Tag Archives: Andy Coulson

Rupert Murdoch: This is the most humble day of my life.

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Phone hacking Updates: Sean Hoare Dead, Murdochs, Yates and Stephenson Face committee.

 

In a sad development in the phone hacking juggernaut, Sean Hoare, 47, was found dead amidst ‘unexplained’ circumstances. Hoares, who accused his former editor, Andy Coulson, of illegal activity, was found dead at his home days after he made fresh allegations against executives who he worked for.

Police said they did not at this stage suspect foul play. Before his death he told the Guardian : “There’s more to come. This is not going to go away.” and the New York Times that Coulson’s claim that he knew nothing about the hacking was “simply a lie”.

 

Prime Minister David Cameron has cut short a trip to Africa as the crisis worsens, unlike Elisabeth Murdoch, who had went on holiday with husband Matthew Freud as her father Rupert, and brother James, face the select committee. Mr Cameron will face questions from MPs after Parliament summer recess was delayed so he could make an emergency Commons statement. Mr Cameron will be facing some tough questions over his decision to hire Andy Coulson as his media strategist.

Watch the live hacking commitee and the Murdoch’s being interviewed courtesy of the Telegraph

 

Other developments:

 

John Yates has resigned over his links to Neil Wallis, former deputy editor of the News of the World. Yates twice resisted requests to reopen the investigation into phone hacking.

 

Sir Paul Stephenson, head of the Metropolitan Police, also known as Scotland Yard, Resigned. Stephenson referred to his resignation saying; “It was my decision and my decision only.”

 

Boris Johnson has denied that he personally intervened in the resignation of Sir Paul Stephenson, the Met Commissioner and Mr Yates.

 

Rebekah Brooks was arrested on Sunday. She will still answer questions from the committee.

 

James Murdoch’s future looks uncertain and he will face the same panels of MPs as Brooks and his father.

 

Rupert Murdoch was mobbed by the press as he arrives at the Houses of Parliament. His wife, Wendi Deng, sat behind him as he was being interviewed and touched his arm in comfort a few times.

 

The scandal has rocked Britain and made the Murdochs, who were untouchable just last month, fair game. It is alleged the over 4000 people’s phones were hacked. Rupert Murdoch made an apologyy in newspapers over the weekend and also personallyapologiseded to Milly Dowler’s family after her phone was hacked.

James Murdoch perviously said: “We now have voluntarily given evidence to the police that I believe will prove that this was untrue and those who acted wrongly will have to face the consequences,This was not the only fault. The paper made statements to Parliament without being in the full possession of the facts. This was wrong.”

“I don’t see how he can survive,” Howell Raines, former executive editor of The New York Times told ABCNews.com. “Seems to me that the movement both politically and legally is ominous.”

 

Rupert Murdoch has defended his son by saying; “I think he acted as fast as he could, the moment he could,” he told the Wall Street Journal.

News Corp Withdraw BSkyB Bid

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News Corporation have withdrawn their BSkyB bid amid the ‘Hackgate’ scandal.

The move follows further claims as the fallout into phone hacking continues. With news stories about the now defunct News of the World getting worse by the day and spreading to the other Murdoch papers, the media mogul now faces fresh accusations. It would seem News Corp has forgotten the first rule of journalism: Never become the story.

People on the News of the World payroll are said to have illegally accessed Gordon Brown’s son’s medical records and, after hacking Milly Dowler’s voicemail, deleted the messages when her mailbox was full – a move that made her family, and police, believe she was still alive.

News Corporation own 39% of BSkyB and announced last year that it intended to buy the remaining 61%.

Chase Carey, Deputy Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer of News Corporation, commented: “We believed that the proposed acquisition of BSkyB by News Corporation would benefit both companies but it has become clear that it is too difficult to progress in this climate. News Corporation remains a committed long-term shareholder in BSkyB. We are proud of the success it has achieved and our contribution to it.”

