Phone hacking scandal deepens

[David Guyatt]

For the record, I note that the title of this thread is the phone hacking scandal 'deepens'! Seems to me it is already very deep and the grave-diggers 'aint finished yet. How low can it go?!?!......and will we ever see Mr. Murdoch hanging from under the Blackfriar's Bridge with bricks in his pocket?...doubt it...but there would be a modicum of 'street justice' were it to happen. He and his ilk and many named in this scandal have control over investigations and the Courts, so I wouldn't expect more than a few lowly scapegoats to end up with sentences or fines...the rest will do just dandy.....

Were Murdoch to be found hanging anywhere, with anything, or nothing, in his pockets, I would travel to Prague and sup a couple of bottles of fine wine with you in celebration!!

But people like him tend to live long and fulsome lives.

It's a sub-lunary world we live in and the Ruler protects his own.

Go figure...

[Jan Klimkowski]

Murdoch gets hacked by his own hacks.



We clearly cannot believe a word that Murdoch says......

He says one thing to the Parliamentary Select Committee, and the opposite to his hacks.

We shall see if the old tool is true to his word:


One of the clips starts, Channel 4 News understands, with the sound of Murdoch slapping the table.

"What they're doing, what they did to you, and how they treated people at [******], saying 'a couple of you come in for a cup of tea at four in the afternoon''," he says.

"You guys got thrown out of bed by gangs of cops at six in the morning, and I'm just as annoyed as you are."

"It would be nice to hit back when we can", one journalist suggests later in the meeting.

"We will", replies Mr Murdoch. "We will".

Revealed: the Rupert Murdoch tape

Andy Davies Home Affairs Correspondent

"Incompetent" cops, regrets over his own investigation, promises to protect Sun journalists: a secret recording reveals Rupert Murdoch's real attitudes to the scandal that has engulfed his empire.
News

Watch Channel 4 News from 7pm to hear the audio recording

In public, the man at the helm of News Corporation has been brought to his knees.

He told MPs that giving evidence to a Commons select committee was "the most humble day of his life" and was equally self-effacing in front of the Leveson inquiry into press ethics.

In private, Channel 4 News can reveal a very different side to Mr Murdoch.

A recording from March earlier this year, obtained by investigative website Exaro, shows the 82-year-old as we've never seen him before - raging against the police and claiming that the inquiry into corrupt payments to public officials has been blown out of proportion.

"I mean, it's a disgrace. Here we are, two years later, and the cops are totally incompetent," he says.

Why are the police behaving in this way? It's the biggest inquiry ever, over next to nothing - Rupert Murdoch

The head of a $30bn media empire was speaking to a room full of Sun newspaper journalists - specifically, Channel 4 News understands, those who had been arrested over claims they had paid public officials, including police officers, for information.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, some of them decided to secretly record the encounter.

"The idea that the cops then started coming after you, kick you out of bed, and your families, at six in the morning, is unbelievable," he says. "But why are the police behaving in this way? It's the biggest inquiry ever, over next to nothing."

He continues: "And now they're arresting their own, who never even took money... They're going to put all newspapers out of business".

The News of the World, which was at one time the jewel in his newspaper crown, was closed down in July 2011 amid public backlash over allegations of phone-hacking.
Corrupt payments

Throughout the recording, which lasts about 45 minutes, the News Corp boss repeatedly accuses the police of incompetence - of being "unbelievably slow" he says at one point.

At another point, he said of the police that he didn't really trust anything they said.

But if he is contemptuous of the police, he also shows remarkable disdain for the offence they're investigating.

He belittles the corrupt payments issue. And for anyone convicted over it - the message is: he'll be there for them.

I've got to be careful what comes out - but frankly, I won't say it, but just trust me - Rupert Murdoch to Sun journalists

"I will do everything in my power to give you total support, even if you're convicted and get six months or whatever," he says.

"You're all innocent until proven guilty. What you're asking is: what happens if some of you are proven guilty? What afterwards? I'm not allowed to promise you - I will promise you continued health support - but your jobs. I've got to be careful what comes out - but frankly, I won't say it, but just trust me."

At one point on the tape, the Sun's agony aunt Deidre Sanders extracts of a letter on behalf of a relative of a Sun journalist. The emotional letter describes how journalists and their families feel "betrayed", "abandoned" and "isolated".

Mr Murdoch gives a revealing glimpse into who might lead the company in his absence, after a journalist asks what would happen should the 82 year-old not be around to give them his support.

"The decision would be - well, it will either be with my son, Lachlan, or with Robert Thomson. And you don't have any worries about either of them," he tells the meeting.

He is referring to Lachlan Murdoch or Robert Thomson, Murdoch's chief executive at News Corp - front-runners now, it seems, in the great Murdoch succession debate. Conspicuous by its absence is any reference to James Murdoch who was for so long the heir apparent, but now weakened over hacking.
News
Disgust at police

A beleaguered Mr Murdoch had been into the Sun offices a year earlier pledging total commitment to his journalists.

