Murdoch, resign, British Parliament says

This video is called RupertGate: Will Murdoch scandal sink David Cameron?

From the Belfast Telegraph in Ireland:

Rupert Murdoch ‘unfit to lead News Corp‘

By Gavin Cordon and Sam Lister

Tuesday, 1 May 2012

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is not “a fit person” to run a major international corporation, a committee of MPs said today.

In a devastating report into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee accused the News Corp chief of exhibiting “wilful blindness” towards the wrongdoing in his organisation.

It said News Corp had been guilty of “huge failings of corporate governance” and that throughout its instinct had been “to cover up rather than seek out wrongdoing and discipline the perpetrators”.

The report accused three former senior executives of News Corp‘s UK newspaper publishing arm News International – Les Hinton, Colin Myler, and Tom Crone – of misleading the committee during its inquiries into the scandal.

And it said that Rupert Murdoch‘s son James had demonstrated “wilful ignorance” about what had been going on, which “clearly raises questions of competence” on his part.

The most damning judgment was reserved for Rupert Murdoch.

“On the basis of the facts and evidence before the committee, we conclude that, if at all relevant times Rupert Murdoch did not take steps to become fully informed about phone hacking, he turned a blind eye and exhibited wilful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications,” the report said.

“This culture, we consider, permeated from the top throughout the organisation and speaks volumes about the lack of effective corporate governance at News Corporation and News International.

“We conclude, therefore, that Rupert Murdoch is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company.”

The committee was split on party lines over a number of key findings – including the verdict on Rupert Murdoch – with the Tories voting against and Labour and the Lib Dems in favour.

See also here. And here.

David Cameron’s links to the Murdoch empire will be on display this week, says Simon Basketter: here.

The Cameron-Brooks texts begin to leak: here.

Cameron ‘texted Brooks before she resigned over Dowler affair’: here.

PRIME minister Cameron’s former press secretary Andy Coulson yesterday won a ruling that he can appeal against News International’s refusal to pay his legal fees: here.

Pressure mounted for Chancellor George Osborne to attend the Leveson inquiry after it emerged today he had discussed the BskyB takeover bid with Rebekah Brooks at a dinner in 2010: here.

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

The report by the Commons culture, media and sport select committee has found that Rupert Murdoch is “not a fit person to exercise stewardship of a major international company.” It opens up a new stage in the crisis raging at News International and its global parent, News Corp: here.

Don’t cry for Mr Murdoch: here.

Why is the American press not looking into whether Fox and the WSJ were involved in this scandal as well? Three other Murdoch properties were. Reason enough to inquire whether the same thing happened at other Murdoch companies: here.

How Will Murdoch’s U.K. Implosion Be Felt in the U.S.? Here.

A former editor of the News of The World once said: “That is what we do – we go out and destroy people’s lives.” That succinctly sums up the whole career of Rupert Murdoch: here.

Dial M for Murdoch: here.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has emerged as one of the most compromised acolytes of Rupert Murdoch and his media empire: here.