Murdoch II

I spend torturous hours roaming around the national and international news sites, blog sites, Facebook and other forms of social media to get the latest on Murdoch so I thought to myself: “Why can’t we have all the news in the one place?”  Hence, the Murdoch pages.

Dear friends, if any of you happen to find any interesting articles or developments perhaps you would be kind enough to share the link with us on this exclusive thread.

As Mobius pointed out, this story will keep growing legs.  As such, I’ll keep adding new pages to this thread like I do with the popular Media Watch section.

And just to remind you how much of a prick he is – I’ve included a photo for your inspiration.

The Murdoch pages are archived after 300 comments (or thereabouts), as beyond that they can be slow to open if accessed by some mobile phones.

Here is the link to the previous Murdoch discussion:

Murdoch

324 comments on “Murdoch II”

  3. It probably won’t succeed but

    Pirc, which advises shareholders on corporate governance issues, said: “In light of his close association with the phone-hacking scandal we are advising shareholders to oppose James Murdoch’s election.”

    Pirc said in written advice on Tuesday: “We question James Murdoch’s suitability as a senior executive and potential successor to Rupert Murdoch. As a senior executive at News International it is unclear why he did not initiate in-depth inquiries at an earlier stage and why former colleagues now directly and publicly contradict his stated position that he was unaware that hacking extended beyond [Clive] Goodman.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/sep/28/news-corp-investors-james-murdoch

  7. Min
    Thurlbeck is only threatening to blow the lid because he has been officially sacked and not covered by the company lawyers. He is also letting News know he was not the one that dobbed them in, so take him back cover the legals and he will not speak up.

  8. Sue, then it’s a wait and see..whether he will hold true to his promises.

    Just the fact that he has shown that he has information will be enough to put the fear of god into them. A lot more to come I think.

  11. “The statement was particularly critical of the board’s decision to approve a 180 per cent increase in chief executive Rupert Murdoch’s cash bonus to $US12.5 million in the fiscal year to June 2011 soon after the phone hacking fallout began.”

    Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/kick-murdochs-off-news-corp-board-iss-20111011-1li03.html#ixzz1aPxLBmYb

    Yes 180% increase should be an indicator that the company is a little outside reality.
    $12.5 mill cash bonus for me, $3.5 mill for the dowler family and charity.

  12. Have a read of this”

    “Murdoch man quits in ethics row
    Senior Wall Street Journal executive accuses paper of blurring lines between news and advertising”

    Mr Langhoff said: “There is – and should be – an inviolable boundary between our commercial relationships and the content we produce.
    “The perception that this boundary was crossed via a broad agreement between The Wall Street Journal Europe’s circulation department and a company called Executive Learning Partnership has been of great concern to me.”
    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/murdoch-man-quits-in-ethics-row-2369228.html

  14. Sue wanna bet News Ltd are doing something similar with their Newspoll results?
    Uhlmann (ABC 7.30) prefaced a question to Combet recently “… with only 25% of Australian’s now voting for a Labor Government”
    Sorry Uhlmann, a Newspoll is not an election.

  17. Police commit 200 officers as scale of hacking inquiries grows

    Number of detectives dedicated to Operation Weeting has trebled since its launch in January

    “Tom Watson, the Labour MP who has led the political inquiry into News International’s illegal activities, said: “News Corp investors meet to vote for their board next Friday. I hope they are fully aware of the scale of the criminal investigation into the company they are responsible for.”
    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-commit-200-officers-as-scale-of-hacking-inquiries-grows-2370907.html

  18. With thanks to Bob for this link..

    Sesame Street characters interrupt the media mogul as he gives a speech, as part of a protest by the Occupy Wall Street movement. Report by Jeremy Barnes.

  19. Yes good protest. The bloody mogul has been buying up education software companies. Which is why the expansion of Sky in England and the need for failure of the NBN. Murdoch wants to control all sides of the education platforms, software etc. I actually thought his moves into education and not the media was why he had private meetings with Gillard.
    Watch this space (education that is). Be aware.

  20. Tensions rise over Australia Network bid Lenore Taylor
    October 18, 2011
    http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/tensions-rise-over-australia-network-bid-20111017-1ltfy.html

    SENIOR federal ministers are angry about a leak they believe was designed to pre-empt a cabinet decision on the long-running saga of the $233 million Australia Network television contract.

    The Herald has confirmed that a four-person high-level bureaucratic advisory panel recommended the tender be awarded to Sky News, over the ABC, which runs the service at present.

    and
    The Coalition’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Julie Bishop, has asked the Auditor-General to examine the drawn-out process, in particular whether Senator Conroy had a conflict of interest as the decision-maker and also the minister responsible for the ABC.

    I would say to Ms Bishop, someone needs to STAND UP TO RUPERT MURDOCH. He already owns approx., 80% of the Australian media.

    The world according to Rupert ….broadcast across Asia in the name of Australia. That’s a big step too far.

  21. ‘Taylor’s lawyer Mark Lewis, also appearing before the culture select committee on Wednesday, said he been told by Pike that the Taylor case was being handled by Murdoch.

    He claimed that Murdoch knew all the details of Taylor’s claim. “Mr Murdoch would like you to believe he is mildly incompetent,” Lewis said. In fact, he added, Murdoch had been “wildly dishonest”‘

    “Wildly dishonest” that tag should help James at his reelection the the Board on friday. Well it would if the shareholders had any influence in board elections.

    This may also be voiced at the elections
    “A lawyer who acted for News International (NI) over phone-hacking claims has told MPs he knew the company had misled parliament about the affair but he had not spoken up because of client confidentiality.
    It is the first time that a second meeting to discuss a possible payment to Taylor has been referred to.But Pike said Myler also met James Murdoch on 27 May 2008 after fresh evidence had emerged in the Taylor case that suggested hacking at the News of the World went beyond Goodman.’
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/19/phone-hacking-lawyer-ni-rogue-reporter

  22. This from
    How to clean up News Corp’s governance structure by Stephen Mayne

    “The timing of this exchange in October 2010 raises serious questions about communications between James and Rupert Murdoch because this is what James Murdoch told the UK parliamentary committee in July:

    James Murdoch: Now knowing then what I know now, would I have still directed to negotiate to settle that (Gordon Taylor) case? I would, actually, but I would have coupled it with the other actions that we have taken since the new evidence emerged at the end of September 2010.

    Why did James Murdoch sit at the 2010 AGM and listen to his father spout information that he clearly knew was misleading to shareholders and the entire board?”
    http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3581376.html

  23. Sue thanks for the links.

    20 October 2011
    MEDIA RELEASE – for immediate release
    Australian investors tell NewsCorp – governance must improve

    Click to access 20.10.11.media_release.australian_investors_tells_newscorp_-_governance_must_improve.pdf

    The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) wants global media company News Corp to sharply improve its governance and is recommending Australian super funds to protest against members of the News Corp Board at the company’s annual general meeting in Los Angeles tomorrow.
    ACSI Chief Executive Ann Byrne said “the News Corp board should comprise a majority of independent non-executive directors sufficiently equipped to provide independent oversight of the company’s strategy and activities”.
    “A protest vote will send a clear message from global investors that the current quality of corporate governance and behaviour at News Corp is simply unacceptable. Business-as-usual will entrench a ‘governance discount’ in the stock over the long term – peerages have no place in corporate life, either here or in the global investment community” Ms Byrne added.

  24. Two California pension funds to vote against Murdoch

    http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/10/17/two-california-pension-funds-to-vote-against-murdoch/

    NEW YORK — Two huge California pension funds said Monday they would vote against the reelection of Rupert Murdoch to the board of his media conglomerate News Corp. this week.

    The pension funds added their voices to a growing clamor among News Corp. shareholders for the ouster of Murdoch and his sons James and Lachlan from the board after a phone hacking scandal in Britain.

  25. Pip
    the meeting just got a bit more interesting

    “Tom Watson,the Labour MP who has been a leading figure in parliament’s investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, plans to make dramatic allegations about News Corporation’s use of surveillance at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.”
    “he would be giving News Corp’s shareholders details of previously undisclosed surveillance methods used by the firm that were technologically quite distinct from the phone hacking carried out by NoW staff. ”

    “He said: “I want to leave investors in no doubt that News Corporation is not through the worst of this yet and there are more questions for the Murdochs to answer.”
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/20/news-corp-tom-watson-surveillance-allegations

  26. Sue, Tom Watson MP has been onto this for a long time and some of the corporate investors are joining the call for the Murdochs to step down. What a shame !

  27. The “most humble day of his life” is sounding even more like BS, will this come out at the meeting?

    “Police admit they knew Milly Dowler was hacked

    Surrey force says it knew in 2002 that the News of the World had accessed phone messages
    the force had also failed to pass the information it held about the hacking of Milly’s Nokia mobile phone to the Metropolitan Police during its heavily criticised original investigation into voicemail interception by the NOTW in 2006.
    The Independent last week revealed that senior Surrey Police detectives leading the Dowler investigation met on at least two occasions with NOTW journalists and were shown evidence that the paper held information taken from the voicemails of the murdered schoolgirl.”

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-admit-they-knew-milly-dowler-was-hacked-2373871.html

  28. Sue, Rupert is about as ‘umble as Uriah Heep.
    I wonder where the two Surrey detectives are now ?

    Phone hacking victims get access to critical evidence
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/us-britain-hacking-idUSTRE79J40720111020

    British investigators have spent months sharing thousands of pages of seized evidence with hundreds of suspected targets of alleged phone hacking by the now-defunct newspaper.

    and
    TROUBLE IN THE UNITED STATES?

    One source who has seen the evidence said some of the notes suggest that at least one phone target had their voice mail hacked while they were in the United States. The source said that this could give the target grounds for a legal claim against News Corp in U.S.
    courts.

    **From Los Angeles to London, Murdoch’s Hacking Woes Set To Play Out
    http://mediamatters.org/blog/201110200009

    Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. phone-hacking scandal, now in its third month as a primetime news attraction, has become so sprawling that in coming days key events are scheduled to unfold across eight time zones, from Los Angeles to New York to London. The global showdowns are sure to highlight just how far the conservative media mogul has to go before putting the tarnishing scandal behind him, if that’s even possible. They’ll also shine a spotlight on how poorly his company is run, as well as on a corporate culture where cutting ethical corners seems to be commonplace.

  29. New York funds to vote against Murdochs, over Bloomberg objections

    http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1011/New_York_funds_to_vote_against_Murdochs_over_Bloomberg_objections.html?showall

    New York City’s giant pension funds have voted to oppose the board of directors at a shareholders meeting of the troubled media giant News Corp. tomorrow, a move against a feared local media company that was opposed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

    New York City Comptroller John Liu, a Democrat, introduced the resolution to oppose the re-election of nine of the company’s fifteen directors, including chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch and two of his sons, James and Lachlan Murdoch. Liu’s resolution, which echoed the recommendations of several independent investment advisors, cited the U.K. phone hacking scandal as the latest in a series of governance failures that also include “egregious executive pay
    practices” and “pervasive director conflicts of interest.”

  31. Reading the above link, it makes one wonder if they believe everything can be made right by buying the victims off.

    At the end of the day, they are right, they continue on as if nothing occurred.

  32. CU

    Murdoch made a personal donation of 1Mil pounds to Dowler charities, at the meeting he was asking for pay of 21 mil pounds, yes they continue as though NOTHING has occurred.

    Did anyone see if the following was quoted in an Aus paper?

    “Stephen Mayne, an Australian shareholder and long-time critic of Murdoch, said it was an “extraordinarily paranoid” meeting. “I think he’s losing it,” he commented. “He comes across as a paranoid control freak.”

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/22/murdoch-mulcaire-news-corp-shareholder

  33. A good article from Tom Watson, and here is a sample

    “Instead of being known as one of the twentieth century’s great media innovators, Murdoch’s personal reputation and the media brands he’s lovingly nurtured over a lifetime of being professionally-curious are now in tatters. If you don’t believe me, just look at the reaction on Twitter to the front page of yesterday’s Sun newspaper.