This time around, he was echoing their disgust at the manner of the police arrests in the Operation Elveden inquiry into corrupt payments to officials.

One of the clips starts, Channel 4 News understands, with the sound of Murdoch slapping the table.

"What they're doing, what they did to you, and how they treated people at [******], saying 'a couple of you come in for a cup of tea at four in the afternoon''," he says.

"You guys got thrown out of bed by gangs of cops at six in the morning, and I'm just as annoyed as you are."

"It would be nice to hit back when we can", one journalist suggests later in the meeting.

"We will", replies Mr Murdoch. "We will".

Then, tellingly, he singles out the police treatment of Rebekah Brooks, former News of the World editor and News International executive and Mr Murdoch's erstwhile protégé who is now facing multiple charges over the hacking scandal.

"The people who came in and turned over Rebekah on a Monday morning," says Mr Murdoch. "There were about 15 or 16. Most of them, a dozen, were from Manchester, a murder squad or something. And there were three local cops. It's ridiculous."
Internal investigation regrets

For all Murdoch's protestations about victimisation, the reality is that his establishment of an internal management and standards committee (MSC) appeared - to many of of Murdoch's journalists - to give the police inquiries such momentum.

The committee was tasked to help the police retrieve evidence - and was seen by some as having gone too far, desperate to find scapegoats.

Now Mr Murdoch himself appears to regret the level of cooperation. One of the journalists at the meeting appears to question the extent of documents handed over to the police.

"Because - it was a mistake, I think," he admits. "But, in that atmosphere, at that time, we said, 'Look, we are an open book, we will show you everything.' And the lawyers just got rich going through millions of e-mails."

So has Mr Murdoch, importantly, withdrawn his company's full cooperation with the police? The MSC has not given the police any information for months, he boasts.

"All I can say is, for the last several months, we have told, the MSC has told, and [***** *****], who's a terrific lawyer, has told the police, has said, 'No, no, no - get a court order. Deal with that'."

A spokesperson for News Corp told Channel 4 News: "No other company has done as much to identify what went wrong, compensate the victims, and ensure the same mistakes do not happen again.

"The unprecedented co-operation granted by News Corp was agreed unanimously by senior management and the board, and the MSC continues to co-operate under the supervision of the courts. Rupert Murdoch has shown understandable empathy with the staff and families affected and will assume they are innocent until and unless proven guilty."

[Magda Hassan]

Clearly Rebekah is a very special girl to Rupert. And Rupert seems to forget all the alleged disposing of that alleged tricky evidence that occurred with her and her husband and helpers at her home.....And no sign of James here in this article re News Ltd future. Lachlan has already told dad he doesn't want to do this. Maybe he has changed his mind?

Murdoch tape: News Corp boss vows to hit back over Rebekah Brooks raid

Owner of the Sun and Times also indicates that his successor will be his son Lachlan or chief executive Robert Thomson

• Mark Sweney
  
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 4 July 2013 20.12 AEST
  

Rupert Murdoch: the News Corp chief described the police raid on Rebekah Brooks as 'ridiculous'. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

Rupert Murdoch has vowed to hit back at what he feels is a persecution of his tabloid titles over phone hacking and bribery of public officials, criticising the police treatment of former top lieutenant Rebekah Brooks.
In a secret recording made during a meeting with Sun staff in March, the 82-year-old media mogul also indicated that his successor will be eldest son, Lachlan, or Robert Thomson, the chief executive of News Corporation.
In the recording, a full transcript of which has been published by investigative website Exaro, Murdoch hits out at the excessive amount of police firepower used to arrest Brooks, the former chief of his UK publishing empire.
"The people who came in and turned over Rebekah on a Monday morning, and her mother-in-law, there [were] about 15 or 16, most of them, a dozen or so, came from Manchester, a murder squad or something. And there were three local cops. It's ridiculous, quite openly," he said.
Murdoch also said that the police falsely accused the publisher blocking their investigation when they came to search the company's headquarters in Wapping.
"[Police] were in Rebekah's office for two days, thereabouts, when there were three executives in there with them," he said. "And [the police] say how they came in and got all this stuff against great resistance. But there was nothing there. They [the executives] were just watching. And [the police] didn't get anything worthwhile anyway, but that's another matter."
Murdoch was scathing in his assessment of the police, labelling them "totally incompetent" and a "disgrace", saying that he will hit back at what he believes is a persecution of his tabloid titles.
Geoff Webster, the Sun's deputy editor, referring to the perceived police vendetta, said it would be "nice to hit back when we can".
"We will, we will," says Murdoch. [this is not going to go down well with some M.H.]
Murdoch's hardline stance behind closed doors is at serious odds with acontrite public apology he made last year at the Leveson inquiry into press standards and ethics.
In April last year he said that he had been "misinformed and shielded" from what was going on at News of the World, that he should have closed the tabloid years before he did in summer 2011, and that the scandal was a "serious blot" on his reputation.
Murdoch implies that he will continue to employ and support journalists who are convicted of bribing public officials.
He was asked by Graham Dudman, the Sun's former managing editor, what assurances he can give staff about their "individual future" at the company if they are convicted of offences.
"Well, of course, I expected that question," he said. "I've been told that I must not give guarantees, but I can give you something. Emotional support is not enough, I've got to do more. What you're asking is what happens if some of you are proven guilty? What afterwards? I'm not allowed to promise you I will promise you continued health support but your jobs I've got to be careful what comes out but frankly, I won't say it, but just trust me. OK?"
Asked by a journalist what would happen once Murdoch was no longer around to lend his support, the mogul's response appeared to cut his youngest son, James, out of the battle for succession at News Corp.
"The decision would be well, it will either be with my son, Lachlan, or with Robert Thomson," he said. "And you don't have any worries about either of them."
Murdoch also appeared to confirm that he has been aware for a long time of the practice of bribing officials that existed in Fleet Street.
"We're talking about payments for news tips from cops: that's been going on a hundred years, absolutely," said Murdoch.
A spokesman for News UK, home to Murdoch's UK newspaper business, said: "Mr Murdoch never knew of payments made by Sun staff to police before News Corporation disclosed that to UK authorities. Furthermore, he never said he knew of payments. It's absolutely false to suggest otherwise."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jul...CMP=twt_fd

