Thread: Phone Hacking scandal snowballs

when asked what was his top priority, the 80-year-old media mogul gestured to Mrs Brooks. 'She is,' he replied.

Oy oy oy, What's goin' on 'ere then?

she probably wear a strap-on and fuck him in the ass, or the other way around, who knows

Your view of the BBC is shared by some historical figures. When will the BBC set free it's <sic> viewers to choose whether to purchase it's <sic> goods and services, and benchmark of truth?

It may have its flaws, but the Royal Charter protects the BBC from being controlled by politicans and media oligarchs both. Setting it "free" as you say would have the completely opposite effect.

Have you ever watched the amateurish presenters on BBC's shit? Al Jazeera's miles better just in terms of presentation and accuracy, yet it's news is manufactured in a feudal monarchy.

If you are seriously trying to compare The ruler of Qatar's pet TV station with the BBC, I think you have lost any marbles you might have had left.

I'm still waiting for Al Jazeera's in-depth investigation of FIFA's antics, or perhaps a close look at Qatar's economy and how wealth is shared throughout the nation.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

she probably wear a strap-on and fuck him in the ass, or the other way around, who knows

It's not exactly a well kept secret that Rebekah Wade fucked her way up the organisation. Is it?

Originally Posted by OhOh

The truth will be revealed

News International is investigating itself

The Met Police, accused of bodging the first investigation, is again investigating itself

establishment investigating itself.

AFP: Call for News review in Australia after hacking scandal

"Call for News review in Australia after hacking scandal
By Amy Coopes (AFP) – 4 days ago
SYDNEY — The phone hacking scandal rocking Rupert Murdoch's News Corp threatened to spread to Australia Saturday with calls for an official inquiry, which could hurt his play for a major television contract. Murdoch's global News International empire had its humble beginnings in Australia, and the Australian-born media baron is seeking to expand his already vast local holdings with a bid for the public broadcaster's international arm.
Claims that Murdoch's News of the World, Britain's biggest-selling Sunday paper, hacked into the voicemails of a murdered girl and the families of dead soldiers have already cast a shadow over his bid for British network BSkyB.

And a call from Australia's influential Greens party for an inquiry into local Murdoch firm News Limited could put a similar deal for the Aus$223 million Australia Network, an international television service, into doubt........."

A "hanging" judge is what I would recommend.

Phone hacking scandal: News International executives face threat of police inquiry
Senior executives at News International could be investigated by police after the company was accused by detectives of deliberately attempting to thwart the first phone hacking investigation.



Rupert Murdoch, his son James and Rebekah Brooks Photo: AFP/EPA
By Mark Hughes, Robert Winnett and Christopher Hope9:05PM BST 12 Jul 201142 Comments
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, the officer leading Scotland Yard’s new inquiry, yesterday suggested to MPs that the scope of the investigation could be widened beyond journalists at the News of the World to include the “criminal liability of directors”.
Broadening the inquiry could implicate more senior managers at the defunct tabloid’s owners, including James Murdoch, the chairman of News International, and Rebekah Brooks, its chief executive.
The Metropolitan Police yesterday accused News International of “lying” during the original investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World. Senior officers told MPs that Mr Murdoch’s company had deliberately undermined a criminal inquiry, a move that could leave senior executives facing prosecution.
Peter Clarke, the former deputy assistant commissioner of the Met, said: “If at any time News International had offered some meaningful co-operation instead of lies, we would not be here today.”
Meanwhile it emerged that Rupert Murdoch was set to make an unprecedented appearance before Parliament next week. The chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, the parent company of News International, has been asked to appear at next week’s parliamentary hearing, along with his son, James, and Mrs Brooks.

The company said in a statement: “We have been made aware of the request … to interview senior executives and will co-operate. We await the formal invitation.”
Steve McCabe, a Labour MP, asked yesterday whether the police were looking at taking any action under Section 79 of the Regulation of Investigative Powers Act (Ripa) 2000 which covers the “criminal liability of directors”.
Ms Akers replied: “[The CPS] will decide in due course if it comes to that what the most appropriate charges are, and I am sure they won’t confine themselves to one particular part of Ripa.”
Section 79 of the Act says that directors can be prosecuted if an offence “is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a director”.
Last week, James Murdoch admitted agreeing “out-of-court settlements” to phone hacking victims, although he says that he did not have the complete picture when he did so.
Alan Johnson, the former Labour home secretary, suggested this admission could lead to prosecution under the Act.
There were also increasing calls in the United States for the authorities to investigate News Corp for possible breaches of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, under which it is a crime for any American-linked company to bribe foreign officials to obtain or keep business.
Ms Akers also disclosed that more than 12,000 names and phone numbers of victims had now been recovered but that only a small minority had been informed.
She was appearing before MPs alongside four former and current senior officers to answer questions about the alleged failure of the original inquiry.
Mr Clarke, the former head of the Scotland Yard anti-terrorism branch, was handed the phone hacking investigation in December 2005 after members of the royal household suggested their voicemails were being listened to.
Although two men, Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman, were jailed it appears that the criminality ran deeper.
Mr Clarke mounted a robust defence of his investigation, and said he was concentrating on more than 70 alleged terrorist plots. But he added that any failings were due to the obstruction of News International.
He said: “This is a major global organisation with access to the best legal advice, in my view deliberately trying to thwart a police investigation.”
News International declined to comment on the allegations.
Mr Clarke was backed in his attack by Assistant Commissioner John Yates, who has faced calls to resign for his role in the phone hacking investigation. Mr Yates was charged with discovering whether a Guardian article in July 2009 disclosed. Phone hacking scandal: News International executives face threat of police inquiry - Telegraph