    The disruptive power of the Internet is chipping away at the credibility of the sensationalist and over-editorialised news reporting style that characterises his brand. And when, a few years ago, he saw the damage the Internet was causing his company, he did what he knows best – he tried to buy it (with disastrous consequences). Investors know that to their cost: News Corp recently had to offload MySpace for a firesale price. He apologised to investors for that yesterday, admitting “we made a huge mistake.”
    http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/tom-watson-there-is-little-doubt-that-murdochs-rosebud-moment-is-approaching-2374263.html

  34. The Man Who Won’t Apologize

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/22/rupert-murdoch-stonewalls-news-corp-s-stockholders.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheet

    If anyone was wondering how conciliatory the News Corp. head would be when he faced the first stockholders meeting since the phone-hacking scandal broke, the answer was not long in coming: not at all.

    this made me laugh out loud !

    Tom Watson, one of the British lawmakers who has called the Murdochs to account, pointed out that the big-screen backdrop behind the board members on the dais did not merely celebrate such notable News Corp. achievements as American Idol. It also sported a London Times front page marking the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

    Did the company not realize, asked Watson, that it was the hacking of the royal couple’s intimate voicemails by Murdoch private eyes that had lifted the lid on what was described by one shareholder as the “industrial strength criminality” going on under his nose?

  37. Sue, Rupert wouldn’t be the first megalomaniac to miss his cue ….
    it’s classic behaviour for a grandiose personality.

  38. Anyone wanting to get behind the Oz paywall without registration can do so easily – advice from Bushfire Bill at the Poll Bludger………

    If you copy the url of the paywalled article into google and press search – hey presto behind paywall. Only works with google.

    I used it to read the full story on Newspoll just out. Works a treat.

    Hate to give a bean to Murdoch or the Australian. Hardly ever read it anway, though the weekend cryptic is worth salvaging before it gets binned next door.

  39. Patricia..I tried it. It works 😯 Like yourself, now all I have to do is to find something at the Australian that I actually want to read.

  40. Abbott/turnbull want to dismantle the NBN. They want private investment to own run it. Murdoch wants his slice, he wants Abbott. This is why Murdoch wants the NBN in private hands, the business Murdoch is moving into internationally.

    “Murdoch was there, he admitted upfront, as “a businessman” ready to move into the education market. Murdoch’s News Corp. has been quietly developing virtual-learning and technology-driven products for K through 12 schools, and with his address Murdoch made his first large public splash into an arena he’s valued at $500 billion. ”
    http://www.truth-out.org/news-corp-will-save-our-schools-and-other-scarily-seductive-reforms/1319434215
    this from the same article
    “The 1% ruined our economy. Why should we trust them with our schools?”

    Last month Murdoch was in Europe flogging “his” education model.

  41. classic patriciawa. Shouldn’t take them long to fix that though. And pretty sure they’ll be blaming Google for ‘too much free speech” as well 😉

  44. Eddie thanks for the link,

    British MPs say they will grill Rupert Murdoch’s son, James, about newspaper phone hacking for a second time next month, as Murdoch’s former right-hand man, Les Hinton, denied he knew about the scale of the wrongdoing when he paid almost £250,000 to a reporter convicted of illegal eavesdropping.

    Someone must have known enough to write the cheques !

  45. Message in a News Corp protest vote
    Stephen Mayne

    http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Rupert-Murdoch-News-Corp-shareholder-votes-directo-pd20111025-MY6CJ?OpenDocument&src=sph

    Crikey
    The News Corporation votes are in and the record protest votes have duly been delivered. In spades.

    No News Corp director has ever had more than 150 million votes against, so the records were clearly smashed in 2011, with as much as 80 per cent of the independent shareholders voting to remove the Murdoch boys and other compliant or affiliated directors.

    The most incredible thing about the votes was the way shareholders
    so accurately ranked the directors in terms of who should go.

    They should change their name to The Dog’s Hind Leg Group !

    Crooked ?

  50. URGENT

    Murdoch’s secret ABC attack

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/murdochs_secret_abc_attack/?cl=1360156748&v=10733

    Posted: 31 October 2011

    In hours, Murdoch could secure his stranglehold on the Australian media by acquiring our public international TV news network — and rob a struggling ABC of $223 million in funding. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is under pressure to give control over the network to Murdoch instead of the ABC — but together we can stop the deal.

  52. And this today

    A legal adviser to Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers warned the company three years ago there was overwhelming evidence that several senior journalists at the News of the World tabloid were using illegal methods, according to newly released documents.

    The documents bolster claims that high-ranking executives of News Corp were aware that phone hacking was more widespread than they let on.
    http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/news-told-in-2008-its-reporters-broke-law-20111102-1mu9r.html

    I hope the Australian government reads this before any contracts are let.

  53. This should be fun for Tony abbott (the former pm contender) to watch

    THE chief executive of Qantas, Alan Joyce, will face his first grilling at the hands of federal politicians since his shock decision to ground the airline when he turns up in Canberra for a Senate inquiry on Friday.

    As Ms Gillard renewed her attacks on Qantas, its government relations boss, Olivia Wirth, made a flying visit to Canberra in an effort to repair a relationship which insiders now describe as toxic

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/joyce-to-face-grilling-on-grounding-from-senate-20111101-1mtyg.html#ixzz1cTmF2tuM

    Yesterday on that flying visit did Miss Wirth give Hockey some of those “notes” that everyone reads from? As he obviously got a bit caught up in the script last night.

    Will they televise the senate inquiry on Friday? and who will be there from Labor?

  54. More hacking

    Ms Caplin has recently been notified by the team from Metropolitan police service’s Operation Weeting that her mobile phone messages were hacked by Glenn Mulcaire whilst he was working for the News of The World,” the spokeswoman said.

    “Dating from 2002, Ms Caplin’s is one of the earliest cases so far discovered and the police investigation has yet to uncover all the available evidence

    Brooks was in charge of the paper in 2002, when Caplin’s spokesman claims she was allegedly targeted. In the same year, messages left on a phone belonging to murdered teenager Milly Dowler were intercepted.

    The fact that Caplin appears on a list of victims targeted by Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the title, raises the prospect that messages left by former prime minister Tony Blair could have been intercepted by the paper
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/01/phone-hacking-carole-caplin

  55. Another good read at the guardian

    Other documents Taylor’s lawyers had obtained from evidence the Metropolitan police had seized from the home of Mulcaire, included a contract to pay him £7,000 for information about Taylor’s private life.

    They had also secured from the information commissioner “a list of named News of the World journalists and a detailed table of data protection infringements between 2001 and 2003”, seized during a raid on another private investigator.

    A note from Tom Crone explained what he thought the implications of this information were: “A number of those names are still with us and some of them have moved to prominent position on NoW and the Sun. Typical infringements are ‘turning round’ car reg and mobile phone numbers (illegal),” Crone wrote.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/01/phone-hacking-news-of-the-world

  57. There have been strident defense that murdoch in Australia is not the same as murdoch in Britain, that there is no way the low act of hacking phones would not happen here.

    Well, it appears the morals at least are on about the same level

    Former editor of The Australian, Paul Whittaker, bargained with the Australian Federal Police over how many lives would be lost if the newspaper published its scoop on the Operation Neath anti-terrorism operation before raids took place, it was revealed in the Melbourne Magistrates Court today.

    http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/11/02/artz-affidavit-the-oz-editor-bargained-over-lives-in-afp-raid/

    No low is too low for them it appears.

  58. There is overwhelming support for an enquiry. Those who seek to halt or derail the enquiry must have something to hide. I have no doubt there is a lot of shredding and deleting of emails going on at a furious pace in many media offices.

  59. Tom R

    Now the best opinion piece I have see about how low the murdoch press will go is in Crikey and is on the sequence of Herald Sun articles with attached polls that was used before Simon Overland resigned. The Victorian OPI has recommended that the HS articles be referred to a federal government media inquiry. Now I am not a HS reader so was not aware of how perverse their attack was on Overland but it is truly disgusting and highlights the danger of this type of media organisation can have on our society.

    If you haven’t read it I recommend you do but it will take a while as it is so disgusting. The title of the article is apt

    Get Baldy: Herald Sun’s blatant campaign to knife Simon Overland

    http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/11/01/get-baldy-herald-suns-blatant-campaign-to-knife-simon-overland/

  60. Tom R and shaneinqld

    Further to our musings on the murdoch muck rakers.

    I was just listening to an interview by Fran Kelly with Roxon and Kelly spoke on an article in the Tele on the plot .

    Now for Kelly’s remarks that went like this ” Now Minister as Simon Benson and Steve Lewis are very senior journalists and assuming THEY JUST HAVEN’T MADE IT UP….”

    Now that is the Rub how can anyone just assume that when it comes to the Telegraph ( they have a track record for lying and headlining as evidence) that it is true. What a great diversion tactic for look over here when the Libs are being hammered in parliament. We will watch and see the msm today, back on safe ground, we the msm won’t have to leave our comfy office to write about this.

  61. “Senior sources within the NSW Right claim the leakage of support away from Ms Gillard”

    Graham Richardson talks with Lewis and Benson

    Now that could be the SENIOR SOURCE, The advertising for a Rciho program on Sky or just the usual SH!T served up as news

  62. And here is a line from the murdoch muck that is so relevant to a PLOT

    “Secret Coalition research conducted recently concluded voters believed the country was drifting”

    the NSW labor right plotting faction is so advanced that they have access to SECRET COALITION RESEARCH.

    Yes in Fran’s words “assuming THEY JUST HAVEN’T MADE IT UP….”

  63. Now some good news for the muck rakers

    “News Corp said operating income, or EBIT, at its publishing unit, which includes the company’s stable of global newspapers, fell 38 per cent in the first quarter to $US110 million ($A106.80 million).

    This reflected the ‘‘impact from the closure of The News of the World in the UK, as well as lower advertising revenues at the Australian newspapers and integrated marketing services business’’, News Corp said.”

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/news-corp-charges-drag-on-firstquarter-earnings-20111103-1mwbh.html#ixzz1caZ9h6GI

  65. Another 3 word slogan “some people say” , it even makes it easy for fox presenters. In Australia/ Muck express just have it even easier “senior sources”

    Thanks Tom R

  67. Sue

    The telegraph has run another rumour monger story on the leadership to simply deflect the Qantas debacle which is not heading in the desired direction for Qantas Management or the Opposition. Afterall conglomerates need to stick together as much as possible to destroy those terrible terrible unions and the terrible terrible government.

  68. I read on the oo this morning that apparently, the Governments Fair Work package is entirely responsible for this qantas debacle (no fault at all for the company itself, although plenty for the Unions involved)

    Apparenly, this wouldn’t have happened under workchoices, where the company could have basically done what they wanted.

    Of course, to the oo, this is a good thing 😯

  70. DOOOHHH the oo, Workchoices got your buddies well and truly tossed out of govt and the pm of the day written into history.

    About sums up Qantas , all they needed was Workchoices.
    The biggest F**K U they could aim at the travelling the public and their wok force.
    And thank you muck press for highlighting this.

  75. Watching the Senate Committee. Senator and others are complaining that the Opposition has not put forward an amendment, just raving on.

    Senator Boswell stood up to talk to the amendment. It took minutes to get through to him the fact, there are no amendments .

    He then he said that he would respond to the amendment that is being circulated.

    Does the Senator intend to resign at the next He sounds like a man that has comsumed a long liquor lunch. He is all over the place.

    The man is either losing his wits, or is drunk He is definitely abusive.

    He is not making sense.

    .

  76. And as to that “one rogue journalist”

    ‘The number of possible victims of phone hacking by the News of the World private investigator Glenn Mulcaire is now close to 5,800, the Metropolitan police have confirmed.

    This is 2,000 more than previously identified by detectives tasked with trawling through 11,000 pages of notes seized from Mulcaire’s home.

    It will reinforce claims, by solicitors acting for victims and by MPs investigating phone hacking for a parliamentary select committee, that hacking was conducted on an “industrial scale” at News of the World.’

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/03/phone-hacking-victims-police

  82. ABC News has just announced that the tender process for the Australian Network has been canceled because of “leaks”. Federal Police have been called in – wonder if illegal phone tapping was involved???

