Is this Armageddon for Murdoch and NewsCorp?

Thanks chrissies, I cought the news clip and couldn't believe it will take a year for the case to be tried. In the meantime there is another appearance in Court for Rebekah concerning perverting the course of justice. I must say Rebekah did not look particularly worried or shame faced, no doubt she will have the best Barrister but Newscorp will not foot the Bill.

Interesting article about how deeply involved Tony Blair was with the Murdochs



Tony Blair Is Godfather To Rupert Murdoch's Daughter



The Huffington Post Jack Mirkinson


First Posted: 09/05/11 08:48 AM ET Updated: 11/05/11 06:12 AM ET






Video , Rupert Murdoch , Tony Blair , Rupert Murdoch Tony Blair , Tony Blair Godfather , Tony Blair Murdoch Daughter , Tony Blair Murdoch Godfather , Tony Blair Rupert Murdoch , Media News

Hacking: 'Likely Victim' List Tops 1,000


A woman leading inquiries into phone and computer hacking, and corrupt payments, is quizzed about their projected £40m cost.


3:21pm UK, Tuesday 04 September 2012



Video: Phone Hacking: MPs Quiz Top Cop
Enlarge
Sue Akers leads three inquiries

• By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent
  

Police officers investigating phone hacking have identified as many as 1,069 "likely victims".

The figure was revealed as Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee.

Inquiries now led by Ms Akers were sparked by voicemail hacking at the now-defunct News Of The World newspaper.

Three investigations have been established. Operation Weeting has been looking at phone hacking, Operation Elveden is still investigating corrupt payments to public officials and Operation Tuleta is focused on computer hacking.

Ms Akers told MPs the escalating cost of the long-running inquiries would reach £40m over four years.

Asked by committee chairman Keith Vaz if the cost to the taxpayer worried her, she said: "It is not a concern to me.

"I think the fact people have been charged in Weeting represents the success of our investigation.
Rebekah Brooks is among those charged under Operation Weeting
"Nobody has been charged yet in Elveden but it is still under consideration."

Eight people, including former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and Prime Minister David Cameron's former communications chief Andy Coulson, have been charged under Operation Weeting.

Overall, 13 people have been charged in connection with the hacking investigations.

Of the 1,069 "likely victims" of phone hacking, 658 have been contacted by officers, officers have been unable to contact 388, and 23 have not been contacted for "operational reasons".

When pressed as to why the Met would choose not to contact 23 victims, Ms Akers said: "It is very difficult for me to disclose that."

It was the last time she will give evidence to MPs in her current role because she is due to retire this year.

Asked whether there is a glass ceiling preventing more women getting top police jobs, she said: "Sometimes women look at the top and decide they don't want to be there."

Ms Akers said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh will take over her role in the inquiries when she leaves the force

Of the 1,069 "likely victims" of phone hacking, 658 have been contacted by officers, officers have been unable to contact 388, and 23 have not been contacted for "operational reasons".

When pressed as to why the Met would choose not to contact 23 victims, Ms Akers said: "It is very difficult for me to disclose that."

I wonder who the 23 are????

Hacking: Ex-News International Lawyer Held


Tom Crone, who was detained at home, is the 25th person to be arrested under the Met Police's Operation Weeting investigation.


4:05pm UK, Thursday 30 August 2012



Video: Hacking: Ex-News International Lawyer Held
Enlarge

• 
  

Former News International legal manager Tom Crone has been arrested by police investigating phone hacking allegations, Sky sources have said.

The 60-year-old was detained at his home in south west London at 6.45am.

He was held on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and is being questioned at a south London police station.

So far 25 people have been arrested in connection with Operation Weeting, the Metropolitan Police's investigation into allegations of phone hacking.

Sky News home affairs correspondent Mark White said of Tom Crone: "He's an important player in this phone hacking debate because he, along with the News Of The World's former editor Colin Myler, have accused (former News International boss) James Murdoch of a cover-up.

"They said they had warned James Murdoch that phone hacking was much more widespread than just one rogue reporter, which was the defence of the NOTW for some considerable time.

"They said they had told James Murdoch about that much earlier than James Murdoch had said publicly and in fact repeated that at a parliamentary select committee."

Meanwhile, former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday over charges linked to Operation Weeting.

She is accused of one general charge of conspiracy to illegally access voicemails, and two others relating to murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler and former union boss Andrew Gilchrist.

Seven other people including David Cameron's former spin doctor Andy Coulson appeared at the same court earlier this month to face phone hacking charges.