Off with their heads! I am sure they could sell that ginger hair as a wig to some bar girl in Pattaya.

Phone hacking: pressure in United States to investigate News Corporation
A powerful Senate committee chairman has said that phone hacking raises "serious questions" about whether Rupert Murdoch's News Corp "has broken United States law".



Ruper Murdoch in Hyde Park with his personal trainer Photo: WILL WINTERCROSS
By Toby Harnden, in Washington10:15PM BST 12 Jul 20116 Comments
The statement by Senator Jay Rockefeller, a White House ally and Democratic chairman of the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee, dramatically raises the stake for Mr Murdoch by signaling potential legal repercussions in America.
"The reported hacking by News Corporation newspapers against a range of individuals - including children - is offensive and a serious breach of journalistic ethics," he said in a statement issued following inquiries by The Daily Telegraph.
"This raises serious questions about whether the company has broken US law, and I encourage the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated.
"I am concerned that the admitted phone hacking in London by the News Corp. may have extended to 9/11 victims or other Americans. If they did, the consequences will be severe."
US ethics earlier on Tuesday called on the Senate and House of Representatives to investigate the parent company of News International and hold “thorough public hearings” on whether the voicemails of Americans had been hacked.

One group has even written to the Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) and the FBI calling for investigations into possible breaches of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Under the FCPA, it is a crime for any American-linked company to bribe foreign officials to obtain or keep business.
Kevin Zeese, a lawyer acting for the group ProtectOurElections.org, said: “Rupert Murdoch moved to the US and became an American citizen in 1985 in order to take advantage of our laws.”
Thus far, Congress is maintaining a watching brief on the issue and waiting for the tide of revelations in Britain to subside.
“We’re keeping an eye on the situation, but are not planning on looking into it at this time,” said Jodi Seth, press secretary of Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate sub-committee on communications.
“For now, all that is certain is that there was hacking in Britain, which is outside of our jurisdiction.”
Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), said that congressional investigations were essential because it was evident there was a culture of corruption within News Corp.
“It’s hard to imagine that the same things have not been happening in the United States.”
The tipping point, she added, would be if it became apparent that the phones of Americans had been hacked.
“Republicans are very tied to Murdoch but not at the expense of constituencies of Americans such as terror victims and soldiers,” she said.
She also noted that Les Hinton, the Dow Jones chief executive, and Robert Thomson, the Wall Street Journal editor, were former senior figures in News International.
A former US government official said that the SEC, the federal regulatory agency that oversees the securities industry and stock exchanges, was very likely to look into whether News Corp had violated the FCPA.
The alleged bribing of police officers protecting the Royal family and a claim by the Daily Mirror that News of the World reporters had also tried to pay a New York police officer to access the phone records of victims of the September 11 attacks could have repercussions on News Corp in the US.
At a minimum, the company could be at risk for violating laws on accurate accounting or reporting if it could be proved there were bribes paid, according to legal experts. News Corp shares trade on the Nasdaq and it files its financial reports with the SEC.
“It’s difficult for enforcement agencies not to look into cases that are so public because a big part of their role is deterrence,” said Alexandra Wrage, president of the firm Trace, which helps companies comply with anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws.
Most of Mr Murdoch’s News Corp empire comprises Fox News, which has widespread reach particularly among conservatives, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and 20th Century Fox, the film studio.
It also has 27 television stations that cover 40 per cent of the country and have to be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission. The licences can be challenged when they come up for renewal. Criminal convictions or making misrepresentations to any government agency could lead to licences being revoked.
Phone hacking: pressure in United States to investigate News Corporation - Telegraph

Originally Posted by Koojo

when asked what was his top priority, the 80-year-old media mogul gestured to Mrs Brooks. 'She is,' he replied.

Oy oy oy, What's goin' on 'ere then?

"She"?

Looks like Mick Hucknell.