  83. Lunalava

    Why stop at phone hacking, in the Uk it also includes computers and paying of bribes.

    And why is it it was always Murky press that would “announce” that Sky had won the deal? Hmmmmmmm

  84. I have been following your Murdoch topics with interest. Just the tip of the iceberg in my opinion. A bit of a trite saying I know, but the one about power corrupting comes to mind.

  85. Lunalava and AntonyG

    just remember this whole tendering process started in Dept of Foreign Affairs, Downer’s old stomping ground.
    And don’t ever dismiss Downer and his influence in the dept..
    There was the leaked stories about Rudd at the strip club, when Rudd was on a shadow foreign affairs trip.
    There was all that business with Downer’s daughter the scholarships and jobs within FA.
    Iraq, wheat etc that had lots of cover ups
    Buying off Nauru

  86. I think it’s very telling that this story wasn’t covered as far as I know by the Murdoch press, or on TV.

    Figures checked by firm with Liberal ties
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/figures-checked-by-firm-with-liberal-ties-20100818-12f8u.html

    *THE Coalition’s 12 pages of costings, said to save the budget $11.5 billion, are not costings in the traditional sense.

    Under the costings process abandoned by the Coalition, the Department of Treasury and Finance detailed the assumptions used and the means by which the numbers were arrived at.

    By contrast the costings released by the Coalition yesterday contain none of that detail – they are simply a list of figures, one for each policy, with no explanations as to how the figures were derived.

    Instead the document is covered by a one-page note from the Perth accountancy firm WHK Horwath, which says it ”is satisfied that based on the assumptions provided, costed commitments and savings have been accurately prepared in all material respects”.

    **Thursday, May 12, 2011
    Coalition’s “auditors” still under investigation
    http://www.petermartin.com.au/2011/05/coalitions-auditors-still-under.html

    Ahead of tonight’s Budget in Reply speech the Institute of Chartered Accountants has revealed that the two Perth accountants who advised Tony Abbott on the $50 billion of savings he put forward in the last election remain under investigation.

    Geoff Kidd and Cyrus Patell of WHK Horwath signed a statement endorsing the Coalition’s costings released two days before the 2010 election despite promising the Coalition in a separate letter to make no inquires about “the reasonableness of otherwise of the assumptions used”.

    ***Wednesday, July 06, 2011
    Hockey. Woolly on tax and costings

    http://www.petermartin.com.au/2011/07/government-spending-and-tax-to-gdp.html

  87. Pip
    definitely not. but take a look at he cartoon on the oo tonight.

    “have you modelled tony’s direct action plan”
    “i’ve tried but he computer keeps asking for the punchline”

    this on the oo when carbon tax to be passed tomorrow and abbott fleeing the country

  88. Bible buy could herald good news for the Sun King

    http://www.smh.com.au/business/bible-buy-could-herald-good-news-for-the-sun-king-20111106-1n1uz.html


    Is News Corporation preparing to undergo a spiritual rebirth? Hopes are running high that the Rupert Murdoch-led media organisation, which is still being hounded by the phone hacking controversy in Britain, could gain inspiration from one of its new business units.

    At last week’s quarterly results briefing, News Corp’s chief operating officer, Chase Carey, would only focus on the financial aspects of its estimated $200 million purchase of the Bible publisher Thomas Nelson.

  89. And another day another low for News UK.

    “The News of the World hired a specialist private investigator to run covert surveillance on two of the lawyers representing phone-hacking victims as part of an operation to put pressure on them to stop their work.

    The News of the World also took specialist advice in an attempt to injunct Lewis to prevent him representing the victims of hacking and attempted to persuade one of his former clients to sue him.”

    And the kicker for this report

    “The surveillance of Lewis and Harris occurred during the past 18 months, when Rupert Murdoch’s son James was executive chairman of the paper’s parent company, News International”

    But the report has other gems have a read

    “Emails recovered by Scotland Yard disclose the names of those working for News International who hatched the plans.”

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/07/news-world-investigator-spy-lawyers

    No wonder dad has sent one of their top lawyers from the US to help James this week with his return to the committee.

  90. Sue, the Murdochs’ nemesis, MP Tom Watson, put it succinctly:-

    Tom Watson, who sits on the Commons’ culture select committee investigating phone hacking, told Newsnight that the News of the World hired the private investigator in a bid to “besmirch” the victims’ lawyers.

    He said: “I think it shows an utterly relentless and ruthless organisation, clearly highly politicised and who would stop at nothing to try and cover this case up.

    Exactly, and in Australia this same organisation has relentlessly and ruthlessly pursued our Prime Minister and the Greens because they want a change of government.

  91. Pip
    Have a listen to the world today. Tom Watson was talking on the following by the PI on the exwife of Lewis and their teenage children.
    Intimidation!, UK lawyers gobsmacked!
    What would Australians think of Murdoch who heads an Australian children’s charity, having teenage children followed and filmed!

    But even more disgusting is the fact that the ABC in this news report

    News Corp admits spying on hacking lawyers
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-08/news-corp-admits-hacking-lawyers-were-spied-on/3651494

    HAVE FAILED TO REPORT THIS ASPECT OF THE NEWS

    all the ABC had to do was rereport the Guardian article for the FULL story

  92. Sue we can only hope that the new ABC Chairman has a very different agenda to Howard’s man, Mr. Newman.

    It will be interesting to know the result of the AFP investigation into the leaks about the Australia News Network which were revealed by ltd news.

  95. Pip
    They now have the News of the world story, so maybe our complaints worked, check out the time

    No end to damning News Corp revelations
    The World Today
    By Simon Santow

    Posted November 08, 2011 17:57:53

  97. Pip

    There needs to be some investigating within the ABC. The first article should never have gone online, with the most damaging part of the story, not included.
    As you can see I had read the Guardian story and posted at 6.20am, the first story did not appear in the ABC on line until 11.11am a whole 4.6 hours later.
    And even though the World today had the interview with Watson at midday. it took 6.5 hours to correct their original online story.

    So who in the ABC wrote/edited the story and why?

  98. Sue, this fits with my post @ 2.55am on Open Thread VII

    ABC journalist just wouldn’t listen to the PM.

    http://newsdelimited.blogspot.com/2011/11/id-be-lying-if-i-said-price-on-carbon.html

    ALEXANDRA KIRK: So your problem is that you’ve had two opposing positions on carbon tax. The fundamental problem is that you broke an election promise. You said before the election there will be no carbon tax under a government I lead, and now you’ve shifted your position. So you don’t have a mandate for a carbon tax.

    JULIA GILLARD: Alex, we went to the 2007 election saying we had to price carbon and the best way of doing that was an emissions trading scheme where the market sets the price for carbon.

    ALEXANDRA KIRK: But you went to the last election…

    JULIA GILLARD: We went to the 2010 election saying we need to price carbon and the best way of doing that is an emissions trading scheme where the market prices carbon. What will we deliver? An emissions trading scheme where the market prices carbon.
    Yes, there will be a period where the price is fixed, effectively like a carbon tax. But we will end up exactly where we promised Australians we would go.
    That doesn’t look like somebody who ‘never properly attempted the distinction’. It looks more like somebody banging their head against the brick wall of somebody else who didn’t want to listen. Unfortunately for Labor. It may be too late to change the perception (in fact, I think they gave up on that months ago). Which is a pity, as this isue will dog them forever now.

  100. Sue @ 6.58am, the article is up again today.

    No end to damning News Corp revelations

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-08/no-end-to-string-of-damning-news-corp-revelations/3652748

    “It seems that every month another scandal is dragged out of them before they’re prepared to admit exactly what went on,” he said.

    “Two weeks ago I flew to Los Angeles and I heard Rupert Murdoch reassure shareholders that they would get to the bottom of the hacking scandal and he said there was a problem at one paper within the UK company.

    “What he didn’t say was, and our response to that was when we understood this over nearly a year ago, was to hire private investigators to try and dig up dirt on lawyers representing the victims.

    “I’m sure the shareholders would have taken a different view had he actually revealed that.”

  101. The NOW committee interrogation starts again
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/08/claims-james-murdoch-for-neville

    In a letter published on Tuesday the committee chairman, John Whittingdale, asks Crone why he did not mention his and Myler’s May 27 meetings with Murdoch when they appeared before MPs in September.

    Crone apologised and said he had no memory of the meeting when he first gave evidence.

    “Having seen the evidence given by Julian Pike and the documents produced by him which now appear on your website, I accept that my recollection was incorrect in relation to certain details. I apologise for that,” Crone said

  102. And this
    “A private detective has claimed that the News of the World paid him to target more than 90 people, including Prince William, former attorney general Lord Goldsmith and Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe’s parents, over eight years until this July.

    He told the BBC’s Newsnight he continued to do surveillance until it was closed over the phone-hacking scandal.

    He said what he did was not illegal and he had decided to speak out after the News of the World failed to compensate him in July.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/08/news-of-the-world-private-detective

  106. A media enquiry, then increasing negative press and TV on Abbott, Abbott the coward runs away and his polling fortunes, already very low, go south.

    And there are those who say the media has no influence on people’s political perceptions.

    I said a long time ago that Abbott only got away with the nonsense and constant lying because the media rarely pulled him up or held him to account for his stunts and statements, and that the day they started to would be the beginning of the end for Abbott.

    If he every has to go beyond three word slogans and electioneering stunts two years or more outside of an election he’s a lost soul like a fish out of water flopping around, mouth gaping and closing with staring unblinking eyes not able to know what to do next.

  107. Mobius,
    I think Abbott expected to bring the government crashing down in the first months of this term and he couldn’t manage it.
    Now he’s become a liablility with the brain explosions and blurts on economic matters….he’s now becoming a liability, he’s a loose cannon and rapidly becoming the fifth wheel !

    Peter Reith and several heavies of the big business unions have been commenting lately and I think Abbott’s head will spin when he gets back from London.

    Who will be the next Liberal leader?

  109. Why is Reith back after all these years. Please do not forget, the man was not the most honest of politicians.

    Surely he is and should be yesterdays man. He has his chance to mess things up.

    What do we have in the Coalition. A handful of MP’s from the past, as well as some newcomers that leave must to be desired.

    The only voices being heard are those of the far right and extremes.

    Where are the moderates of yesteryear.

    Around Mr. Abbott we have glimpses of Mr. Hockey, competing with Mr. Robb and Mr. Turnbull.

    Mr. Turnbull who appears to have dropped his beliefs to stay in the game. He does not ring true anymore.

    The that surround Mr. Abbott, are Morrison, Bernard, Pyne and Mirabella, along with Bronwyn Bishop. We must not forget the doe eyed Julie Bishop.

    In the Senate it is worse. There is Abetz that lead the charge of Birmingham and a clutch of very nasty young women.

    I ask again what is the Coalition made up of and what do they represent.

    Who is in line to replace Mr. Abbott.

    I do not believe it is Mr. Turnbull as much as he would like the job.

    Surely not Mr. Robb.

    Who. Are there any that are less frightening that Mr. Abbott.

    I fear that there is not.

    When looking at where the Liberal party is now, it is not about who we are seeing up front, but those who are keeping themselves well hidden.

  111. Pip
    As News know who all the victims are, you think they could do a public service and do the notifying themselves.

    As I read Ms Brookes has a city office supplied by Rupert, it could give her something to do.

    I can imagine the phone call

    Hello Mr/Ms X you may not know me but I know all about you. Rupert would like you to lodge a claim for our intrusion on your privacy. Money does matter so we will give you a token amount to save you the bother of engaging those pesky lawyers, and we could tell you a few stories about lawyers, but I digress,….

    lol

  112. Sue

    lol so true you have the start of the conversation down to a T.

    Offer money and bury the truth, the natural way to do business after being found complicit in illegal dealings of any shape.

    Imagine if this was a government department, the hysteria in the Murdoch group would have been beyond venemous to downright septic.

  113. No Luna, it is a popularity contest. Being popular does not automatically make one right.

    Or electable, CU. I was reading comments on the latest Annabel Crabbe fluff last night and the cheerleaders, while making a valiant attempt to press the Liars Party meme of T*H*E L*I*E, were drowned out by government supporters.