Ex-News Of The World editor Coulson is accused, along with ex-managing editor Stuart Kuttner, former news editor Greg Miskiw, former head of news Ian Edmondson, ex-chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck and former reporter James Weatherup.

Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire has also been charged

It looks as if James Murdoch will be proved guilty at the Parliamentary hearing of lying when he said he did not know what was going on.

Panda wrote:Of the 1,069 "likely victims" of phone hacking, 658 have been contacted by officers, officers have been unable to contact 388, and 23 have not been contacted for "operational reasons".

When pressed as to why the Met would choose not to contact 23 victims, Ms Akers said: "It is very difficult for me to disclose that."

I wonder who the 23 are????

I would imagine the 23 in question are those who are perhaps involved in National Security, Panda. Whatever has been hacked from them would never make it into the public domain anyway.

malena stool wrote:

Panda wrote:Of the 1,069 "likely victims" of phone hacking, 658 have been contacted by officers, officers have been unable to contact 388, and 23 have not been contacted for "operational reasons".

When pressed as to why the Met would choose not to contact 23 victims, Ms Akers said: "It is very difficult for me to disclose that."

I wonder who the 23 are????

I would imagine the 23 in question are those who are perhaps involved in National Security, Panda. Whatever has been hacked from them would never make it into the public domain anyway.

Hi malena, I thought they might have been Senior Politicians , but you are probably right, National Security would be considered more important.

Doesn't it make you mad though that it took so long for the matter to come to light and such senior Executives were complicit. I hope they go to Jail, including James Murdoch .

Murdoch TV Role
By Andy Fixmer and Edmund Lee - Sep 21, 2012 2:25 AM GMT+0100

• News Corp. (NWSA) is considering giving Deputy Chief Operating Officer James Murdoch oversight of its U.S. television operations, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
  

Murdoch would oversee the Fox broadcast network and cable channels including FX, said the people, who requested anonymity because the deliberations are private. Peter Rice, chairman and chief executive officer of Fox Networks Group, would report to Murdoch, the people said. A decision hasn’t been made, they said.





Enlarge image

News Corp. Deputy Chief Operating Officer James Murdoch




Peter Foley/Bloomberg

Deputy Chief Operating Officer James Murdoch has been seeking a more defined role at News Corp. after moving to New York from London and stepping down from roles heading the company’s U.K. newspapers and as chairman of British Sky Broadcasting Plc.

Deputy Chief Operating Officer James Murdoch has been seeking a more defined role at News Corp. after moving to New York from London and stepping down from roles heading the company’s U.K. newspapers and as chairman of British Sky Broadcasting Plc. Photographer: Peter Foley/Bloomberg

The 39-year-old son of Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerRupert Murdoch has been seeking a more defined role at News Corp. after moving to New York from London and stepping down from roles heading the company’s U.K. newspapers and as chairman of British Sky Broadcasting Plc. His rise in the corporation stalled amid criticism of his handling of the hacking scandal at the News of the World publication.

“It’s a way to get him back in the game without any regulatory issues,” said Brett Harriss, an analyst at Gabelli & Co. in Rye, New York, who recommends buying the stock. “He’s the heir apparent, he’s not going to be relegated to the sidelines.”

The U.S. cable and television businesses would hand Murdoch much of a portfolio that contributed 41 percent of News Corp.’s revenue in the year ended June 30, and 74 percent of operating income. The Fox News cable channel would remain under Roger Ailes, the people said.

Murdoch was promoted to deputy COO, under President and Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey, in March 2011. The company said in February that he would focus on pay-TV and international television businesses.

‘Ill-Judged’


The New York-based media company has been trying to move past the scandal. Yesterday, U.K. regulators criticized James Murdoch’s response to the hacking, which has led to arrests, resignations and a series of investigations. Ofcom, the U.K. media regulator and competition authority, said in a report that BSkyB, 39 percent owned by News Corp., could keep its broadcast license.

“We consider James Murdoch’s conduct, including his failure to initiate action on his own account on a number of occasions, to be both difficult to comprehend and ill-judged,”Ofcom said.

Murdoch resigned as chairman of News International in February, following revelations of the hacking scandal. In April, he stepped down as chairman of pay-TV company British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc (BSY), amid demands that he resign.

Company Split


News Corp. has announced several management changes since announcing in June plans to split into separate publishing and entertainment businesses. The Financial Times reported yesterday that James Murdoch may gain oversight of television.