Rupert Murdoch to spend £3billion to prop up News Corp's ailing share price
Company has had £4.3bn wiped off its value in the last week
Speculation mounts that Murdoch will relinquish control of the company
City sources say James Murdoch will not take the top job
By SIMON DUKE
Last updated at 12:37 AM on 13th July 2011


Rupert Murdoch is preparing to spend a staggering £3billion in a desperate bid to prop up his scandal-hit media empire.
He will use the cash to buy back hundreds of millions of News Corporation shares, which have fallen sharply in value amid the escalating crisis at his British newspaper division.
More than £4.3billion has been wiped off the value of News Corp since last week due to fears that fallout from the phone-hacking investigation at News International will infect other parts of Mr Murdoch’s business.



Struggling: Rupert Murdoch with his personal trainer, left, and bodyguard in Kensington Gardens in London today


Bad news: Mr Murdoch with his daughter Elizabeth yesterday
Yesterday’s news provided a temporary prop for the sagging News Corp share price, which rose for the first time in five days.
But the ploy is unlikely to placate shareholders, who have become increasingly alarmed at Mr Murdoch’s lax stewardship of the company, in the longer term.
Ministers are also understood to be desperate to find a way to block his bid while trying not to offend the powerful tycoon, who was pictured with his personal trainer in a London park yesterday morning.
BSKYB INVESTORS CONFRONT FALLOUT FROM DEAL DELAY
BSkyB shares have taken a further 3.3 per cent hit today as investors face up to the diminishing likelihood of its buyout by crisis-stricken News Corp. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp effectively triggered the referral of the deal to the Competition Commission yesterday by withdrawing its undertaking to spin off Sky News.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt swiftly handed it over to the watchdog, which will take at least six months to make a decision on 'media plurality' grounds. But Ofcom could still weigh in on the issue too as it is responsible for deciding whether the bosses of News Corp are 'fit and proper' to run a broadcaster.
Political pressure is mounting on the deal, with Labour calling a vote in the House of Commons tomorrow urging Mr Murdoch to withdraw the bid - a motion the Tories and Liberal Democrats have said they will support.
And Mr Murdoch, his son James and News International boss Rebekah Brooks have been asked to appear before the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee next week to give evidence about the hacking and police bribery accusations. Shares in BSkyB closed down 23.5p at 692p today, on top of a 5 per cent drop yesterday.