    The tide is turning and Canute’s feet are being splashed. Hopefully, he’ll soon be up to his neck! I think it’s significant that it’s being picked up that he cut and run after the Clean Energy bills passed the Senate to avoid questions from the msm. About f*ckn time!!!!

    Back in track, this and this from The Power Index.

    http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/dynasties/notw-hearing-set-to-test-rupert-s-would-be-heir/20111108682?utm_source=The+Power+Index&utm_campaign=770ce7d363-The_Power_Daily_9_Nov_2011&utm_medium=email

    http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/circles/he-s-baaack-so-what-s-rupert-been-up-to/20111109685?utm_source=The+Power+Index&utm_campaign=770ce7d363-The_Power_Daily_9_Nov_2011&utm_medium=email

  114. And don’t ever dismiss Downer and his influence in the dept..

    Sue, I would never be surprised to find Lord Downer’s sticky paw prints all over some underhanded Liars Party goings on.

  115. Exactly, and in Australia this same organisation has relentlessly and ruthlessly pursued our Prime Minister and the Greens because they want a change of government.

    They’re like the Inquisition, Pip. They want to bring back the comfy chair of Liars Party complicity in handing them even more media power and control in this country.

    It must have been a body blow when our girl negotiated the deal with the Indies. That’s when he real vitriol started to flow. She must be the strongest woman in history; not a sign of crumbling under the incredible pressure she has endured for the last 18 months.

    We have a PM of the highest quality steel, and I for one am extremely grateful!

    Sue, it’s evident that the ABC needs to be bunged in an industrial washing machine. Even the OO is tentatively reporting on its owner’s misdeeds.

    The ABC need not be afraid of opposition bullying, they and their attack dogs in shock jock world are being exposed and their power is crumbling. It’s time to have a spine implant and get back to what the ABC used to do best; report the news fearlessly and truthfully.

    No more political party talking points and board stacking by government. It’s high time that the board be selected independently and without fear of political interference.

    I said a long time ago that Abbott only got away with the nonsense and constant lying because the media rarely pulled him up or held him to account for his stunts and statements, and that the day they started to would be the beginning of the end for Abbott.

    As we’ve all been saying and getting nowhere, ME. How many times have we had the smug, lying excuse that the government is too incompetent to get their message out?

    And how many times have we seen the msm let Liealot and the Liars Party make the most outrageous statements and tell the most egregious lies (think BER & HIP and the smearing of Peter Garrett for starters) without scrutiny?

    And they’ve had the gall to say the government is useless at communicating “their narrative”, ffs! I wonder how those critics would go getting their “narrative” or “message” out if it was plain ignored or manipulated until it lost all meaning?

    I guess they’re starting to find out, now that the Murdochracy’s grip on disseminating information is loosening! I’d like to see Anal and his fellow lying shock jocks explode on air. That would be satisfying.

    And doesn’t it warm the cockles to see and hear Liealot’s cowardice andlack of substance being exposed at last?

    CU, Phone Card has been behind the scene for some time fashioning SerfChoices Mk III. It’s no surprise. As Sue and several others have observed, the Liars Party and their cheerleaders thought they had it made when a mere woman assumed the PM mantle.

    Not for the first time did they underestimate our wonderful girl. Like a lioness, she has steadfastly stood up to a bunch of scraggly lions trying to usurp her position and has beaten them every time, with both hands tied behind her back at times! And her colleagues have stood fast, too.

    Not to mention the Independents, whose integrity and honesty is writ large.

    CU, Turnbull is not just yesterday’s man, he’s last week’s man, being used to wrap up the scraps for the bin. God knows who the Liars Party can replace Liealot with: they are all so compromised by their blind adherence to Liealot’s destructive tactics, now stripped bare and exposed for the hollow fraud they are.

    Sue @8.57am, roflmao!

  116. It is amazing how our useless PM is able to deal with new issues each day.

    The PM does this while being busy on the world stage, attending parliament and getting contentious legislation through at will.

    The PM also manages to talk to the people at the same time. The PM at the same time, manage to visit the troops.

    Unlike Mr. Abbott who can only manage one issue at a time.

    He can attack the clean energy bill or attend a conservative do, hosted by his mate in the UK. Notice, he could only manage one issue.

    Can anyone enlighten me why the tide is turning. Nothing has happened, as far as I can see for this to be occurring.

    That is the only change.

  117. And Jane,CU

    I just hope that our press sit up and watch the respect to the Office that the american journos give when addressing their president.

    The “juliar” and “she” should disappear from their journalistic skill level.

    President Obama has to deal with the Republicans and his own Democrats trying to get through legislation. For goodness sake he couldn’t even get through a jobs package.

    And here in Australia we have a Prime Minister. who had to negotiate her way to a minority government. Through fierce opposition she has delivered the biggest reform to our Nation, all within a year. And that is only part of the story. Her list of achievements is extraordinary ( and someone needs to write about that).

    So press sit up and notice I am certain that others can see what you chose not to. Observe the respect and realise the value of Prime Minister Gillard.

  119. Sue are you still watching. Reality TV.

    ” You must be the first maffia chief in history, not aware you where running an criminal empire. ” or words to the effect.

    This is how a one politician of James Murdoch finish his questioning.

    Sorry, he does not sound truthful.

    PS

    Sorry not empire, but enterprise.

  122. “Through fierce opposition she has delivered the biggest reform to our Nation, all within a year”

    You mean the biggest millstones around our necks don’t you.

    The only thing extraordinary she has done is rack up debt faster than anyone else in recent times.

    Worst PM for ages.

  125. I’ve been thinking of an adjective to describe young James, and ‘slick’ seems appropriate…

    ‘Allo ‘allo….Herr Flick

  126. Tweets on #hackgate

    * julieposetti Julie Posetti

    I’ve been offline & out of the news loop today due to work/family commitments – has the #Hartigan #hacking Q been asked by an Oz journo?

    ** julieposetti Julie Posetti

    Q: “Is #Haritgan’s resignation in anyway connected to #hacking or unethical conduct in Australia?” @LouiseMensch. JM pleads no knowledge

    ***mikestuchbery Mike Stuchbery

    James Murdoch implores the panel, ‘Please, don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like it when I’m angry.’.

  132. Tom Watson, has had his phone hacked, followed by private investigators, and had his emails hacked, rubbished in smart arse News international editorials.

    Thank goodness he has had enough of the mongrel in him to keep on the trail of, in his words a “mafia organisation”.

  133. Murdoch was trying awfully hard to say Tom Crone is the one to blame, I might have been the boss, but i asked nothing, i was told nothing and only because it was suggested by someone that it would be a good idea to throw a lot of money at an old closed case, that i said i will leave it to someone to decide.

    now that sounds convincing.

  134. hi pip and roswell

    i was a bit engrossed by the evidence and had to swap from tv to computer.
    will be fun to read about today

    nil
    you are predictable, so am i
    the end

  136. Hi Sue, I couldn’t watch on tele, he annoys me too much, and sooo slick …
    he must have been practising his lines for weeks.

    I listened on News Radio instead. and there will be lots to read today for sure.

    Tom Watson has been relentless and he won’t give up till he gets his quarry …
    I hope.

  137. pip
    i must try and work out what/who is the quarry, for watson.
    when you think how extensive the victims list is.

    interesting point Mensch who was gentle with them last time, is fed up . wants the company to be proactive in admitting the scope of activities, rather than seeing it in the guardian.
    but that will never happen

    good night

  138. I think the rule might be don’t tell me. then I do not know.

    I am sure that James has ensure that he is told nothing, while knowing all the time what is going on.

    James made sure no one told him the facts. He did not want to know.

    He did not want copies of the what the silk said. He did not read it.

    .
    .

  139. “……………..”News International chief James Murdoch has rejected suggestions the company operated like the Mafia over the phone hacking scandal.

    During questioning by MPs, Labour’s Tom Watson suggested its UK arm had adopted the “omerta” code of silence.

    Mr Murdoch said that was “offensive and not true” and said he was not made aware in 2008 that phone hacking went beyond one rogue reporter.

    He also said two former executives had given MPs “misleading” evidence.

    The clash with Mr Watson, who has pursued the company over the phone hacking scandal, came halfway through the two and a half hour session.

    Mr Murdoch repeatedly told the committee he had not been made aware of details suggesting phone hacking went beyond Clive Goodman – the former News of the World royal reporter jailed in 2007 – when he authorised a large out-of-court settlement to footballers’ union leader Gordon Taylor in June 2008.

    Mr Watson asked if he was familiar with the code of “omerta” – where people “bound together by secrecy” pursued their objectives “with no regard for the law” and suggested that was “an accurate description of News International in the UK”.

    Mr Murdoch replied: “Absolutely not. I frankly think that is offensive and that’s not true.”

    The MP said the company was facing a series of allegations around hacking and told him: “You must be the first mafia boss in history who didn’t know he was running a criminal enterprise.”
    …………..”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15660023

  141. Pip, having worked in the PS, I know this type of thing goes on. You can find it , managers and others often go by the rule of need to know.

    It is an embarrassing place to be sometimes.

    You get fobbed off with we do not need to know all the unnecessary details etc.

    If one knows all those unnecessary details, they have to act.

  142. Reith was the same when the navy attempted to point out to him, the photos where taken after the boat sunk.

    Did he not demand the time be taken off the.

    There where many things that staff did not tell Downer, Howard and other ministers.

  143. CU,
    the question about the 10,0000 pound limit on spending was interesting;
    without permission, apparently, payments of 150,000 and 300,000 were made.

    Who would risk their job by doing that?

  144. The Safecom website at one stage had photos taken by the sailors showing that Reith had not been entirely truthful.

  145. Police have 300 million News International emails
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15679784

    Scotland Yard is wading through 300 million News International emails as part of its investigation into phone-hacking at the News of the World.

    The new Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, revealed the figure to journalists when asked about the scope of the inquiry.

    He said 600 phone-hacking victims had been interviewed by police out of a total of 5,700 potential victims.

    Sir Bernard said the inquiry had so far cost £3m in salaries alone.

    “There’s a balance between doing it properly and doing it quickly. The criticism in the past was that we didn’t do it thoroughly and that is what we are going to do this time,” he said.

  146. Murdoch’s action this week in this country makes one wonder what he is scared of.

    Taking over personally after 30 years makes one wonder.

    We have radio station going broke.

    Things are a changing.

  150. I believe it was the sievx that led to a decrease in the boats. Just as the Christmas Island disaster did.

  154. An interesting question to James last night. As a long term employee/journalist of the Sun has been arrested for phone hacking, if more phone hacking cases emerge at the Sun will you close ( or possibly sink) the Sun.

    And from his answer that is entirely possible.

  155. Neil, where did we talk about conspiracy. I said along with the Christmas Island tragedy, led to a lowering of the numbers coming by boat.

    The sievx was loaded with women and children because they seen no other way of joining there men folk because of the temporary visas.

    As for the conspiracy theory, there are still many unanswered questions.

    As for Christmas Island, both the PM and Mr. Bowen have said they do not want to experience another similar tragedy

    Neil if you believe so, convince me it will work. The experts and those in the field say it will not.

    Do not waste my time, saying it worked before. That is not an answer.

  156. This article is a good insight into the emerging evidence of the depth to email hacking. There are problems for both father and son given their statements on the issue
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/10/news-international-email-hacking

    “James Murdoch was mistaken when he told MPs that he did not believe News International had, to date, admitted liability for any kind of computer or email hacking, the Guardian can reveal.

    The executive chairman of News International told the committee he “didn’t think” the company had engaged in computer – as well as voicemail – hacking.

    But evidence exists to prove that not only has the News of the World previously been forced to admit liability for hacking computers and illegally accessing emails, but that it continued to engage in criminal behaviour long after promising that all illegal activity on the newspaper had ceased.”

    “But both James and Rupert Murdoch are, according to Watson, guilty of “misleading parliament and their shareholders”. He said: “Rupert failed to give the full picture to shareholders at the recent AGM in America – while James’s denials today, whether deliberate or inadvertent, leaves him with yet more questions both to answer and hanging over his credibility as a business leader.”

