking scandal centered on Rupert Murdoch's News Corp cost Britain's top policeman his job and renewed questions on Monday about Prime Minister David Cameron's judgment.

In another major development in a scandal that has shaken Britons' faith in the police, press and political leaders, detectives arrested Rebekah Brooks, former head of News Corp's British newspaper arm, on suspicion of intercepting communications and corruption.The flame-haired Brooks, who once edited the News of the World tabloid, was released on bail at midnight on Sunday, about 12 hours after she went to a London police station to be arrested, her spokesman said. Brooks has denied any wrongdoing.Analysts said the gathering pace of heads rolling had turned up the heat on Cameron and Murdoch over their handling of the scandal, with the media tycoon due to be questioned by parliament in a possible showdown on Tuesday.The News of the World, which published its final edition a week ago, is alleged...

former Murdoch chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, has been bailed

former Murdoch chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, has been bailed after being arrested on charges of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption allegations, thought to be related to payments to police.The former News International boss was released at midnight local time (9am AEST), 12 hours after she was arrested by appointment at a London police station, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.She is due to return to attend the police station again in October, The Guardian report...

Sunday, 17 July 2011

Rebekah Brooks in line for £3.5m payout as News International slaps gagging orders on chief executives

 (apart from that inquiry on Tuesday)Senior News International executives to receive £8.5m severance payout Final NotW editor, Colin Myler, is believed to be in line for £2m pay-offTwo senior lawyers - Jon Chapman and Tom Crone - will both get around £1.5mDavid Cameron met with Murdoch and executives 26 times in a yearMurdoch family row as biographer claims Elizabeth's 'f***** the company' remark was also directed at brother JamesMurdoch's right-hand man Les Hinton quits after 52 yearsRupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks face MPs on TuesdayFBI probe launched in the US into the alleged hacking of the phones of the 9/11 vict...

The lawyers for senior members of the Royal family face an official inquiry into their role in an alleged cover-up of the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

Harbottle & Lewis took possession of hundreds of internal emails from the News of the World in 2007 after being hired by News International.The firm indicated in a short letter to News International that the emails did not show wider evidence of criminality. This document was relied upon by the publisher during parliamentary inquiries in 2009.The Daily Telegraph understands that the emails did show evidence of potentially criminal behaviour and have now been passed to the police.It is unclear whether anyone at News International read the emails before they were given to the lawyers.A former director of public prosecutions who later reviewed some of the emails is said by News Corp sources to have been extremely suprised by the conclusions of Harbottle & Lewis. Tom Watson, a senior Labour...

Thursday, 14 July 2011

Rupert Murdoch and his son James last night caved into pressure from David Cameron, Nick Clegg and MPs and agreed to give evidence to a Commons select committee next week.

They will be joined by Rebekah Brooks, the News International Chief Executive, in what will be the most eagerly anticipated hearing at Westminster for decades.Both Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation’s chairman and chief executive, and James had initially said they would not be attending next Tuesday’s meeting of the Culture Media and Sport Committee.James, who is News International’s European chairman, said he could only attend at a later date.But after a six-hour stand off, and with pressure from MPs, the Prime Minister and the deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and faced with being sent a summons by the Serjeant at Arms, both men relented and agreed to attend.The three executives will face fierce questioning from MPs who have fought a tenacious campaign to expose the phone hacking scandal which...

Scotland Yard has admitted it employed Neil Wallis, a former executive at the News of the World, as an adviser to the commissioner until September 2010.

Wallis was employed to advise Sir Paul Stephenson and John Yates on a part-time basis from October 2009 to September 2010. During this time the Yard was saying there was no need to reopen the phone-hacking investigation – a decision made by Yates despite allegations in the Guardian that the first police investigation had been inadequate.Wallis is a former News of the World executive editor. He was arrested on Thursday morning as part of the police's renewed phone-hacking inquiry.Wallis joined the News of the World in 2003 as deputy to then editor Andy Coulson. In mid-2007 he became executive editor, eventually leaving the News International title in 2009. Police say he supplied "strategic communication advice". The Met said his company was chosen because it offered to do the work for the lowest...

Wednesday, 13 July 2011

Rupert Murdoch's media group News Corporation bowed to pressure from the public and parliament on Wednesday and withdrew its bid to take full control of pay-TV company BSkyB.

All three main political parties were poised to call on News Corp to abandon its offer in a vote in the House of Commons later on Wednesday.The move leaves News Corp's key strategy for UK corporate growth in tatters. The proposed £8bn deal has been in train for more than a year, with the first offer tabled in June 2010.It is the one of the biggest setbacks the 80-year-old media mogul has ever suffered and follows 10 days of revelations about the true scale of phone hacking at the News of the World, the paper Murdoch shut down last week.The decision to abandon the deal is also a major blow to James Murdoch, who is third in command at the company and has responsibility for News Corp's UK businesses, including its Sky stake and News International.It is likely to lead to criticism from investors...

Former policeman to sue over alleged harassment

NEWS International is facing the prospect of a deeply damaging court case over claims that its reporters harassed and hacked the phones of a police officer investigating the role of one of the News of the World's hired private investigators in a murder case.Lawyers for former Scotland Yard detective Dave Cook, right, said he would be suing publishers of the News of the World in what may be only the first law suit against the group following last week's revelations. The alleged harassment took place when Mr Cook was investigating the 1987 murder of Daniel Morgan, a private investigator found killed outside a south London pub.The man subsequently accused was Mr Morgan's business partner, Jonathan Rees, who is known to have worked for the News of the World as an investigator, trawling for information...

Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Refugee law firm fails

Thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers were left without legal support today after the overnight closure of Britain's largest immigration advice service.The Immigration Advisory Service (IAS) closed its doors on Friday with workers only finding out it had gone into administration when they arrived for work this week.The closure has been blamed on changes to the legal aid system imposed by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) which previously forced the closure of specialist legal firm Refugee and Migrant Justice last year.IAS, a not-for-profit charity, had been the largest provider of legal aid in the asylum and immigration market.It ran 14 offices across England and Scotland and operated outreach services in a number of different locations nationwide.While IAS was not available for comment...

Monday, 11 July 2011

Shareholders sue News Corp for failing to take early action on phone hacking scandal

The lawsuit, filed by Amalgamated Bank and a group of pension funds, accuses News Corp's board of "failing to exercise proper oversight and take sufficient action since news of the hacking first surfaced at its subsidiary nearly six years ago."The failure of News Corp's board has led to a "piling on of questionable deals, a waste of corporate resources, a starring role in a blockbuster scandal, and a gigantic public relations disaster," said Jay Eisenhofer of Grant & Eisenhofer, the law firm that filed the suit in Delaware.The legal complaint is an updated version of action that Amalgamated first bought in March, when they accused Mr Murdoch of "rampant nepotism" for paying 415m pounds for Shine, a UK television production company founded by his daughter Elizabeth. News Corp could not...

News Corp crisis hits shares

THE escalating phone-hacking crisis engulfing Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation slashed more than $2.2 billion from the company's market value yesterday as investors confronted the threat of action by British and US regulators.Mr Murdoch flew into London on Sunday to take charge of efforts to contain damage from a scandal that has resulted in the closure of tabloid News of the World and derailed his takeover bid for broadcaster BSkyB.Non-voting shares in News Corp fell 88¢, or 5.4 per cent, yesterday to close at $15.37 while the voting stock fell 85¢, or 5 per cent, to close at $15.92.&nb...

Sunday, 10 July 2011

Twelve people are facing jail over the News of the World phone-hacking scandal including nine journalists and three police officers

Twelve people are facing jail over the News of the World phone-hacking scandal including nine journalists and three police officers, according to The Sunday Times.A report in today’s paper, which is owned by NoW publishers News International, quoted a senior Scotland Yard officer claiming it was “very likely” that further arrests would be made soon.The claims comes after a 63-year-old man was questioned by police yesterday over allegations of phone hacking and bribery.According to the Times, police moved to secure computers and other evidence at the NoW newsroom in Wapping following the publication of its final edition last night.The paper claimed that a “cabal” of six journalists acted as “gatekeepers” to Glenn Mulcaire, the private detective who was jailed for six months after being found...

ONCE YOU LEAVE, YOUR OFFICE IS CRIME SCENE

NEWS of the World Editor Colin Myers and his staff emerged from their office for the last time at about 10pm last night.He was carrying a proof of the paper’s last front page, which carried the headline, “Thank you and goodbye”, set against a backdrop collage of past editions. The wrap cover also carried a quote about the News of the World by George Orwell and a letter from longstanding reader Jeanne Hobson, from Leamington in Hampshire. Mr Myler’s voice faltered as he said: “It’s not a record any editor wants, to close a title – though, of course, I’m not closing it. “I want to pay tribute to this wonderful team of people here who, after a really difficult day, have produced a wonderful newspaper.“As I said to the staff this morning, this is not where we wanted to be – it’s not where we deserved...

delaying the BSkyB deal is likely to be Miliband's "weapon of choice"

delaying the BSkyB deal is likely to be Miliband's "weapon of choice" — it seems, now, that he's priming it for detonation. But the question, really, is who will help him push the button, and bring on the fallout. Labour types are confident of Lib Dem support, and understandably so. The Observer article that I've linked to above features an assortment of prominent Libs speaking out against Murdoch's proposed takeover. Lord Ashdown (him again) says that, "The public will be outraged and bewildered and trust in our politics will take yet another knock if this takeover goes ahead after what has happened." Sir Menzies Campbell advises the government to Just Say No, "thereby putting the onus on Murdoch to go for a judicial review." Shirley Williams is, apparently, in "no doubt whatsoever that the...

The Murdoch empire fractured, a Conservative prime minister attracting bets on his resignation, the Metropolitan Police on the edge of yet another existential crisis and the political establishment in disarray.

The Murdoch empire fractured, a Conservative prime minister attracting bets on his resignation, the Metropolitan Police on the edge of yet another existential crisis and the political establishment in disarr...

Downing Street appeared to signal the end of the Press Complaints Commission yesterday

Downing Street appeared to signal the end of the Press Complaints Commission yesterday when David Cameron described the organisation as "ineffective and lacking in rigour" and called for a new system of regulation to uphold the "proper, decent standards that we expect".Having been shocked by news of the closure the day before of one of Britain's oldest national newspapers, the PCC chairman Baroness Buscombe was suddenly confronted by the prospect of the demise of her own comparatively fledgling institut...

Friday, 8 July 2011

James Murdoch and News Corp could face corporate legal battles on both sides of the Atlantic that involve criminal charges, fines and forfeiture of assets

James Murdoch and News Corp could face corporate legal battles on both sides of the Atlantic that involve criminal charges, fines and forfeiture of assets as the escalating phone-hacking scandal risks damaging his chances of taking control of Rupert Murdoch's US-based media empire.As deputy chief operating officer of News Corp – the US-listed company that is the ultimate owner of News International (NI), which in turn owns the News of the World, the Times, the Sunday Times and the Sun – the younger Murdoch has admitted he misled parliament over phone hacking, although he has stated he did not have the complete picture at the time. There have also been reports that employees routinely made payments to police officers, believed to total more than £100,000, in return for information.The payments...

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