But News Corp shares are trading up 1% at $15.67 on the Nasdaq in New York this afternoon after it launched a $5billion share buyback in an effort to stabilise the value of the company.
The embattled media giant has been hit with a class action lawsuit by shareholders over claims bosses failed to properly investigate phone hacking at the killed-off News of the World (above).
Speculation is now growing that Mr Murdoch may sell his three remaining UK national newspapers after fresh allegations emerged about News International activities involving the private information of ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Royal family.
City commentators are doubtful that News Corp will be permitted to buy the 61 per cent of BSkyB it doesn't already own following the furore, and have reassessed their positions on the UK pay-TV company.
Credit Suisse slashed its target price from 850p to 650p, predicting BSkyB would move to trading on standalone fundamentals.
'We now believe there is only a 10 per cent chance News Corp's attempt to take full control of Sky will eventually be successful,' it said.
'As well as a potentially significant delay for a Competition Commission review, we believe Ofcom has the power to use its "fit and proper" test to erect an insurmountable barrier to the deal; and that the worst case scenario is News Corp is asked to divest part of its existing 39 per cent stake.'
The bank noted that Sky had just decided to freeze its TV packages in the next financial year, which suggested it anticipated tougher trading conditions in the coming year as UK household budgets come under continued pressure.
Royal Bank of Scotland said it believed News Corp had engineered a delay by getting the BSkyB deal referred to the Competition Commission 'presumably so that opinion cools, and perhaps with a mind to exploring an exit of UK newspapers to focus on BSkyB'.
'NewsCorp’s move keeps the approval process alive, but only just,' it said, but in the meantime investors focusing on the fundamentals at BSkyB would find it in robust shape.
'We forecast 8 per cent revenue growth in 2011/12 despite the (one-year) freeze in subscription prices from September 2011 as the rising penetration of HD, broadband and talk continues to drive average revenue per user (albeit at a slower pace than in 2010/11) and as the subscriber base continues to grow (we forecast it reaching 10.5million by June 2012).'
RBS also floated the idea of a BSkyB special dividend of £2 a share, saying: 'If plan A was the NewsCorp deal, plan B may be a capital return.'
Broker Numis Securities took a more optimistic view of the prospects for the BSKyB deal still going ahead.
'We expect a lengthy regulatory process lasting into 2012, however we believe that, on the basis of media plurality, it will be cleared and remain of the view that a price of 800p-850p is likely,' it said.
'Although we believe the deal will complete, we recognise that the situation with respect to News International and (perhaps more importantly) political expediency remains fluid.'
Numis cut its target price for BSkyB from 825p to 800p and said it viewed 700p as 'a very attractive entry point for the business on fundamentals'.
His business has also been hit by a class action lawsuit by News Corps shareholders over claims bosses failed to properly investigate phone hacking taking place at the News of the World, which was shut down on Sunday.
However, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt's move to delay the Sky bid on Monday afternoon could potentially salvage the deal, which had looked on the brink of collapse in the morning, according to City analysts.
Speculation is mounting that the tycoon may have to relinquish day-to-day control of the company in a bid to draw a line under the crisis – and his son James, who runs all of News Corp’s businesses outside the US, could also come under pressure to stand down as chairman of satellite giant BSkyB.
The past week has severely damaged News Corp’s bid to gain full control of Sky, and may see the media giant forced to sell off part of its stake in the satellite firm.
If it fails Ofcom’s ‘fit and proper’ test, the media regulator could order News Corp to reduce its slice from 39 per cent to 29 per cent.
City sources said James Murdoch’s handling of the crisis has all but shattered his hopes of succeeding his father.
Analysts also said it frees Mr Hunt from a politically explosive conundrum.
If he had blocked the deal, or called in the Competition Commission himself, he could have faced a legal challenge from News Corp.
But if he had waved the takeover through, he risked triggering a wave of public fury.
The investigation will take at least six months.
Senior Lib Dem MP Don Foster, the party’s former culture spokesman, described the move as a ‘ruse’ designed to buy ‘breathing space’.
He added: ‘This is the best Murdoch can do to keep the possibility of the merger on the table.
‘By dropping the News of the World, he can say his involvement in news and current affairs in Britain has actually diminished and argue that the issue of media plurality has disappeared.
‘There is nothing to prevent Ofcom, however, from investigating whether or not the Murdoch empire is fit and proper to own even the 39 per cent of BSkyB it already owns.’
Mark Kelly, at stockbroker Olivetree Securities, said: ‘News Corp is smoothing the way for the Government here – keeping friends in power by making the decision for them.’
Louise Cooper, of City broking firm BGC Partners, said Murdoch had given Hunt ‘some wriggle room’ and avoided a ‘potentially damaging’ confidence vote in the House of Commons tomorrow.
Labour leader Ed Miliband had threatened to force a vote if the Government did not call time on the proposed takeover.
Preventing a parliamentary debate where fresh attacks could have been levelled against his papers was a ‘smart move by an operator who is rapidly taking back control of the situation’, she added.
However, the chances of News Corp buying the 61 per cent of Sky it does not already own have tumbled with each new startling revelation.
Sky shares plunged 5 per cent yesterday and a staggering £2.4billion has been wiped off the value of the satellite giant over the past week.
Alex DeGroote, at stockbroker Panmure Gordon, said the likelihood of the deal going ahead had reduced.
He said: ‘On Friday we cut our probability of the deal going ahead to 50:50 from 90:10 in favour. This seems very optimistic now. Our new assessment is 10:90 in favour. In other words, we believe the deal is all but dead.’
He also raised the possibility of a forced divestiture – sale, liquidation or spin off – of News Corp’s 39 per cent shareholding in BSkyB.
He added: ‘If the “fit and proper” test is applied rigidly by Ofcom and events elsewhere worsen, it could become a factor.’
It is now alleged that as many as 4,000 people had their phones hacked by private investigators working for the News Of The World.
Speculation grew today that the red top would be replaced by The Sun On Sunday after the domain name was transferred to News International from the company who bought it last week.
In a further development this afternoon MPs will vote on a Labour motion urging News Corporation boss Rupert Murdoch to withdraw his bid to take over the whole of BSkyB.
Tomorrow's motion tabled by Labour leader Ed Miliband, who today met the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, states that 'this House believes that it is in the public interest for Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation to withdraw their bid for BSkyB'.
News International also said today it would co-operate after Rebekah Brooks, Rupert Murdoch and his son James were asked to appear before a committee of MPs.
The Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee asked the trio to give evidence about the phone hacking and police payments scandals at a hearing next week.
A spokeswoman for News International, publisher of the News of the World, the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times, could not confirm whether all three would attend the hearing.
But the company said in a statement: 'We have been made aware of the request from the CMS committee to interview senior executives and will co-operate. We await the formal invitation.



Read more: Rupert Murdoch to spend £3billion to prop up News Corp's ailing share price | Mail Online

Brown's war on a 'criminal' empire: Gordon attacks 'disgusting' News International
By JAMES CHAPMAN
Last updated at 12:13 AM on 13th July 2011


Gordon Brown was locked in an extraordinary war of words with News International last night.
In an unprecedented attack by a former prime minister on a leading business, Mr Brown claimed Rupert Murdoch’s media group has ‘links with the criminal underworld’ and accused it of using ‘disgusting’ methods to gain access to personal information.
He said he and wife Sarah had been left ‘in tears’ when Rebekah Brooks, then editor of The Sun, contacted them to tell them she was going to publish a story about his son Fraser’s diagnosis with cystic fibrosis.