  158. Thanks Sue. got a little off thread talking to Pip..

    James was not impressive last night.

    What is his father up to in this country.

  159. Now doesn’t this sound familiar, or do some in Australia have a glass jaw.

    ‘He displayed contrition for News International’s response to the Guardian’s initial revelations in July 2009 about the extent of hacking at the paper. “The company pushed back too hard,” he said. “At various times during this process – and I am sorry for this – we moved into an aggressive defence too quickly.”

    He added News International had displayed a “tendency for a period of time to react to criticism or allegations as hostile or [motivated] commercially or politically”.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/10/james-murdoch-myler-crone

  160. This is disturbing and our politicians should take note.

    “The Tory MP Louise Mensch went on to make the remarkable claim that all the members of the committee had at one time been placed under surveillance by NI.

    He apologised to MPs for the company’s decision to use a private investigator to place MPs under surveillance – which he said he learned about a few weeks ago – and said that was “just not acceptable”.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/10/james-murdoch-phone-hacking-myler-crone

    This goes to the UK’s “fit and proper test”. For Australia at present it actually goes to the Australia Network tender.

    How many countries would invite in a media organisation that has had private investigators follow and report on its own politicians for doing work of the government?

    Can our politicians be assured that they are not under surveillance, for doing committee work as set up by the Parliament?

    And all those leaks!

  161. CU

    Yes exactly what is dad up to ? as we can see from what tom watson has divulged, dad has been less than open with his shareholders.

  162. CU

    Stay with me here CU, thinking about Murdoch senior and actions that happen pretty quickly .

    An area the media in Australia may like to investigate. Is there any comparison of action to the resignations/retirements of Les Hinton and John Hartigan.

    As a start, both men were long time employees and close friends to Murdoch snr,, held very senior positions, retired promptly..

  164. Yes, Sue. What is he up to? We played with the idea on the Open Thread that he might be trying to retrieve his reputation here in his homeland, but more and more it feels like he’s retreating behind the Castle walls. Is he trying to shore up what defences he has here, ditching anyone whoever might weaken this last stand? With his reputation in tatters world wide this may have seemed like a reasonably safe haven, but all at once with the Right not winning on the political front and and with the government pressing ahead with its media enquiry he’s having a tough time.

    And isn’t that great to watch!

  165. patriciawa

    and in the usa there could be even greater problems, as they have rules on behaviour of corporations in foreign countries.

  166. Might I say that today is a special day for a very special lady. From we here at the Café Happy Birthday Patricia. This one came you mind, you being a lyrics person too.

  170. Pip

    have you seen the UK placards

    “Get rid pf the Murdoch Mafia”

    It makes you wonder how those types of placards will affect the advertising dollars

  171. Many thanks for that lovely song, Min. Catching up, what do you mean no pretty words – your thoughts and commentary are always beautiful to read as are those of everyone here who has kept the faith and maintained the rage!
    The recent rage, I mean, about Abbott and his bastardry! But of course 11/11/75 is very much in our thoughts today too.

    As you can imagine I’m having a more than usually happy day today, and with my family around me, plus the good news for Julia Gillard and her government I am on cloud nine!

  172. Sue,
    I haven’t had a chance today to catch up so your input is much appreciated 🙂

    From yours @ 8.37am we moved into an aggressive defence too quickly.”

    Mmm, they’ve been very quick off the mark with their aggressive attacks on our Prime Minister and others as well !!

  173. Pip

    the best question tom watson put to james was

    i am going to take a particular line of questions so i have to ask
    Are you under arrest?

    That really shocked JM he said definitely not, but the look on the face was utter surprise. It was how can anyone think i have done something wrong. i am james murdoch.

    happy reading

  175. Sue,
    Tom Watson must have enjoyed the next bit about James being free to answer all the questions, no excuse to avoid answering questions !

  179. POWER FAIL
    Nil-nil: ‘Mafia boss’ Murdoch convinces no one
    Paul BarryFriday, 11 November 2011

    http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/power-fail/nil-nil-mafia-boss-murdoch-convinces-no-one/20111110696?utm_source=The+Power+Index&utm_campaign=2c7abb5993-The_Power_Daily_11_Nov_2011&utm_medium=email

    James Murdoch utterly failed to convince British MPs last night that he is telling the truth about the News of the World phone hacking scandal. But neither did he run up the white flag, accept he’d lied to parliament or admit he’d been caught red-handed.

  181. patriciawa
    what an interesting article. A must read for every Labor pollie

    “What the politicians are frightened of is not newspapers that switch support between parties, but newspapers that stir up trouble inside the government. There is plenty of evidence that the thing that really turns off voters is a divided party.
    This is the real secret of Murdoch’s power: he knows he can provide an unrivalled platform for internal rivals to incumbent politicians.

    You can see this in the way Murdoch does his business back in Australia, where he has a near monopoly of the press (he controls more than 70% of titles).
    If newspaper ownership translated into block voting, this would enable him to fix every election. But he can’t – Australian elections tend to be close, and don’t always go the way of the Murdoch press. What he can do is destabilise any government once it is in power

    Two years ago, the Murdoch press helped bring down the Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd by rubbishing him and talking up his internal party rival, Julia Gillard. This nearly cost Labor the election (since the Murdoch press then became a platform for Rudd’s plentiful grievances about his treatment),

    So now the Murdoch press is doing its best to talk up her most plausible internal rival, and spread any rumour it can find about her imminent demise. The name of this rival: Kevin Rudd.”

    There is so much more to this article, a good read

  182. patriciawa

    A disturbing part of the article with a current comparison in Australia is the intimidation factor against judges

    “thought he was meant to consider the evidence and come to a conclusion. But when he came to his conclusion, he got completely monstered by the newspapers. He is still licking his wounds.” No one who has chaired an inquiry since has wanted to repeat that experience.
    The reason this matters is that the future of press regulation is on hold until Lord Justice Levenson delivers his inquiry’s report into phone hacking. The judge will need to be brave.”
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/11/best-frenemies-politicians-press

    The comparison is our media inquiry. Before it had even started the Murdoch press was attacking Matthew Ricketson , this from the Australian

    “A LIBERAL frontbencher has questioned the independence of the media inquiry, querying what he has called the “incestuous” relations between inquiry member and journalism academic Matthew Ricketson and the Greens.
    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/lib-mp-claims-bias-by-media-inquiry-member/story-e6frg996-1226191917981

  183. That was a worthwhile read, Patricia (and Sue). It was refreshing alone in that an influential British journal could acknowledge what the Australian media are loathe to accept. That the Murdoch media was the unstoppable force that brought down Rudd.

  185. “That the Murdoch media was the unstoppable force that brought down Rudd”

    Now i know you are deluded. It was the ALP who brought Rudd down. They could not stand his leadership anymore. The guy was a control freak unsuitable to being PM.

    It is amazing how blind to are to the faults of Rudd. i would suggest you would only have to work for Rudd for a couple of days before you would resign.

    And his election shows how bad our media is. They supported him all the way in 2007.

  186. News International ‘fully admitted’ liability for email hacking

    NoW accepted liability over allegations from Sienna Miller which included that her private emails had been opened

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/10/news-international-email-hacking

    But evidence exists to prove that not only has the News of the World previously been forced to admit liability for hacking computers and illegally accessing emails, but that it continued to engage in criminal behaviour long after promising that all illegal activity on the newspaper had ceased.

  188. Could Murdoch’s News Corp be behind Climategate too?

    http://www.grist.org/climate-energy/2011-07-19-could-murdochs-news-corp-be-behind-climategate-too

    There have been countless independent investigations into the scientists whose emails were hacked in November 2009. And the scientists have been (quietly) vindicated every time.

    But we still don’t know who hacked the emails! And now we know that one of the key investigative bodies tasked with tracking down the hackers — Scotland Yard — was compromised at the time.

    How were they compromised? Neil Wallis — the former News of the World executive editor — became a “£1,000 ($1,613) a day” consultant to Scotland Yard in October 2009. Last week, he became the ninth person arrested in the metastasizing News Corporation scandal “on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to section 1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977.

  189. BSkyB Placed on ‘Alert’ by ABI Amid Murdoch Concern, FT Says

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-12/bskyb-placed-on-alert-by-abi-amid-murdoch-concern-ft-says.html

    British Sky Broadcasting Plc has been placed on amber top alert by the Association of British Insurers, the Financial Times reported, without saying where it got the information.

    The ABI’s alert highlighted good-governance failures in the BSkyB board’s composition and concern about executive retention bonuses, the London-based newspaper said.

  190. News of the World lawyer Tom Crone expected to face censure

    Parliamentary committee likely to characterise James Murdoch as ill-informed rather than mendacious

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/11/news-world-crone-censure?newsfeed=true

    The parliamentary committee investigating phone hacking at the News of the World is expected to heavily criticise Tom Crone, the paper’s former lawyer, when it publishes its report into the affair.

    Highly placed Westminster sources said Crone was likely to be severely reprimanded by the Commons culture, media and sport select committee over his failure to fully answer questions about surveillance carried out by the paper when he gave evidence in September.

  194. I think this bloke from the Institute of Public affairs is also deluded

    The best way for the right to win culture wars is to privatise them
    by: James Paterson From: The Australian November 11, 2011 12:00AM

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/the-best-way-for-the-right-to-win-culture-wars-is-to-privatise-them/story-e6frgd0x-1226191849227

    THE best way for prime minister Tony Abbott to win the culture wars might actually be to withdraw the government from them. One of the greatest criticisms conservatives have levelled at the Howard government is that it failed to win the culture wars, despite its 11 1/2 years in office and many other successes.

    Log In…I didn’t bother…

    .

  196. It seems the chickens are coming home to roost. The phony war looks to becoming to an end.

    I think from now on we well see the real thing.

    The media has pulled back into it’s shell on this country. It appears to be making it self a small target.

    It is time for the whistles to start blowing. I noticed James drew a line in the sand, blowing his staff. They now have nothing to lose and much to gain.

    One thing for sure, it is dangerous to ship your records to a country, such as India to save money.

    Neil, you do know you have proved the allegations being made. Murdoch supported Rudd on 2007. Rudd won. Murdoch turned against him in 2010 and he lost the PM job.

  199. Min, you would not be suggesting a certain Opposition leader is the source of all those Rudd and the PM is in trouble rumours. That could not be true.

    You know that Neil knows for sure that you only have to be in Mr. Rudd’s company for a couple of days to know how impossible he is.

    I never knew that Neil worked in close company with Mr. Rudd. He must have, because we know he would not tell lies or exaggerate, would he.

    “It is amazing how blind to are to the faults of Rudd. i would suggest you would only have to work for Rudd for a couple of days before you would resign.”

    Of course Mr. Abbott is beyond reproach on all levels. Never have we had such a great Opposition Leader. He is faultless.

  200. CU, it was tongue in cheek. That is, the MSM frequently quotes ‘unnamed sources’ in it’s attack against the government the inference being that the leaks are coming from within the government. But are they?

  201. Bolt’s site. Bolt has printed the story because it is not Murdoch.

    Bolt does not seem to realise, most are demanding an enquiry into the media, all types and ownerships of media.

    Most want it to go beyond Murdoch. Murdoch is no longer a problem, as his networks are being investigated in depth.

    Personally I do not believe the disease is confined to Murdoch. There is just to much private information printed not to suspect that information is come to by dishonest means.

    Years ago , a listening device was found outside Kidman’s home. Why would this be one off.

    “Embarrassing if true – which the paper denies:

    POLICE have launched an investigation into allegations reporters from Fairfax’s The Age newspaper illegally hacked into an ALP electoral database

    Detectives from the VicPol E-Crime Unit headed by John Manley executed a search warrant on the ALP’s King St headquarters in Victoria on Thursday morning.

    The warrant ordered Labor to surrender material relating to unauthorised access to the party’s Eleczilla database during last year’s state election and named reporters Royce Millar, Nick McKenzie and the newspaper’s editor-in-chief Paul Ramadge and senior editor Mark Baker….