[David Guyatt]

Who is Rebekah Brooks? I don't mean this facetiously, but there are lots of holes in her bio which even the Vanity Fair article about her makes clear.

[Magda Hassan]

A 'virtual' member of the Murdoch family VF says....

[David Guyatt]

A 'virtual' member of the Murdoch family VF says....

Aye. The words "love child" spring to mind. hutup:

[Jan Klimkowski]

Who is Rebekah Brooks? I don't mean this facetiously, but there are lots of holes in her bio which even the Vanity Fair article about her makes clear.

Well, David, I made a BBC4 documentary about Rebekah Wade as she then was back in 2004.

Almost noone would speak about her.

The "Women in Media" sisterhood did indeed act as if she was a dear sister, and assorted male hacks who would normally talk about anything whether they were informed or not kept their gobs shut.

Rebekah actually started as a secretary to Eddie Shah. Yes, that Eddie Shah of the short-lived Today tabloid newspaper.

As a completely unrelated aside, Shah was recently in the news.....

Rupert Murdoch is Power personified. He's championed several talented, very strong-willed, hacks such as Kelvin McKenzie and Andrew Neil, and then cast them out when they were no longer useful or their ego was too challenging. He's tossed three wives as well, including the mothers of his various brats.

Of those few sources who would speak to me, not one talked of Rebekah's great journalistic flair and insight, of her burning moral conscience, of the great articles she had written as a young hackette.

I researched Rebekah on and off for several months.

Not once did I catch a glimpse of her core, her soul.

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar

[David Guyatt]

Who is Rebekah Brooks? I don't mean this facetiously, but there are lots of holes in her bio which even the Vanity Fair article about her makes clear.

Well, David, I made a BBC4 documentary about Rebekah Wade as she then was back in 2004.

Almost noone would speak about her.

The "Women in Film and TV" sisterhood did indeed act as if she was a dear sister, and assorted male hacks who would normally talk about anything whether they were informed or not kept their gobs shut.

Rebekah actually started as a secretary to Eddie Shah. Yes, that Eddie Shah of the short-lived Today tabloid newspaper.

As a completely unrelated aside, Shah was recently in the news.....

Rupert Murdoch is Power personified. He's championed several talented, very strong-willed, hacks such as Kelvin McKenzie and Andrew Neil, and then cast them out when they were no longer useful or their ego was too challenging. He's tossed three wives as well, including the mothers of his various brats.

Of those few sources who would speak to me, not one talked of Rebekah's great journalistic flair and insight, of her burning moral conscience, of the great articles she had written as a young hackette.

I researched Rebekah on and off for several months.

Not once did I catch a glimpse of her core, her soul.

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar

Thanks Jan, very interesting I have to say. Omerta rules over Rebekah.

I found this definition:

straw man

n.1. A person who is set up as a cover or front for a questionable enterprise.

[Magda Hassan]

This will, I suspect, all ultimately lead back to the real question:

Who is Rupert Murdoch?

Didn't some one call him a criminal enterprise? Or was that News Ltd? Same thing...

[David Guyatt]

This will, I suspect, all ultimately lead back to the real question:

Who is Rupert Murdoch?

Didn't some one call him a criminal enterprise? Or was that News Ltd? Same thing...

T'was the resigned one, Tom Watson who called him that...