War of words: Gordon Brown is locked in a battle with News International after an unprecedented attack on the company in a television interview
Mr Brown also claimed his bank accounts and legal files had been accessed by investigators working for the Sunday Times.
‘News International were using people who were known criminals,’ he said. ‘People who had in some cases criminal records, and... News International as a result were working through links that they had with the criminal underworld.’


But News International hit back last night, categorically denying allegations that The Sun had accessed medical records. A spokesman said: ‘We are able to assure the Brown family that we did not access the medical records of their son, nor did we commission anyone to do so.’
It said The Sun’s story had ‘originated from a member of the public’ who yesterday had provided an affidavit to a lawyer.
‘On receipt of the information, The Sun approached Mr Brown and discussed with his colleagues how best to present it. Those colleagues provided quotes which were used in the published piece which indicated his consent to it.
‘We continue to inquire in to other allegations made by Mr Brown,’ the spokesman added.


Read more: Brown's war on a 'criminal' empire: Gordon attacks 'disgusting' News International | Mail Online

about time someone go after that POS of Murdoch

could be his fall, I am sure he knew of the practice, he has been playing dirty for quite a long time

I understand that money and power corrupts and these rich powerful people will do things like this, it comes with the arrogance of being rich, powerful and corrupt.
but I'm constantly bemused that despite obviously being intelligent on some level, they are so stupid they seemed to think they could get away with this shit indefinitely.

I hope not, but he may still get away with it as far as facing the full force of law.
If he is spending £3 billion to buy his own stock he must also be spending a considerable amount in 'incentives'. I would be surprised if Brookes gets anything more than a token sentence in the UK, and the Murdochs? In jail in the UK?
Unlikely.

The best we can hope for is a victory of sorts, that his power is drastically reduced, and that the relationship between the press, the police and the polititcians is curtailed.

I'm certainly not optimistic about any of those outcomes in the UK.

The real nail in the coffin will come from the US.

And I'm glad to see Australia taking an interest as I think he's rather despised there too.

Originally Posted by Koojo

I understand that money and power corrupts and these rich powerful people will do things like this, it comes with the arrogance of being rich, powerful and corrupt.
but I'm constantly bemused that despite obviously being intelligent on some level, they are so stupid they seemed to think they could get away with this shit indefinitely.

what goes around ,comes around.
are mobile phones deliberately set-up to be hacked ?

How To Hack A Mobile Phone?

I want to receive all the messages which are sent to other number these messages should also come to my mobile phone automaticaly
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First of all there two types of mobile phone hacking; tapping into other people's mobile phone/gaining information from other people's mobile and hacking your own mobile phone.
Hacking into other people's phone is illegal, as it is a breach of privacy, so therefore this paragraph will only briefly outline how tapping into mobile phones work. Mobile phones are more difficult to tap than a land line because they use radio waves to transmit information. You can listen into a mobile phone to mobile phone conversation by using an equipment that allows you to tune into certain frequencies, a mobile phone uses frequencies ranging from 800 MHz to 2 GHz.
Another way to hijack a mobile calls is to make yourself, (the hacker), the local base station. This works by letting the user communicate through the hacker therefore letting the hacker listen to everything. How To Hack A Mobile Phone?

Phone hacking: News International 'holding back evidence of police corruption'
News International may be holding back evidence on the phone hacking scandal which must be disclosed so “corrupt” police can face justice, one of Britain’s most senior officers Sir Hugh Orde has indicated.


Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, has suggested News International is still holding back evidence in the phone hacking scandal
By Murray Wardrop, Mark Hughes and Robert Winnett9:59AM BST 13 Jul 201127 Comments
Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, accused the News of the World's owners of “playing around with legal games” by not handing over information of corruption among police.
Sir Hugh said officers found to have accepted money in exchange for providing journalists with sensitive information should be “locked up” to prevent further damage to the police's reputation.
The Metropolitan Police is investigating whether the Sunday tabloid made illegal payments to serving officers after receiving emails from News International, which allegedly show evidence that senior executives condoned such transactions.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sir Hugh said: "My invitation to News International would be that they step up and produce any information they still have which they think is relevant.
"Let's not play around with legal games here - if they have names, dates, times, places, payments to officers, we would like to see them so that we can lock these officers up and throw away the key, frankly, because any corrupt officer does huge damage to the 140,000 officers that go out every day to keep people safe.
He added: "My sense of it is that it is not something that is endemic or cultural. I think the vast majority of officers would be absolutely outraged that someone in a position of authority with access to privileged information thinks it's right in any way, shape or form to give that information up."
His comments come as it emerged that senior executives at News International could be investigated by police after the company was accused by detectives of deliberately attempting to thwart the first phone hacking investigation.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, the officer leading Scotland Yard’s new inquiry, yesterday suggested to MPs that the scope of the investigation could be widened beyond journalists at the News of the World to include the “criminal liability of directors”.
Broadening the inquiry could implicate more senior managers at the defunct tabloid’s owners, including James Murdoch, the chairman of News International, and Rebekah Brooks, its chief executive.
The Metropolitan Police yesterday accused News International of “lying” during the original investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World. Senior officers told MPs that Mr Murdoch’s company had deliberately undermined a criminal inquiry, a move that could leave senior executives facing prosecution.
Peter Clarke, the former deputy assistant commissioner of the Met, said: “If at any time News International had offered some meaningful co-operation instead of lies, we would not be here today.”
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Rupert Murdoch is set to make an unprecedented appearance before Parliament next week. The chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, the parent company of News International, has been asked to appear at next week’s parliamentary hearing, along with his son, James, and Mrs Brooks.
The company said in a statement: “We have been made aware of the request … to interview senior executives and will co-operate. We await the formal invitation.”
Steve McCabe, a Labour MP, asked yesterday whether the police were looking at taking any action under Section 79 of the Regulation of Investigative Powers Act (Ripa) 2000 which covers the “criminal liability of directors”.
Ms Akers replied: “[The CPS] will decide in due course if it comes to that what the most appropriate charges are, and I am sure they won’t confine themselves to one particular part of Ripa.”
Section 79 of the Act says that directors can be prosecuted if an offence “is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a director”.
Last week, James Murdoch admitted agreeing “out-of-court settlements” to phone hacking victims, although he says that he did not have the complete picture when he did so.
Alan Johnson, the former Labour home secretary, suggested this admission could lead to prosecution under the Act.
There were also increasing calls in the United States for the authorities to investigate News Corp for possible breaches of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, under which it is a crime for any American-linked company to bribe foreign officials to obtain or keep business.
Ms Akers also disclosed that more than 12,000 names and phone numbers of victims had now been recovered but that only a small minority had been informed.
She was appearing before MPs alongside four former and current senior officers to answer questions about the alleged failure of the original inquiry.
Mr Clarke, the former head of the Scotland Yard anti-terrorism branch, was handed the phone hacking investigation in December 2005 after members of the royal household suggested their voicemails were being listened to.
Although two men, Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman, were jailed it appears that the criminality ran deeper.
Mr Clarke mounted a robust defence of his investigation, and said he was concentrating on more than 70 alleged terrorist plots. But he added that any failings were due to the obstruction of News International.
He said: “This is a major global organisation with access to the best legal advice, in my view deliberately trying to thwart a police investigation.”
News International declined to comment on the allegations.
Mr Clarke was backed in his attack by Assistant Commissioner John Yates, who has faced calls to resign for his role in the phone hacking investigation. Mr Yates was charged with discovering whether a Guardian article in July 2009 disclosed. Phone hacking: News International 'holding back evidence of police corruption' - Telegraph

I don't know why they are calling this "phone hacking". All they did was listen to peoples' voicemails because most of them didn't know that you can access your voicemail from a landline and it has a default password which no-one ever changes.

Apparently Piers Morgan thinks he's in the clear even though he was almost certainly involved in listening to Ulrika Johnsson's voicemails which is how the Mirror was able to scoop that she was shagging Sven Goran Uselesscunt - in 2002.

MPs attempted to widen the scope of News of the World phone-hacking scandal yesterday by questioning journalistic practices at rival national newspapers.
The Daily Mirror was again accused of using phone hacking to land its 2002 award-winning scoop on Sven Goran Eriksson’s affair with Ulrika Jonsson, while Labour MP Chris Bryant claimed the NoW was “not the only magician practising the dark arts” on Fleet Street.
Speaking at a Parliamentary debate on phone-hacking yesterday , Lib Deb MP Adrian Sanders claimed “the Daily Mirror, when under the auspices of Piers Morgan, is suspected of using voicemail interception to reveal Sven-Goran Eriksson’s affair with Ulrika Jonsson”.
Sanders did not reply when asked by Press Gazette whether he had evidence to support the claim.
Responding to the allegation today, a spokesman for the newspaper’s publisher Trinity Mirror said: “Trinity Mirror's position is clear. Our journalists work within the criminal law and the PCC code of conduct."
Several other MPs cited the Information Commissioner’s 2006 report on data theft ‘What price privacy now?’, which was written after the Operation Motorman investigation into private investigator Steve Whittamore.
After raiding Whittamore’s home police seized a cache of handwritten records documenting thousands of requests – both legal and illegal – for information from journalists.
They revealed thousands of offences under section 55 of the Data Protection Act had been committed, following requests from 305 named journalists working for a range of Fleet Street newspapers and national magazines.
The subsequent report found that among the “ultimate buyers” for information were “journalists looking for a story”.
No journalist or newspaper was ever prosecuted.
Speaking in the Commons, Bryant said: “In 2006, the Information Commissioner produced a devastating report, ‘What price privacy now?’, which detailed literally hundreds—in fact, thousands—of dubious or criminal acts by journalists or agents of national newspapers: illegally obtaining driving licence details, illegal criminal records or vehicle registration searches, telephone reverse traces and mobile telephone conversions.
“He [the Information Commissioner] listed 1,218 instances at the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday alone, 802 at The [Sunday] People and—I say sadly as a Labour Member—681 at the Daily Mirror.”
The report also revealed that 19 NoW journalists had made 182 requests for information, but it was not only limited to tabloids – The Observer made 103 requests and The Sunday Times made 52.
Tory MP MP Nicholas Soames claimed it was “shameful that the Government of the day did not take action when that report was published”.
MP Paul Farrely added: “Following the latest revelations there has been much talk of a ‘tipping point’ for the press, but we have been at tipping points many times before – for example, with the McCann family – and nothing has changed.
“Above all, for the better of decent journalism in this country, all newspaper proprietors, not just Rupert Murdoch, must look themselves in the mirror and ask, ‘Do I like what I see?’ and, ‘Do I care to change it?’"