    The database, which Labor is legally allowed to hold, contains personal details of millions of people, including names, addresses, telephone numbers and marital statuses as well as any confidential dealings between individuals and the party.

    Among the high-profile people allegedly searched from inside The Age were radio broadcasters Neil Mitchell and Jon Faine, pollster Gary Morgan and Yarra councillor Stephen Jolly.

    “The Age ran very hard against News of the World in England earlier in the year and, if through this criminal investigation they are caught with their pants down doing the same thing, they need to take a really hard look at themselves,” a horrified Mr Jolly said

    Luckily the paper is not owned by Rupert Murdoch, or this would be a real scandal.

    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/anti_murdoch_paper_searched_by_police

  202. Min, I am sure they are not. Especially when they mention Mr. Latham or Richardson.

    If you were MP, would you be talking to them, unless you wanted to launch a false rumour.

  203. Pip @1.40am

    That headline

    Hacking police find ‘bombshell’ emails: Now detectives may want to question James Murdoch

    Puts the first question by Tom Watson into context. He first asked JM if he was under arrest, and JM although saying no was horrified by the assumption.

    Oh Pip this investigation just keeps on giving. i do like the last paragraph from the article

    “Mr Murdoch confirmed he had not been detained for questioning by police, but informed sources say that will change in the coming weeks. One source told the Mail: ‘It is possible the most shocking revelations in the phone-hacking scandal are yet to come.”

    So much for the Tory MP Mensch asking Murdoch to please release all further evidence, as our own Telegraph has proved it is much better as an attack to have continuing headlines.

    Imagine the headline if an another arrest is made, identity unknown, but believed to be a man aged 38 going on 39.

  207. As their empires crumble, many tyrants prepare a safe haven to flee to. Perhaps Rupert will discover that he still calls Australia home after all & arrange the country to his specifications.

  209. Min and Catching up, comedy sketch 😀

    Catching up @ 3.47am
    Noticed the Labor sources also seem to have dried up in the last week or so.

    Min @ 6.03am
    CU, re “Labor sources”, he was overseas in London on Friday…

  210. POWER MOVE
    Murdoch’s News won’t hand over documents

    http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/power-move/murdochs-news-wont-hand-over-documents/20111113700?utm_source=The+Power+Index&utm_campaign=435a9c3dd6-The_Power_Daily_11_Nov_2011&utm_medium=email

    Well fancy that. News International lawyers have told Colin Myler’s lawyers they will not hand over business diaries and emails that might corroborate the former News of the World editor’s claim he showed the notorious “For Neville” email to James Murdoch in 2008.

  211. Pip
    that should help the pollies on the committee, as they did ask JM if he would release the diaries. and of course he side stepped that issue.

  217. Sue,
    Key met John Banks, the leader of a rival party, at a cafe in Auckland on Friday afternoon. They have formed an alliance to fight a general election later this month.

    After speaking briefly to reporters in the cafe, they asked for them to leave. But Bradley Ambrose, a freelance cameraman, left a microphone on the table and recorded an eight-minute conversation between the men.

    He handed the tape to the Herald on Sunday, The newspaper reported that the recording had been inadvertent.

    It said it had sought legal advice to see whether it could publish the conversation but decided against it on ethical grounds, given that the conversation was private.

    ethical grounds…after setting it up …what about ‘illegal’ ..

  219. Phone hacking: ‘nearly 30 NI staff named in Glenn Mulcaire notes’

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/14/phone-hacking-ni-staff-glenn-mulcaire

    Leveson inquiry hears details of investigator’s work for News of the World, and suggestion he may have worked for Daily Mirror

    The names of 28 News International employees appear in notebooks belonging to Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the News of the World, the Leveson inquiry into press standards heard on its first day at London’s high court.

    Lord Justice Leveson’s inquiry also heard that Mulcaire wrote the words “Daily Mirror” in his notepad, which suggests he may have carried out work for the paper.

  220. POWER FAIL
    News Int may have spied on MPs while Murdoch was in charge

    http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/power-fail/news-international-put-mps-under-surveillance-while-james-murdoch-was-in-charge/20111114704?utm_source=The+Power+Index&utm_campaign=5993f4fb5c-The_Power_Daily_15_Nov_2011&utm_medium=email

    If I were James Murdoch I would stop reading the papers, so bad is the daily wrap about his family’s awful News of the World.

    The latest shocking allegation is that the Murdochs’ British flagship, News International, carried out covert surveillance on MPs from the House of Commons culture committee in 2009 when they first began investigating illegal phone hacking by the paper. According to respected media commentator, Roy Greenslade, the newspaper used private detectives to trail “every member” of the select committee for three to 10 days.

  221. Pip

    and in the following, were families and friends followed. and all the reports from the following where are they, who has read them, who holds ownership, and on and on it goes

  222. Pip, Sue and others

    Thanks for sniffing out the links each day, it makes it so much easier for me to follow the latest updates to this despicable organisation while working at my business ( which doesn’t phone tap or undertake covert surveillance of its customers ) as well.

    Thank you

  224. Murdoch and his Union bashing is only for use in headlines it appears, not when a Union is used to cover reprehensible conduct.

    Leveson Inquiry: Private detective told to become a journalist after hacking scandal broke

    He alleges that a senior News of the World executive told him he had to “stop being a private detective” and join the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) after police arrested journalist Clive Goodman in 2006, the Leveson Inquiry was told.

    NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said Mr Webb approached the union after the News of the World was closed in July following public outcry over the hacking of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s phone.

    Ms Stanistreet told the inquiry in an opening submission: “Mr Webb was hired as a private detective by the News of the World and carried out surveillance for the company for many years.

    “However, he alleges that, in the wake of the arrest of the paper’s royal editor, Clive Goodman, he was taken aside by a senior executive on the News of the World and told he had to ‘stop being a private detective and become a journalist’.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/leveson-inquiry/8893962/Leveson-Inquiry-Private-detective-told-to-become-a-journalist-after-hacking-scandal-broke.html

  226. Sue, thanks for the link,

    Analysing the entrails of Rupert’s Australian visit
    http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3676812.html

    While John Hartigan will lead the News Ltd delegation appearing before former Federal Court judge Ray Finkelstein at the Independent Media Inquiry in Sydney today, the circumstances of his sudden departure are still causing waves.

    Hartigan’s complete departure in two weeks follows a long campaign by Lachlan Murdoch and other family members to have Murdoch family primacy restored to News Corp’s Australian operations.

    As Lachlan and his father strolled along Bondi Beach together last Saturday morning, it looked like a case of “mission accomplished”.

  227. Apart from the different inquiries happening a group of litigants have been trying to get information out of NI. They had a win in the high court, at least 3 areas of interest:

    ‘The claimants, who also include Paul Gascoigne and football agent Sky Andrew, will also be handed copies of any documents that show whether a private detective, Derek Webb, placed them under surveillance.

    They also won an order forcing Clive Goodman, the News of the World’s former royal editor, to hand over documents relating to an unfair dismissal complaint he made to the company in 2007 after he was sacked in the wake of being sentenced for hacking into phones belonging to members of the royal household.

    News International has already searched for those documents but said they could not be found.’
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/18/phone-hacking-witch-hunt-news-international

    NI also agreed to hand over any instructions it issued to HCL Technologies, a company based in India which managed the company’s email archive, to delete data, which it did on nine separate occasions.’

  228. Phone hacking: Steve Coogan compares NI to a ‘protection racket’
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/18/steve-coogan-protection-racket

    Actor, who will give evidence to the Leveson inquiry next week, says News International uses negative coverage as a weapon

    Steve Coogan has compared News International to a “protection racket” that uses the threat of press intrusion to ensure it is allowed to “conduct business unencumbered by scrutiny or regulation”.

    The actor, who will give evidence to the Leveson inquiry into phone hacking on Tuesday, is one of dozens of people suing the former owner of the News of the World in the high court for allegedly hacking into his mobile phone messages.

  231. Sky recruits board members to see off investor revolt

    http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2063415/Sky-recruits-board-members-investor-revolt.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

    BSkyB has appointed a French banker and City fund manager to its board as the satellite giant battles to ward off a shareholder revolt.

    Martin Gilbert, the boss of Aberdeen Asset Management, and Matthieu Pigasse, a senior advisor at investment bank Lazard, will join Sky as non-executive directors after the annual meeting on November 29.
    They will replace long-standing board members Allan Leighton and David Evans, who are stepping down in the wake of the collapse of News Corp’s bid to take full control of Sky.

    The appointments come as Sky seeks to prevent an investor rebellion over chairman James Murdoch’s handling of the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World.
    Lobby group Pirc this week urged investors to vote against James Murdoch’s re-election to the board at the AGM.

    Shareholders are welcome to invest their money, but don’t presume to give advice please !

  234. Of course we can trust evey word Murdoch says.

    “…………MEDIA baron Rupert Murdoch and former prime minister Malcolm Fraser exchanged secrets, including intelligence information, in efforts to politically destroy Labor leader Gough Whitlam.

    Documents released by the National Archives, including a personal file compiled by Murdoch and notes of Fraser’s attorney-general, Bob Ellicott, show that the media magnate and prime minister worked together on Murdoch’s biggest personal scoop – a front page revelation in The Australian of February 25, 1976, that Whitlam had secretly sought a massive election campaign donation from Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Baath Party.

    What was called the Iraqi Money Affair was a political sensation that nearly cost Whitlam the Labor leadership in humiliating circumstances……

    ….. Fraser’s and Murdoch’s political attack on Whitlam faltered when it was wrongly reported that Whitlam had actually received funds from Iraq and Fischer fled to the US, leaving the publisher to settle a large defamation claim……..”

    Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/the-plot-to-get-gough-20111118-1nnia.html#ixzz1eAU12qOq …………….”

    Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/the-plot-to-get-gough-20111118-1nnia.html#ixzz1eASJSNxJ

  235. Cu, Of course we can trust evey word Murdoch says.

    It will be interesting in another 25 years to see what Howard and company got up to !

  236. With thanks to Keith Warren via Boycott Network 10 and their Ultra Right-wing Andrew Bolt show:

    I thought that his comment on The Age article is ripper…

    ‎”In a subsequent collection of his columns, published by the Herald Sun and titled Still Not Sorry, Bolt thanked “the Murdoch family, all of whom not only believe in free speech, but in very expensive speech, too. They’ve had to put big money where my mouth is when I’ve hit trouble, yet have given me both the support and the freedom I so value.”

    Since then, the likes of Gina Rinehart, James Pac…ker and John Singleton have joined Rupert Murdoch’s benefaction. They, too, have given Bolt the freedom he so values to espouse the views they so value, especially those on poker-machine reforms, the mining super-profits tax (“a meat axe to our mining industry”) and the carbon tax (“the most brazen fraud”).”

    http://www.theage.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/i-dont-have-to-fear-insulting-people–20111121-1nptc.html#ixzz1eKFd0u2GSee More

  240. McCann ‘violated’ by NOTW publication of diary
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-24/mccann-felt-violated-after-diaries-reprinted/3690344

    The mother of missing girl Madeleine McCann has described how she felt violated by the publication of her diary in Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World without her permission.

    Appearing at the Leveson inquiry into Britain’s phone hacking scandal, Kate McCann spoke of the trauma of learning that her diaries had been published in the now defunct tabloid.

  244. Added commentary of the O’Chee statement in the UK press the Guardian. Just adds another dimension to the story of power and influence of Murdoch.

    “A former politician has stepped up his allegations that News Corporation’s Australian media business tried to bribe him to vote against a change to media law.

    Former Australian senator Bill O’Chee accused Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son, Lachlan, of being aware of elements of the conversation when the offer was made”
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/25/lachlan-murdoch-allegation-political-bribery

  245. No affair, just phone hacking, inquiry told
    http://www.smh.com.au/world/no-affair-just-phone-hacking-inquiry-told-20111124-1nvd7.html

    …the football association boss, Gordon Taylor, said the tabloid newspaper intercepted a voicemail message from a football association lawyer thanking Taylor for speaking at her father’s funeral.

    “Thank you for yesterday, you were wonderful,” the message said.

