Under fire
July 19, 2011
Embattled media mogul Rupert Murdoch, his son James and former News International chief Rebekah Brooks face questions from British lawmakers this Tuesday afternoon as the escalating phone-hacking scandal claimed a new political casualty.
The Murdochs are appearing before the House of Commons media select committee to "account for the behavior of News International" in the phone hacking and bribery controversy. The scandal led to the shutdown of the 168-year-old tabloid News of the World and aborted Murdoch's bid to clinch a $12-billion (8.5-billion euro) deal to buy the pay-tv operator BSkyB.
Brooks, who was arrested Sunday and then bailed Monday for her alleged role in phone hacking and bribery, will take the hot seat shortly after the Murdochs.
"We want to know who knew what, and when, and how wide the whole ambit of illegal activity, of which phone hacking was only one part, went, and how far any cover up went," said committee member Paul Farrelly of the opposition Labour Party.
Political casualties
John Yates, the assistant commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, became the second political casualty of the scandal when he resigned his post on Monday. Yates had refused to reopen the investigation into alleged phone hacking at the now defunct News of the World in 2009.
Yates' resignation came just 24 hours after Paul Stephenson stepped down from his post as the head of the Metropolitan Police. Stephenson had hired former News of the World deputy editor, Neil Wallis, as a consultant and accepted a vacation at a spa that Wallis represented. Wallis has been arrested in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has also come under increasing political pressure for hiring former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his press secretary. Coulson, who left his post with Cameron in January, was arrested and then recently released on bail for his alleged role in criminal activity while working at the tabloid.
Cameron has cut short a trade trip to Africa and is set to return to the UK later on Tuesday in order to attend an emergency meeting in parliament on Wednesday. The British prime minister has rejected comparisons between his decision to hire Coulson and Stephenson's relationship with Wallis.
"I don't believe the two situations are the same in any way, shape or form," Cameron told a news conference during his visit to South Africa.
New turn
In another turn to the story, former News of the World reporter Sean Hoare was found dead early on Monday at his home in the north of London. Hoare had previously told the New York Times that the phone hacking was more extensive than News of the World had acknowledged.
"The death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious," police said in a statement. The Guardian newspaper reported that Hoare had a long-time drinking and drug problem.
Rupert Murdoch's best-selling tabloid the Sun came under attack by computer hackers on Tuesday. The front page of the tabloid's website was altered to show a fake report about Murdoch's death.
The hacker group LulzSec claimed responsibility for the cyber attack via twitter post. LulzSec has launched attacks on Sony Corp, the CIA and Fox News in the past.
Author: Spencer Kimball (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Ben Knight / Susan Houlton