In a statement yesterday, News Corp. defended James Murdoch, saying the Ofcom report confirmed there was no evidence of wrongdoing.

“We disagree, however, with certain of the report’s statements about James Murdoch’s prior actions as an executive and director, which are not at all substantiated by evidence,”the company said. The company said he deserves credit for his record at BSkyB during his tenure.

News Corp. competes with Bloomberg LP, owner of Bloomberg News, in providing financial news and information. The company’s Class A shares added 0.6 percent to $25.02 yesterday in New York. They have gained 40 percent this year.

“The U.S. public markets will be extremely disappointed,”said Laura Martin, an Pasadena, California-based analyst at Needham & Co. who recommends buying News Corp. shares. “If his last name wasn’t Murdoch he wouldn’t be considered for this position.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19787476#TWEET247241

Operation Elveden: Officer in court on leak charge
Det Ch Insp April Casburn leaving Westminster Magistrates' Court (1/10/12) Det Ch Insp April Casburn is the first person to be charged under Operation Elveden

A former counter-terrorism officer has appeared in court accused of leaking information to the News of the World.

Det Ch Insp April Casburn, 53, is charged with misconduct in a public office for allegedly offering details to the now-closed tabloid in 2010.

Ms Casburn is the first person to be charged under Operation Elveden, into alleged corrupt payments to officials.

She was released on unconditional bail until 2 November at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Ms Casburn, from Hatfield Peverel, Essex, spoke only to confirm her name, address and date of birth during the short hearing. There was no plea.

She will next appear at the Old Bailey for a plea and case management hearing.

Ms Casburn is alleged to have contacted the News of the World in September 2010 and offered to provide it with information.

The officer is former head of Scotland Yard's national terrorist financing investigation unit, working in the Met's specialist operations command. She is currently suspended.

Margaret Davis ‏@MargaretDavisPA

It can now be reported that former Met counter-terror DCI April Casburn is accused of an offence under the Official Secrets Act


Margaret Davis ‏@MargaretDavisPA

DCI Casburn is also accused of misconduct in a public office for allegedly passing info linked to a phone hacking probe to News of the World


lisa o'carroll ‏@lisaocarroll

Breaking: It is alleged that Met's DCI april Casburn gave info on poss phone hacking inquiry in sept 2010 to NoTW and sought money for it

Thanks chrissie......a DCI eh! I think there are more Police officers to come . So we have a corrupt Police force, Corrupt Press and a corrupt Government, isn't it depressing. I forgot to mention Lawyers they are not squeaky clean.

Hacking Trial
By Erik Larson - Sep 26, 2012 4:34 PM GMT+0100



Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive officer of News Corp. (NWSA)’s British unit, and 13 other people will face the first criminal trial stemming from the company’s tabloid phone-hacking scandal in September 2013.

The group, including Andy Coulson, who edited the News of the World tabloid when the scandal started in 2006, appeared in a London court today to hear the trial date and get their bail extended. Judge Adrian Fulford, who is overseeing the case, scheduled another hearing for Dec. 12 and barred the press from reporting other elements of today’s proceedings.

Brooks and Coulson, the former press chief for U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, were among those charged this year with either conspiring to intercept the voice mail of celebrities, lawmakers and crime victims, or conspiring to cover up the practice as the police probe intensified last year.

News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, a friend of Brooks, closed the News of the World in July 2011 to help quell public anger after it emerged journalists accessed messages on a murdered schoolgirl’s mobile phone nearly a decade earlier. The investigation spawned parallel probes of computer hacking and bribery and led to the arrests of more than 80 people, including the unit’s former head of security and its top lawyer.

Brooks, Coulson, former news editor Ian Edmondson and five other people were charged in July with conspiring from 2000 to 2006 to hack the phones of more than 600 people, including U.S. actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. If convicted, the charges could result in two-year prison terms.

Obstructing Investigation


Brooks, her husband Charlie Brooks, and her former personal assistant, Cheryl Carter, were among six people charged in May in a related case alleging they sought to obstruct the hacking probe by hiding papers and computers from investigators last year and removing seven boxes of material from the storage archive of News Corp.’s U.K. unit, News International. Though Brooks, 44, had been scheduled to enter a plea at today’s hearing, she didn’t do so.

The other alleged conspirators in the phone-hacking case are the tabloid’s former managing editor Stuart Kuttner, former chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, former assistant editor Greg Miskiw, former assistant news editor James Weatherup and former private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who worked for the title.