    A journalist then “added two and two and made 84” and reported that the pair were having an affair, Mr Lewis told the Lord Justice Leveson-led inquiry in London yesterday.

    “If it hadn’t been so sad, it would have been funny,” he said.

  246. Leveson inquiry: Christopher Jefferies ‘forced into hole in the corner by press’

    Joanna Yeates’s former landlord says he was ‘shamelessly vilified’ and PCC did not acknowledge request for action

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/28/leveson-inquiry-christopher-jefferies?CMP=twt_fd

    Christopher Jefferies, the retired school teacher caught up in the Joanna Yeates murder case, has told the Leveson inquiry that he was forced into a “hole-in-the-corner existence” by the hostile press coverage that followed his arrest at the end of 2010.

    The 66-year-old, who was released without charge, told the hearing into press standards on Monday that he was “shamelessly vilified” by string of tabloid articles in December and January that he said were “a mixture of smear, innuendo and complete fiction”.

    Jefferies said that “press freedom had been allowed to excuse licensed irresponsibility” and that “the search for sensation and increased sales will take almost any risks knowing that the penalties available are unlikely seriously to hurt them”.

    Therein lies the problem for victims of the Murdoch minions/mongrels,
    hefty fines are not a problem for ol’ moneybags.

  247. Immediately afterwards, Lord Justice Leveson responded to him to say that the consequences were “worse than that because besides doing that it was creating a picture of you, which was extremely damaging and potentially abusive to any proceedings”.

  250. Leveson inquiry: Anne Diamond ‘targeted by Murdoch press’

    TV presenter says she faced vendetta after she asked mogul how he slept at night knowing his papers ruined people’s lives

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/28/leveson-inquiry-anne-diamond-murdoch-press?newsfeed=true

    Broadcaster Anne Diamond has claimed at the Leveson inquiry that Rupert Murdoch’s editors waged a vendetta against her after she asked the media mogul how he slept at night knowing his newspapers ruined people’s lives.

    The former TV-am presenter told Lord Justice Leveson that the Sun ran an article headlined “Anne Diamond killed my father”, offered her nanny £30,000 for a story and infiltrated the hospital where she was giving birth by impersonating a doctor.

    She also spoke at the Royal Courts of Justice in London of her distress when the paper published a front-page picture of her and her husband carrying the coffin of their baby son Sebastian at his funeral in 1991.

  251. Computer hacking , Operation Tuleta, first stories emerging

    “The former Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain has been told by the Metropolitan police that they are investigating evidence that his computer, and those of senior Northern Ireland civil servants and intelligence agents, may have been hacked by private detectives working for News International.
    The suggestion that the minister’s computers, containing sensitive intelligence material, may have been compromised is the most serious sign yet that newspaper malpractice extended far beyond the hacking of mobile phone voicemail, into the realm of other electronic data.
    A spokesman for Hain would not directly comment on the news of recent contacts between him and the police but said: “This is a matter of national security and subject to a police investigation so it would not be appropriate to comment.”
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/28/peter-hain-computer-private-investigators

  252. This sure is an understatement

    “Tom Watson, a member of the culture, media and sport select committee and a campaigner against phone hacking, said: “Phone hacking is one thing, but targeting the computers of ministers with high-security clearance takes this police investigation to another level. It also raises questions for News International about whether its management were aware.”
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/28/peter-hain-computer-private-investigators

    I wonder if computer hacking was on Hartigan’s brief?

  253. Sue, the public are entitled to wonder, given the overt support for the Coalition and distaste for anything to do with Labor.
    Big Harto denied the Abbott election campaign although it’s been on all year, so his denials of hacking or any thing else are suspect IMO.

    Let’s see what appears in their crappy papers about Mr. Slipper for example.

  254. .British Inquiry Is Told Hacking Is Worthy Tool

    LONDON — He admitted that he and his colleagues hacked into people’s phones and paid police officers for tips. He confessed to lurking in unmarked vans outside people’s houses, stealing confidential documents, rifling through celebrity garbage cans and pretending that he was not a journalist pursuing a story but “Brad the teenage rent boy,” propositioning a priest.

  255. Chris Bryant: BSkyB used details from phone hacking to aid lobbying

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/8924350/Chris-Bryant-BSkyB-used-details-from-phone-hacking-to-aid-lobbying.html

    News Corporation passed information obtained by hacking to BSkyB to help it “advance its commercial interests”, Chris Bryant, the Labour MP has claimed.

    Speaking at BSkyB’s annual meeting, where James Murdoch suffered a severe loss of support as chairman, Mr Bryant said he thought Tessa Jowell’s phone had been hacked for months when she was Secretary of State for Culture, as part of a process of “fear and favour” designed to secure favourable terms for the broadcaster in a “lobby-acious” culture.

    “My contention is that [hacking went on] not just to get a story for News Corporation but to advance the commercial interests of BSkyB, because it was an act of intimidation and harassment of someone that might be making decisions

    “I believe that members of this [BSkyB’s] board had access to some of that information [obtained by hacking] at News of the World,” he said.

  257. Guardian Journalist Gives Testimony on Hacking Scandal

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/11/29/guardian-journalist-gives-testimony-on-hacking-scandal.html

    Guardian journalist Nick Davies, who has led the newspaper’s investigation into the Rupert Murdoch hacking scandal, describes a “culture of bullying” on Fleet Street. Plus, more updates from Tuesday’s testimony.

    Nick Davies is no friend to the Murdoch family. It was snooping by The Guardian’s investigative journalist that first uncovered the scale of the phone-hacking scandal at the family’s News of the World tabloid in Britain and put James Murdoch, boss of the part of the company that oversees its British newspapers, in front of a parliamentary inquiry to defend himself.

    Today it was Davies’s turn to give evidence. And the Murdochs won’t have liked his depiction of their operation. Speaking at the Leveson inquiry into journalistic ethics set up by the government in the aftermath of the hacking revelations, Davies told of “a culture of bullying” in some Fleet Street news organizations.

    He told how he had managed to speak to a “loose assembly” of between 15 and 20 former News of the World journalists about hacking but only on condition of strict anonymity, and that his sources had been afraid of more than just losing their jobs. “The fear is real,” he said.

  260. Leveson inquiry: Nick Davies, Paul McMullan and Richard Peppiatt appear

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2011/nov/29/leveson-inquiry-nick-davies-paul-mcmullan-live?CMP=NECNETTXT8187

    • Former News of the World deputy features editor brands Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks ‘the scum of journalism’
    • Hacking Milly Dowler’s phone was ‘not a bad thing’
    • ‘Privacy is for paedos,’ says McMullan
    • He describes Brooks as “criminal-in-chief” in relation to hacking
    • Car chases when Princess Diana was alive were ‘great fun’
    • The Guardian’s Nick Davies alleged News of the World journalists intercepted messages on Milly Dower’s phone
    • He described private investigator Glenn Mulcaire as a ‘brilliant blagger’ but said he only acted as ‘facilitator’
    • He said he no longer supports self-regulation of the press
    • Ex-Daily Star reporter claims he was asked to make up stories
    • Claims he was threatened for speaking out

  264. Phone hacking: Andy Coulson downsizes to the countryside

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8926170/Phone-hacking-Andy-Coulson-downsizes-to-the-countryside.html

    Andy Coulson, the former editor of the News of the World, has put his £1.5 million home in south London on the market.

    Coulson had been paid substantially more when he worked for the Conservative Party — some reports put his salary as high as £475,000 — and there was some ribald comment that his reward for getting the party into government was a pay cut.

  265. Alastair Campbell: phone hacking ‘possibly’ revealed Cherie Blair’s pregnancy

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/30/alastair-campbell-cherie-blair-leveson

    Tony Blair’s former spin doctor tells Leveson inquiry lifestyle consultant Carole Caplin could have had her phone hacked

    Alastair Campbell has submitted evidence to the Leveson inquiry saying he believed it was “at least possible” that a story about Cherie Blair’s pregnancy published by the Daily Mirror was obtained by phone hacking.

    Tony Blair’s former communications director told Lord Justice Leveson that Cherie’s friend and lifestyle consultant Carole Caplin had contacted him since his draft statement to the inquiry was leaked at the weekend to tell him her phone had been hacked and she suspected this may have been how private information about the Blair family found its way to newsdesks.

  266. Don’t this beat all….

    Show trial of tabloids a threat to press freedom
    by: Brendan O’Neill From: The Australian December 03, 2011

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/show-trial-of-tabloids-a-threat-to-press-freedom/story-e6frg6ux-1226212620490

    ALL those people who thought the post-News of the World Leveson inquiry into press ethics would be a proper inquiry, coolly and neutrally interrogating a specific problem, must be feeling pretty stupid right now.

    Because it is becoming increasingly clear that Leveson is, in fact, a show trial of the scummy tabloids, a public forum in which every posh celeb and snooty broadsheet journalist will be given a couple of hours to sound off about the red tops.

    Mr. O’Neill appeared on Q+A a few months ago.
    .

  267. As a bit of a laugh
    When Rupert married Wendy, and dudded the 13 year old Charlotte out of her fee, they were married on his yacht. The name of yacht Morning Glory.
    Isn’t that so tabloid tacky, however he sold that yacht to Silvio Berlesconi.

  269. Former Metropolitan police chief John Yates hired by Bahrain to reform force

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/03/john-yates-bahrain-police-force?CMP=twt_gu

    Police chief who quit amid phone-hacking scandal will overhaul Middle East kingdom’s force, after critical report

    Former Metropolitan police assistant commissioner John Yates, who resigned from his post in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal, has been appointed by Bahrain to oversee reform of its police force after reports of human rights abuse.

  271. It appears that this lazy and useless government intends to ensure that all pay their taxes. No discrimination allowed. Funny, they believe all should pay.

  272. The Power Index
    Media Maestros

    8. Lachlan Murdoch
    He’d love to be a mogul, when he gets rid of those training wheels. Now MD of Channel Ten, he’s finally shaping the media landscape

    http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/media-maestros/lachlan-murdoch?utm_source=The+Power+Index&utm_campaign=3320937813-The_Power_Daily_7_Dec_2011&utm_medium=email

    Lachlan is currently managing director of Channel Ten, and a 9% shareholder in the commercial TV network, (thanks to his old mate, James Packer). He also owns 50% of the Nova/Classic Rock radio group DMG Australia, which he bought for $110 million in 2009, and nearly 10% of regional TV player, Prime. On top of these, he remains a director of News Ltd, despite having quit the race to be Rupert’s heir in 2005.

    There’s no doubt he also has a big say in what Australia’s media looks like. It was Lachlan who dumped Channel Ten’s struggling news show, 6.30 with George Negus, along with the early news bulletin, and cut 60 jobs from the network. And it was Lachlan who hired right-wing warrior Andrew Bolt for Sunday mornings, to the delight of fellow shareholder and mining billionaire, Gina Rinehart.

  274. It looks as though Rupert, to save James, has decided it is time to dump Rebekah.
    “Rebekah Brooks personally negotiated a £680,000 out-of-court settlement with the publicity guru Max Clifford
    In a letter to MPs investigating the phone-hacking scandal, lawyers representing Rupert Murdoch’s media empire laid responsibility for the settlement with Mr Clifford in 2010 at the door of Ms Brooks, saying she brokered a verbal deal with the PR expert which was not put before the NI board.”
    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/brooks-links-to-clifford-payment-cast-doubt-on-her-hacking-denials-6273819.html

  276. Sue at 2.53
    ‘Aint it grand to watch, as each level & then each individual is abandoned?
    It may come down to either Rupert or James being the only person in all of Ltd News being the only innocent party.

  278. I do not remember seeing this in the msm when the tender for Australia Network was active.

    “If Sky had triumphed, we would have had to contend with the shadow of Murdoch’s record as a foreign broadcaster.

    Rod Tiffen reminds us that at the time Murdoch was keen to expand his business in China and the BBC was on the nose with the authorities in Beijing, the great British public broadcaster was suddenly dumped from Rupert’s Star TV and replaced with a music channel.

    Murdoch also gave guarantees to the Mahathir regime, allowing it to block any material in Malaysia it didn’t like on Star.”