BREAKING NEWS: News Corp finally bows to huge public pressure and WITHDRAWS BSkyB bid ahead of debate
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 2:25 PM on 13th July 2011

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News Corp dramatically withdrew its bid for BSkyB this afternoon just hours before MPs were to pass a motion calling for them to do so.
The dramatic announcement came as the News Corp crisis went global after a Senator called for a U.S. hacking probe and the firm's Australian boss ordered a review of all editorial spending.
It emerged today that News International executives have met to discuss selling off their remaining three remaining titles The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times.
But there are no obvious buyers for the papers - and the executives agreed to revisit the issue in six months time, the Wall Street Journal revealed.

Rupert Murdoch leaving his Central London apartment this morning. MPs will debate a Labour motion later today urging the News Corporation chairman to withdraw his BSkyB bid
Today News Corp's Australian branch announced they would investigate all payments they had made for stories over the last three years as the scandal spread.


Read more: News Corp withdraw bid for BSkyB | Mail Online

I was wondering how much it would take to make this happen:

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. (NWSA) dropped a bid to gain full control of British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc (BSY) after U.K. lawmakers demanded the offer be scrapped because of a phone hacking scandal at its newspapers.

“It has become clear that it is too difficult to progress in this climate,” Chase Carey, News Corp.’s Chief Operating Officer, said in an e-mailed statement today. “News Corp. remains a committed long-term shareholder in BSkyB.”

The withdrawal of the 7.8 billion-pound ($12.5 billion) proposed bid for the 61 percent of Britain’s largest pay-TV broadcaster that News Corp. doesn’t already own is blow to the company’s strategy to bolster digital operations and benefit from BSkyB’s rising cash flow. Prime Minister David Cameron’s coalition government had planned to side with the opposition Labour party to vote against the deal today.

News Corp., based in New York, faces accusations that journalists at the News of the World Sunday newspaper hacked into the phones of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler and terror victims and paid police for stories. The allegations prompted Murdoch to close the 168-year-old News of the World tabloid on which his media operations in the U.K. were founded.

BSkyB shares dropped 3.7 percent to 666.5 pence as of 2:22 p.m. in London trading.

News Corp., the owner of the Wall Street Journal and the Fox TV networks and film studios, had sought to defuse the political and media furor over phone hacking by pushing the U.K. government to refer to the bid to regulators, and thus delay the deal by at least six months.
Arrests

In June 2010, the broadcaster rejected the offer from News Corp., asking for the bid to be raised by at least 14 percent. The company’s independent directors said at the time they would be prepared to accept an offer of more than 800 pence a share, higher than the 700 pence a share offered by News Corp.

London police have made at least seven arrests as part of the phone-hacking investigation, including that of Andy Coulson, one-time editor of the News of the World and former communications chief for Cameron. Coulson has denied any knowledge of reporters tapping phones when he led the paper.

Murdoch’s son, James Murdoch, 38, has since 2007 been in charge of News International, the U.K. publishing unit that included News of the World. Murdoch, the non-executive chairman of BSkyB, had formerly ran the satellite company for four years as CEO.
Investigations

In a note to employees to announce the closure of the News of the World on July 7, the younger Murdoch said the company had misled the British Parliament. During hearings in 2007 and 2009, executives including Les Hinton, former News International chairman, and Colin Myler, News of the World editor, said that there was no evidence that more than one reporter had been involved in phone hacking.

News Corp. had been facing at least six investigations over the phone hacking scandal and the BSkyB bid. Rupert Murdoch, his son James, as well as News International CEO Rebekah Brooks have been summoned to appear before lawmakers about prior evidence employees had paid police to get stories.

BSkyB, based in Isleworth, England, on April 28 said fiscal third-quarter operating profit rose 5.2 percent as the pay-TV company added more clients. BSkyB could have helped Murdoch make News Corp.’s newspaper business more profitable by allowing him to bundle newspaper and pay-TV subscriptions and spread content over several media platforms.

