[Update] The News Corp scandal

[denphone]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011...reholders-vote

James Murdoch's future at News Corporation looks increasingly precarious as shareholders delivered a damning verdict on his tenure amid widespread criticism of his handling of the hacking scandal.

A majority of independent shareholders voted against the re-election of chairman Rupert Murdoch's sons James and Lachlan Murdoch. James Murdoch received the largest vote against his re-election at 35%.

Lets hope this is the end of this nefarious character.

The BBC take on the same story

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15440825

A third of News Corporation investors voted against James and Lachlan Murdoch being re-elected to the board on Friday, newly released figures show.
Almost 35% voted against James Murdoch, who is the company's deputy chief operating officer, while 34% voted against his brother.
The vote is seen as a rebuke over News Corp's handling of the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World.
News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch received 14% of "no" votes.

However, despite the level of shareholder dissatisfaction, all 15 nominees to the board were re-elected.

[BenMcr]

Considering the Murdochs hold 40% of the voting stock (I think), I think it's going to take a lot more than that to change anything

The shareholdings of news corp are designed to make it very hard for the Murdochs to lose control of the company. The shareholders may not like this, or the Murdochs, but the company's voting rules are no secret. They knew the way it works when they bought in.

[Welshchris]

I Dont know if this has been posted about Police finding a mobile on the desk of the now defunct NOTW that was used to hack phones between 2004-2006.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10...g_phone_found/

Originally Posted by Welshchris

I Dont know if this has been posted about Police finding a mobile on the desk of the now defunct NOTW that was used to hack phones between 2004-2006.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10...g_phone_found/

I've not seen anything about this anywhere before.Another example of the stellar policing by the Met.

[devilincarnate]

Looks like it is getting deeper and deeper?

Phone hacking by News of the World and Sun journalists was known about by senior executives even as it was being denied, new evidence suggests.

News International documents released by a Commons committee say some journalists carried out illegal practices between 2001 and 2003.

But in 2008 the parent company was denying the practice went beyond one "rogue reporter".

One document suggested the position was "fatal to our case".

The evidence from the Commons committee investigating the scandal shows how the News of the World tried to keep the phone hacking case involving Gordon Taylor - the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association - under wraps.

'Illegal inquiries'
The newly released documents also show a leading barrister warned the News of the World on 3 June 2008 that there was a "powerful case that there is (or was) a culture of illegal information access" at the News of the World.

Michael Silverleaf QC said that the allegations would be "extremely damaging to NGN's (News Group Newspapers) public reputation".

He wrote that there was "overwhelming evidence of the involvement of a number of senior NGN journalists" in "illegal enquiries" into an individual whose name is blanked out.

"In addition there is substantial surrounding material about the extent of NGN journalists' attempts to obtain access to information illegally in relation to other individuals," he said.

"In the light of these facts there is a powerful case that there is (or was) a culture of illegal information access used at NGN in order to produce stories for publication."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15544034

[denphone]

It seems there are far more victims of phone hacking than previously acknowledged.

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.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "It is not possible to give a precise figure about the number of people whose phones have actually been hacked but we can confirm that as of today's date, 3 November 2011, the current number of potentially identifiable persons who appear in the material, and who may therefore be victims, where names are noted, is 5,795. This figure is very likely to be revised in the future as a result of further analysis."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011...victims-police

[denphone]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011...nd-yard-arrest

A 48-year-old man has been arrested as part of Scotland Yard's investigation into alleged payments to police officers by newspapers

Scotland Yard said in a statement: "He was arrested at an outside London on suspicion of corruption allegations in contravention of section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, and is being brought to a south-west London police station."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011...ch-jeremy-hunt

The culture secretary declined an opportunity to throw his support behind James Murdoch's continuing chairmanship of BSkyB, with the minister saying he could not give a settled view until police and public inquiries had concluded

Bryant asked: "Does the secretary of state really believe, with the AGM of BSkyB coming up on 29 November, that James Murdoch is therefore a fit and proper person to be chairing that company any longer?"

Much as it pains me to defend the Murdochs, what happened to "innocent until proven guilty"?

Those who live by the sword, die by the sword, apparently.

[denphone]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/ne...ng-target.html

Former Creation Records boss Alan McGee has revealed that the Metropolitan Police have contacted him to say that his phone was targeted by the defunct News of the World.

Writing in a blog for the Huffington Post, McGee confirmed that he plans to sue the News International newspaper over the alleged hacking

---------- Post added at 16:40 ---------- Previous post was at 16:36 ----------

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011...or-spy-lawyers

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 investigator secretly videoed Mark Lewis and Charlotte Harris as well as family members and associates. Evidence suggests this was part of an attempt to gather evidence for false smears about their private lives.

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.

Now I wonder if he was aware of this..

[denphone]

l have no doubt he was.

[devilincarnate]

Murdoch gave loyal lieutenant Rebekah Brooks £1.7m pay-off, car and office.

Rebekah Brooks, the former News of the World editor who resigned as chief executive of News International at the height of the phone-hacking scandal, received £1.7m in cash, the use of a London office and a chauffeur-driven limousine as part of her severance package from the newspaper group.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011...rebekah-brooks

Then it should be interesting this Thursday?

This round-up of Monday's main media stories reports on the return of James Murdoch to face MPs later this week.

James Murdoch, chairman of News International, returns to Westminster on Thursday to answer questions from the Commons culture, media and sport select committee about his knowledge of illegal activities by his employees. The Guardian says he will concede that more should have been done to investigate, but plans to sidestep any questions about the size of the severance payment made to former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks. The Observer reported at the weekend that she received £1.7m, and the use of an office and a chauffeur-driven car.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15620160

Oh dear?

The News of the World (NoW) hired an ex-police officer early last year to carry out surveillance on two prominent lawyers representing victims of phone hacking, BBC Newsnight has learned.

Derek Webb, who ran a private investigations firm called Silent Shadow, covertly followed lawyers Mark Lewis and Charlotte Harris.

Mr Webb also filmed members of Mr Lewis's family on a shopping trip.

News International, owners of the NoW, said it was "deeply inappropriate".

The surveillance of the lawyers, who have been involved in cases against NoW owner News International, took place during the past 18 months when James Murdoch was executive chairman.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15627609