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/how-ruddtv-came-unstuck-and-why-its-just-as-well-aunty-kept-the-gig-20111208-1ol9x.html#ixzz1fyUuZHVO

  279. Sue, can you just imagine it. Murdoch in charge of how the Chinese perceive Australia. I haven’t been following this issue as closely as I should but, I assume that part of the broadcaster’s brief would have been to report on Australia’s political scene. Murdoch’s bias against the Labor government passed on as factual information to the Chinese?

  280. And is “Star TV” running a commentary on phone hacking, email hacking, police corruption in the UK. Still if James was sent to look after Star TV, the Chinese do have a certain way of determining a “fit and proper” test for business executives.

  282. Rupert Murdoch Lobbies Congress To Restrict Internet
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/07/rupert-murdoch-stop-online-piracy-act_n_1135452.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

    WASHINGTON — News Corp. honcho Rupert Murdoch threw his weight behind Congress’ attempt to restrict the Internet, personally lobbying leaders on Capitol Hill Wednesday for two measures that purport to combat piracy.

    Murdoch’s media empire is among some 350 large corporations that have come out in favor of the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House, as well as the Protect IP Act in the Senate.

  283. Pip

    The (pirate) murky empire it will be seen in coming weeks has illegally hacked emails. so murdoch decides to personally lobby leaders, i can imagine him introducing himself and possibly saying.
    don’t worry congressman i know everything about you and because of that i know you will support me.

  284. And why we are lucky that the govt acted on Austalia Network. It also ties in with “personal lobbying”

    “Rupert Murdoch attended No 10 Downing Street for a previously undisclosed second meeting with David Cameron in July 2010 in the period immediately after his company launched the controversial bid to take over satellite broadcaster BSkyB
    The prime minister also attended the News International summer party and the separate Times CEO summit in June 2011. During that period, Murdoch was in the final stages of bidding for BSkyB.”
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/dec/10/murdoch-cameron-meetings-bskyb-bid

  285. The truth may come out if Crone is disbarred

    “Mark Lewis, one of the lawyers at the centre of the phone-hacking scandal, has called on the Bar Council to end the career of News International’s former legal manager Tom Crone by “disbarring” him.

    A formal complaint from Mr Lewis has been lodged with the Bar Council claiming that Mr Crone engaged in activity which aimed to destroy the reputation of an opposing lawyer, and that he lied to the Commons committee investigating phone hacking when he told MPs earlier this year that he hired a freelance journalist to spy on Mr Lewis and his former legal associate Charlotte Harris. ”
    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/top-news-of-the-world-lawyer-should-be-disbarred-6273818.html

  286. Sue, our government did the right thing in keeping the Australia Network in Australian hands.
    As you said there is much more to come out of the Leveson Inquiry and our government would have looked like prize fools if they’d given the contract to the old foreigner.

  291. The latest in the ongoing saga surrounds the confidential payout by NI to a former Home Secretary. Now this person is a friend of Brooks and has a job with News publications. But the bigger issue is that his mobile phone was hacked when he was an MP, the Home Secretary, so it possibly involves National security.

    “The former Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett has accepted a “substantial” pay-off in a secret deal after his mobile phone was hacked by the News of the World.
    Mr Blunkett was forced to resign as Home Secretary after the News of the World revealed he was having an affair with a married woman,
    Labour MP Tom Watson said yesterday: “It is extremely disappointing that David Blunkett, as both an MP and a former home secretary, would choose to do a secret deal rather than give comfort to victims who don’t have his power to come forward at the time Parliament was chipping away at this scandal.

    “His testimony would have been helpful in shedding light on the company’s attempts to keep the lid on it all
    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/david-blunkett-secretly-accepted-payoff-6275514.html

  292. So at the oo the chief operating officer, macourt is gone. will we know if this has anything to do with the “retiring” of hartigan or the review by harigan of the murdoch empire australia?

  293. Sue, Blunkett and MacPherson et al would not have imagined the approaching Leveson Inquiry when they took the money and ran!

  294. Sue,
    will ltd news have to ‘defend’ their ‘plotting’ and scheming’ re-shuffle of henchos,
    sorry, honchos?

  295. Met police chief’s rediscovered diaries reveal meals with NoW executives

    Lord Stevens’ diaries catalogue dinners at the Ivy with Rebekah Brooks and meetings with Andy Coulson

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/dec/12/met-police-chief-diaries

    The Metropolitan police commissioner and the editor of the News of the World dined together at the Ivy while murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler was missing, official diaries show.

    Lord Stevens met various senior executives from national media while he was Britain’s top police officer between 2000 and 2005, according to his once-lost diaries.

  298. From the in house lawyer:

    “The former legal affairs manager of the News of the World has told the Leveson inquiry he gave News International legal advice about phone hacking as far back as 2004.”
    And in the previous article Murdoch who did and didn’t read an email paid out a huge payout on another story and yet there was still 1 Rogue reporter.

    “Later Crone admitted that emails sent by the paper to two women involved in the Max Mosley sex exposé came close to “blackmail”.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/dec/13/tom-crone-legal-advice-phone-hacking

    The “Fit and Proper” test seems a likely proposition for the Murdoch empire in the UK.

  300. “Glenn Mulcaire told the chief lawyer at the News of the World in 2007 that he was instructed by Ian Edmondson, the title’s former news editor, to intercept voicemail messages, a court has heard.

    Ben Williams, the lawyer acting on behalf of the private investigator, told a high court hearing on Tuesday that “Mulcaire told Tom Crone in 2007 that it was not just Clive Goodman but Ian Edmondson who had been tasking him with interception”.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/dec/13/ian-edmondson-glenn-mulcaire-hacking

  301. Now how long will it take the australian media to realise that James Murdoch, by his own email, knew of phone hacking in 2008.
    Now what was his evidence in June 2011?
    Now James knew in 2008 but he didn’t tell Dad?
    Now what was Dad’s response in 2011?

  302. In the UK the other day was the story that police now think that NOW may not have deleted Milly Dowler messages on her phone. News ltd featured the story but here is an article they will not run:

    “A senior NoW executive, who later denied to a parliamentary committee all knowledge of illegality, wrote to Surrey police at the time specifically admitting Milly’s phone had been hacked.

    The senior executive, who the Guardian is not yet naming for legal reasons, demanded on 20 April 2002 that police co-operate with the tabloid’s theory that Milly was still alive.”
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/dec/13/milly-dowler-phone-hacking-story

  303. Sue, you were asking only yesterday morning “how long will it take the australian media to realise that James Murdoch, by his own email, knew of phone hacking in 2008.”

    James Murdoch’s repeated assertion that he was never shown evidence that phone hacking at his company went beyond a “rogue reporter” was dramatically undermined last night. An internal email that he was sent, suggesting hacking was “rife” at the News Of The World and talking of a “nightmare scenario” of multiple victims, was released by a Commons committee.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/email-trail-leads-to-james-murdoch-6276624.html

  305. Min
    from your link, this shows the Murdoch company was aware and misled the uk parliament
    “The Labour MP Tom Watson, a leading member of the Media Select Committee, said: “This shows that Colin Myler raised his serious concerns about the Taylor case with James Murdoch. It shows the external lawyer to the company believed that Gordon Taylor sought to prove Parliament was misled. How can the company have just found this important email trail?”

    Why would the company be any different in australia?

  307. AntonyG, I know what the penalty under the Westminster System if an elected representative misleads parliament but haven’t yet been able to find any reference as to the penalty for a private individual. I’ll work on it…

  308. Min, is it seen as contempt? I think it is jail in this country if one refuses to answer questions. Witness are warned when they appear before Senate Hearings that if they lie, there are penalties.

    Mr.Murdoch was also reminded when asked the questions during the hearings, when he was asked if he wanted to reconsider his answer.

  309. CU, I honestly don’t know on this one as due to the Separation of Powers Doctrine, a parliamentary enquiry is not the same as a court of law. Yes, I believe you are right but am not certain about the UK.

    One that I do know is that the person would not be able to sit on Boards etc due to failing the character test. But unfortunately this is about all that I can offer on this one.

  310. Min, I agree with you on your other comment, why would they behave any different here.

    The only reason I can think of, is that they have our politicians in their pockets and do not have to.

    I think it is disgusting that each new PM high tails it to the USA and Mr. Murdochs office.

  312. The five named against PM Gillard are Garrett, Bowen, Carr, Martin Ferguson and McCLelland. That is according to Garrett.

    Why would Garrett being supporting Rudd, when it was he that allowed Garrett to be sacrificed in the Insulation fiasco.

    Carr might be a little unhappy.

    One never knows with Ferguson, but he is unlikely to have support of others.

    It is said that Bowen asked to keep immigration. He seems to have support of the PM.

    I see no reason for McCLelland to be unhappy.

    The truth is that no matter if Mr. Rudd did desire his job back, it is unlikely to happen.

    I fail to see that Mr. Rudd is so dense that he believes it will happen.

    Mr. Rudd will go out with the reputation of being a first class FM. He may even achieve his long held goal of a position in the UN. The reality is he has nothing to gain by challenging the PM.

  313. Antony G at 9.15
    Mr Abbott may be able to assist you there. The penalty for misleading Parliament is much greater than that for misleading the ABC & by implication its viewers. We have his word for it. I think you’re in serious trouble if you’re sprung.

  315. BSA Bob,
    That was my feeling to. In spite of what Min said, I think that misleading parliament could include a jail term. There are some very unhappy people out there who want to “do” the Murdochs. Every single “exclusive” trawling the gutters, every single piece of scandal “exclusively released”. That’s one fkn lot of enemies.

  316. I was listening to Cassidy, ABC 24 and it was discussed that they increased to fortnightly this year and according to Cassidy it was a good call. He went onto say that News Poll would have increasing influence this year.

    Maybe he is wrong

    I went back and checked.

  317. “How James Murdoch’s phone-hacking cover-ups went belly-up
    The latest phone-hacking emails show James Murdoch has shifted his story repeatedly and sought to blame subordinates
    ………..

    Quite apart from the moral and legal failures, James’ poor decision-making will plainly end up now costing News Corporation’s shareholders much more – many tens of millions. The company’s immediate financial liability remains literally incalculable, for the lawsuits and the lawyers’ fees continue to mount”
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/14/james-murdoch-phone-hacking-cover-up

  318. Sue,
    I do like the sound of that, especially the section which you have quoted that James Murdoch’s financial liability is incalculable. For some people only money talks, the only currency that they care about.

  319. AntonyG
    this is what i have found

    “In British parliamentary hearings, the witnesses do not testify under oath. Instead, they are obliged to answer “on their honor.”

    If they are found to have lied, not even well-informed media lawyers could predict the consequences: they would earn the contempt of Parliament. It is not clear what the punishment, beyond opprobrium, would be. ”
    ““The trick for this committee is getting comments on the record,” said Brian Cathcart, a former journalist who worked as an adviser to the committee in the past. “They don’t expect to convict and lock up their man but to get people to say things that they will have to stand by.”

  320. Even better AntonyG, but read the full text it starts

    Murdoch could be jailed for “life of the Parliament” if guilty of contempt

    James Murdoch faces a maximum sentence of being “committed to prison during the life of the Parliament” if he is found to have misled the culture, media and sport select committee. Murdoch has effectively been accused of lying by former News of the World editor Colin Myler and ex-NotW lawyer Tom Crone, who claim he was fully aware of the hush money payout to phone hack victim Gordon Taylor.

    http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/07/james-murdoch-contempt-of-parliament-punishments-if-guilty/

  321. Sue, that is why I have been reluctant to make a specific statement on this issue…basically because I haven’t been able to find any precedences on matters such as these. Plenty on parliamentarians being in contempt of parliament and the law both in the UK and Australia is specific..but zilch about private individuals giving false testimony to parliament.

  322. funny thought, if that happened the pressure would be on the LibDems, to stay or not to stay in a coalition with the tories.

  323. Min
    From the leftfootforward link
    “With the maximum punishment, as stated at the top, being jail for the lifetime of the Parliament. The last stranger to be called to the Bar was the late Sir John Junor, former editor-in-chief of the Sunday Express, in 1957.”

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