Murdoch is leading industry efforts to get readers to pay for online content. He introduced online paywalls at the Times and News of The World newspapers and removed all news content from Google Inc. (GOOG)’s search engine. He also introduced a paid-for iPad news publication called The Daily in tandem with Apple Inc.
Opposition

The BSkyB deal was opposed by a group of U.K. media companies, including owners of the Guardian, Daily Mail and Telegraph newspapers, which say the takeover would have had “serious and far-reaching consequences for media plurality.”

Cameron on July 13 laid the ground for Rupert Murdoch to be summoned to give evidence under oath to a public inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal as he sought to deal with what he called the “firestorm” engulfing media, police and politicians.

Cameron specifically included “proprietors” in the list of people that the inquiry, to be led by Lord Justice Brian Leveson, will have the power to summon. He said the inquiry will be in two parts: a review of press regulation to report within 12 months and an investigation into wrongdoing by press and police. The second part may be delayed by criminal proceedings, Cameron said.

I was wondering what it would take to make this happen:

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. (NWSA) dropped a bid to gain full control of British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc (BSY) after U.K. lawmakers demanded the offer be scrapped because of a phone hacking scandal at its newspapers.

“It has become clear that it is too difficult to progress in this climate,” Chase Carey, News Corp.’s Chief Operating Officer, said in an e-mailed statement today. “News Corp. remains a committed long-term shareholder in BSkyB.”

The withdrawal of the 7.8 billion-pound ($12.5 billion) proposed bid for the 61 percent of Britain’s largest pay-TV broadcaster that News Corp. doesn’t already own is blow to the company’s strategy to bolster digital operations and benefit from BSkyB’s rising cash flow. Prime Minister David Cameron’s coalition government had planned to side with the opposition Labour party to vote against the deal today.

News Corp., based in New York, faces accusations that journalists at the News of the World Sunday newspaper hacked into the phones of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler and terror victims and paid police for stories. The allegations prompted Murdoch to close the 168-year-old News of the World tabloid on which his media operations in the U.K. were founded.

BSkyB shares dropped 3.7 percent to 666.5 pence as of 2:22 p.m. in London trading.

News Corp., the owner of the Wall Street Journal and the Fox TV networks and film studios, had sought to defuse the political and media furor over phone hacking by pushing the U.K. government to refer to the bid to regulators, and thus delay the deal by at least six months.
Arrests

In June 2010, the broadcaster rejected the offer from News Corp., asking for the bid to be raised by at least 14 percent. The company’s independent directors said at the time they would be prepared to accept an offer of more than 800 pence a share, higher than the 700 pence a share offered by News Corp.

London police have made at least seven arrests as part of the phone-hacking investigation, including that of Andy Coulson, one-time editor of the News of the World and former communications chief for Cameron. Coulson has denied any knowledge of reporters tapping phones when he led the paper.

Murdoch’s son, James Murdoch, 38, has since 2007 been in charge of News International, the U.K. publishing unit that included News of the World. Murdoch, the non-executive chairman of BSkyB, had formerly ran the satellite company for four years as CEO.
Investigations

In a note to employees to announce the closure of the News of the World on July 7, the younger Murdoch said the company had misled the British Parliament. During hearings in 2007 and 2009, executives including Les Hinton, former News International chairman, and Colin Myler, News of the World editor, said that there was no evidence that more than one reporter had been involved in phone hacking.

News Corp. had been facing at least six investigations over the phone hacking scandal and the BSkyB bid. Rupert Murdoch, his son James, as well as News International CEO Rebekah Brooks have been summoned to appear before lawmakers about prior evidence employees had paid police to get stories.

BSkyB, based in Isleworth, England, on April 28 said fiscal third-quarter operating profit rose 5.2 percent as the pay-TV company added more clients. BSkyB could have helped Murdoch make News Corp.’s newspaper business more profitable by allowing him to bundle newspaper and pay-TV subscriptions and spread content over several media platforms.

Murdoch is leading industry efforts to get readers to pay for online content. He introduced online paywalls at the Times and News of The World newspapers and removed all news content from Google Inc. (GOOG)’s search engine. He also introduced a paid-for iPad news publication called The Daily in tandem with Apple Inc.
Opposition

The BSkyB deal was opposed by a group of U.K. media companies, including owners of the Guardian, Daily Mail and Telegraph newspapers, which say the takeover would have had “serious and far-reaching consequences for media plurality.”

Cameron on July 13 laid the ground for Rupert Murdoch to be summoned to give evidence under oath to a public inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal as he sought to deal with what he called the “firestorm” engulfing media, police and politicians.

Cameron specifically included “proprietors” in the list of people that the inquiry, to be led by Lord Justice Brian Leveson, will have the power to summon. He said the inquiry will be in two parts: a review of press regulation to report within 12 months and an investigation into wrongdoing by press and police. The second part may be delayed by criminal proceedings, Cameron said.