The group accused of obstructing the probe includes Mark Hanna, the former head of security at the unit, and Brooks’s chauffeur, Paul Edwards. Former security-staff member Lee Sandell was charged separately in that case earlier this month.

Separately, the first charge in the bribery investigation was filed Sept. 24 against a London police detective, April Casburn. She is accused of offering to sell information to the News of the World in September 2010. Brooks and Coulson were also arrested in the bribery investigation last year.

Brooks, who denies the claims, quit as CEO of the unit two days before she was arrested in July 2011.

Hugh Grant and Charlotte Church are campaigning for more regulation of the Press since the Sun and NOTW were guilty of phone hacking. It is feared that the Leveson report will be swept under the Carpet from comments made by Ministers.

Hugh Grant has just been on the Andrew Marr show , his argument is that regulation applies to most jobs and businesses so why does the Press think it is absolved.

Cameron is now on the show and was questioned about this and very cagily said "let's wait and see what Leveson reports and what his suggestions are to ensure this scandal will not be repeated. Then he said " everyone is very aware what the Dowlers suffered, and of course the McCanns"......they weren't hacked !!!!!!!!

Hacking Victims Ask PM For Leveson Assurances


The Prime Minister is facing calls to clarify whether he has ruled out regulation of the press in the wake of the Leveson Inquiry.


1:18pm UK, Sunday 07 October 2012



Video: Hacking Victims Call For New System
Enlarge


Actor Hugh Grant tells Sky News that regulation of the media is required to protect ordinary citizens from press intrusion and to prevent a "media-run state".

Video: Grant: Say No To A Media-Run State



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More than 50 phone hacking victims have urged David Cameron not to reject calls for the media to be independently regulated if the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics suggests it.

They have called for an assurance that the Prime Minister would consider Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations with an open mind and that he had not already decided upon a system of continued self-regulation by the press.

The Hacked Off campaign - which represents the victims of media intrusion - expressed concerns after newspaper reports suggested Mr Cameron was preparing to reject statutory intervention in the regulation of the press, even if it was strongly recommended by Lord Justice Leveson.

The group sent an open letter to PM signed by victims of the 7/7 attacks, members of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, and celebrities including Hugh Grant, Jude Law and Charlotte Church.

It reads: "It is highly regrettable to us that these articles, and supporting comments from senior Conservative Party figures, have sought to undermine the work of the inquiry and to threaten any recommendations it may make for effective regulation of the industry.

"To remind you once again - you said that the test of the future system of press regulation is not whether it suits the politicians or their friends in the press, but rather the public interest - including the need of members of society to be free from illegal and unethical press practices. Do we have those reassurances?"

Actor Hugh Grant told Sky News why it is important for changes to the regulatory system to protect ordinary citizens.

He said: "What matters is that people like the families of the Hillsborough victims.

"The Watsons, whose son committed suicide because his murdered sister was trashed in the tabloid press, it is people like them who matter.

"You could do whatever you like to me provided those people are protected and the democracy of this country is protected.

"No one wants a state-run media but what we've had to put up with for 40 years is a media-run state."

Hacked Off director Brian Cathcart added: "The victims of press abuse who signed this letter are alarmed that, before Lord Justice Leveson has even had the chance to report, it is reported that his proposals will be rejected.

"It is hard to believe that the Prime Minister, who after all set up the inquiry, could really have taken such a decision.

"The judge has spent a year investigating press culture, ethics and practices. His recommendations, when published, surely deserve to be considered with open minds and with the greatest seriousness?"

Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry was set up by Mr Cameron last year in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal that led to the closure of the News Of The World.

He is expected to announce the findings of his inquiry in the next few weeks.

• Newscorp Directors have already said they will not finance the Legal Fees for those cases in the pipeline, I think the Brooks will get top of the range Q.C.'s , this is probably why he gave her £1 million "severance" pay.
  
• However, if found guilty of perverting the course of justice, that's a 2 yr prison sentence.
  

RUPERT MURDOCH HAS SAID ON HIS TWITTER FEED THAT ANTI PHONE HACKING CAMPAIGNERS ARE SCUM

Actor Hugh Grant would want the Media regulated wouldn't he as he got caught with his pants down !

Badboy wrote:RUPERT MURDOCH HAS SAID ON HIS TWITTER FEED THAT ANTI PHONE HACKING CAMPAIGNERS ARE SCUM

Are you sure its the real one ? Didn't think he'd lower himself to talk to us plebs.