BSKYB chief executive Jeremy Daroch added: “We are delivering on our clear, consistent strategy and are building a larger, more profitable business for the long term. We remain very confident in the broadly based growth opportunity for BSkyB as we continue to add new customers, sell more products, develop our leading position in content and innovation, and expand the contribution from our other businesses.”

The announcement comes as online petitions against News Corporation increase. Actor Hugh Grant got the ball rolling when he wore a wire and in a case of ‘the biter, bit’, taped a former News of the World journalist confessing that their paper “bugged everyone.” The piece was for an edition of the New Statesman which was being guest edited by his ex-girlfriend Jemima Khan.

Hugh Grant for Prime Minister….

Blair Accused of Hushing up News of the World Hacking Scandal by Brown's Friends; Meanwhile Blair Slams Brown's Record in Office

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According to friends of Gordon Brown, Tony Blair urged Brown to put pressure on his fellow Labour MP and friend Tom Watson to back off the News of the World. A spokesman for Mr Blair has said, ‘The allegation is categorically untrue’.

Watson has played a major role in uncovering the hacking scandal. His two year campaign was a major reason for the closure of the News of the World. Watson used commons legal protection to make damning allegations against the News of the World and News International executive chief Rebekah Brooks. According to the dailymail.co.uk Watson was threatened by NI in the early stages of the investigation. He was said to have been told by someone in the company, ‘Rebekah Brooks will pursue you for the rest of her life’.

But Watson carried on regardless. He successfully called for, former news of the world editor Andy Coulson, to resign as prime minster David Cameron’s communications director. He has subsequently said in the commons that, ‘Rebekah Brooks was not only responsible for wrong doing, but knew about it’.

Tony Blair became a long-time friend of Mr Murdoch after they made a famous alliance in 1994. Ever since that point News Internationals papers supported Blair until he left office. The support was pulled from Labour when Gordon Brown took over the party, with Murdoch’s papers switching support to the rival conservative party. Whilst Mr Blair has denied the allegations a friend of Mr Brown said, ‘There is no doubt about it, Tony wanted Gordon to intervene’.

Mr Brown himself has refused to comment.

In a remarkable coincidence two days ago Tony Blair came out and attacked Gordon Brown’s record in office. Blair warned Labour against returning to its traditional left wing support. According to the independent.co.uk Blair tore into Brown’s time in office during an address to a progress campaign group. Blair said, ‘We lost the driving rhythm which made us so successful’. He accused the party of no longer being New Labour.

 

News Of The World Closes, Andy Coulson Arrested

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The News of The World is to close amid more scandal.

The newspaper, which has allegedly hacked phones belonging to Milly Dowler, servicemen killed in action and victims of the 7/7 atrocities, is 168 years old.

Some MPs believe the closure is to protect News International’s Chief Exceutive, Rebekah Wade, who appears to be something of a teflon don. But Andy Coulson, former Communications Chief for David Cameron, was not so lucky. Coulson was arrested at at a south London police station at 10.30 am today for alleged phone hacking and making illegal payments to police during his tenure as New of the World editor. He remains in custody.

His arrest was conducted by officers from Operation Weeting, the inquiry into phone hacking at the tabloid, and Operation Elveden, the investigation into allegations that police officers were illegally paid £100,000 by the newspaper during Coulson’s editorship.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “The Metropolitan Police Service has this morning arrested a member of the public in connection with allegations of corruption and phone hacking.

“At 10:30, officers arrested a man on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to Section1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977 and on suspicion of corruption allegations contrary to Section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.

The decision to axe the News of the World was made by James Murdoch. He said: “Actions that were taken by certain individuals in what had been a good newsroom breached the trust of the News of the World’s readers.

“We will cooperate fully with investigations into alleged activities, and will put processes in place to make sure that they won’t happen again.”

He went on to say that certain people “did not live up to the standards that the company believes in.”