Murdoch Sr.: “This country does benefit greatly from having a competitive press.”
Damn. (thanks to all who sent this in)
Update: Now it’s just down. An interesting day in Sun-ville.
I have acted with complete integrity and my conscience is clear. I look forward to the future Judge-led inquiry where my role will be examined in a proper and calmer environment and where my actions will be judged on the evidence rather than on innuendo and speculation as they are at present.Now-resigned Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates • In selected text from his resignation letter. Yates had become embroiled, as a staggering number of people have been, in the phone hacking scandals currently rocking the Murdoch news empire and British civil society. Yates was responsible for declining further investigation into a 2005 phone hacking case, back in 2009. Yates has called that choice a “pretty crap one,” but in his resignation, far less contrition is to be found. His final wish, though, will almost certainly be granted — we reckon the legal end of this scandal will be no less engrossing than the rest of it. source (via • follow)
Right now, police are saying that Sean Hoare’s death isn’t suspicious. And that’s understandable, because he did have problems with alcohol and drugs — so Hoare’s death could easily be related to substance abuse. However, this phone-hacking scandal has gone far and brought down a lot of people — it’s hard not to wonder “What if?” Hoare was one of the first people to implicate Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor and communications director for PM David Cameron, in the scandal, leading to the current chain of events that include NotW’s closure and Coulson’s arrest. source
Follow the latest News of the World and News International updates on my liveblog.
Rebekah Brooks resigns as News International chief: That’s a head rolling, guys. The Telegraph has Brooks’ resignation letter, which includes this line which should give you an idea of where she stands in this mess: “As you can imagine recent times have been tough. I now need to concentrate on correcting the distortions and rebutting the allegations about my record as a journalist, an editor and executive.” In other words … she’s gone, but she’s not exactly apologizing.
Gordon Brown speaks: The former Prime Minister has been in the news recently by way of the voice mail hacking scandals rocking a number of News International papers in Britain, The Sun and the Sunday Times now the major duo (to say nothing of the now-disbanded News Of The World). Of particular note, a possible advancement in this story — Brown claims that the papers hired people to dig up his private information who had known criminal records. Just by looking at Brown’s posture and demeanor, it’s pretty clear the toll these revelations have taken on him. source
Rupert takes it all in: Yes, that’s Rupert Murdoch, in London, reading the final issue of News of the World. Murdoch traveled from Idaho to be in London today. (photo by Olivia Harris/Reuters)
The account that tweeted the number, @NOTWjourno, got deleted, but now it’s back … seemingly in someone else’s possession. It’s a bit of sad irony that someone seemingly threw her number on Twitter in retaliation for shutting down News of the World.
From the last issue of News of the World. The image of the final cover is on the screen and a printout is on the desk. (via BreakingNews)
Remember, the scandal involving News of the World isn’t new. It’s been percolating since TONY BLAIR was still in power. Think about that. We’ve known this scandal was a thing for like seven years now, and it took something that reached so far below the belt that it hit the ankles to even get British politicians to take it seriously and criticize it publicly.