Lioned wrote:

Badboy wrote:RUPERT MURDOCH HAS SAID ON HIS TWITTER FEED THAT ANTI PHONE HACKING CAMPAIGNERS ARE SCUM

Are you sure its the real one ? Didn't think he'd lower himself to talk to us plebs.

HE IS SAYING LIKE ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WERE HACKED DESERVED TO BE BECAUSE THEY HAD SECRETS LIKE ILLEGIMATE CHILDREN.
THINK IT WAS IN GUARDIAN I READ THIS.

Hope your not calling US plebs......I'll get you arrested!

I think Murdoch is in his dotage now and like all powerful moguls is seeing his Empire crumble and influence wane. The Newscorp Directors have taken charge , the Murdoch Family are being forced to sell some of their shares so the don't have 70% voting power . There are several charges against former staff of NOTW and I suspect the hacking saga will go on for a long time.

I didn't know Hugh Grant was caught with his pants down, even if he was, the fact that there is now a Celebrity group called "Hacked Off" who are willing to stand up to Murdoch and trying to get the Press regulated.

Have you been In a coma panda....




Hugh grant was caught in LA in a car with a hooker who had her lips wrapped round his

Rebekah Brooks severance deal worth 'about £7m'


Payoff package for the former News International executive is far in excess of the £1.7m speculated on after her departure

• 
  Dan Sabbagh and Patrick Wintour
  
• The Guardian, Tuesday 16 October 2012
  

Rebekah Brooks, the former chief of News Corp.'s British operations, is said to have received a £7m severance package. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

Rebekah Brooks received a payoff worth about £7m after resigning as chief executive of News International at the height of the Milly Dowler phone-hacking crisis in July 2011.

The exact figure has never been disclosed by the Murdoch company – whose parent News Corporation holds its annual meeting on Tuesday – but one source said they believed it was between £6m and £8m.

An intimate of Rupert Murdoch, Brooks started out as a secretary at the News of the World in 1989, becoming editor of the News of the World and the Sun in succession.

She retained Murdoch's confidence as the phone hacking crisis intensified. After the News Corp patriarch flew into London in July last year, he took Brooks out for dinner, declaring that she was his "top priority" when questioned in the street by journalists.

The payoff package, far in excess of the £1.7m that was speculated about after her departure, comprised cash payments for loss of service, pension enhancement, money for legal costs, a car and an office.

News International declined to comment on the sum involved, but company insiders stressed there were "clawback" arrangements, which mean Brooks would have to pay some of the money back in certain circumstances.

It is understood that payback would be enforceable if Brooks was to be found guilty of a criminal offence relating to her employment. She is currently facing charges relating to interception of communications and obstruction of charges.

News Corp has not had to make any disclosure in public accounts, because its British companies have not reported their results to Companies House yet. News International companies have a financial year that ends on 30 June, so any filing covering the period of the Brooks payoff would not be due until next year.

The revelations about the size of Brooks's payoff are likely to be raised at the company's annual shareholder meeting at News Corp's Fox studios lot in Los Angeles. Some investors, such as the British group Hermes, are expected to vote against Rupert Murdoch remaining as chairman in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal, but the media tycoon controls 40% of the votes so he is unlikely to lose.The Independent newspaper reported on Tuesday that private emails between David Cameron and Brooks were withheld from the Leveson inquiry into press standards.

A government lawyer advised the prime minister that the emails involved were not "relevant". They were said to reveal the close friendship between Cameron and Brooks and were described by sources as containing "embarrassing" exchanges.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "All the material the inquiry asked for was given to them."

It is understood that there was an agreement between No 10 and the Leveson inquiry that Cameron would provide all emails and texts relevant to the News International bid for broadcaster BSkyB, as Cameron set out in his witness statement to the inquiry. Government sources said this was accepted by the Leveson inquiry and some texts or emails handed to the inquiry by Cameron, deemed to be on the margin of this definition, were not published by Leveson.

No 10 is not challenging the newspaper's claim that Cameron had sought legal advice on the nature of the exchanges to be given to Leveson.

"The Independent newspaper reported on Tuesday that private emails between David Cameron and Brooks were withheld from the Leveson inquiry into press standards"



"A government lawyer advised the prime minister that the emails involved were not "relevant". They were said to reveal the close friendship between Cameron and Brooks and were described by sources as containing "embarrassing" exchanges"

Seems our David fancied Rebekah......wonder what his Wife thinks.