Brown blasts Murdoch, says UK tabloid undermined Afghan war
Source: Agencies |
June 12, 2012, Tuesday
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FORMER British prime minister Gordon Brown yesterday accused a Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid of personally attacking him, failing the British people and undermining the war in Afghanistan through its coverage of the conflict.
In an often bitter attack on the Murdoch press in testimony to Britain's media ethics inquiry, Brown directly contradicted Murdoch's claim that the then-prime minister had made an abusive phone call to the media mogul in 2009. Murdoch told the inquiry last month that Brown had vowed to "make war on your company" after The Sun switched its support to the Conservatives.
"It didn't happen," said Brown, adding that he had been shocked to hear Murdoch make the allegation under oath. Murdoch's News International fired back, saying in a statement that the mogul stood by his testimony.
Brown is the first in a string of current and former political leaders to appear this week at the inquiry, set up amid a tabloid phone hacking scandal to examine malpractice in the media and ties among politicians, police and the press. Among the issues the inquiry is addressing is whether newspapers have too much power over the political agenda.
Brown told the judge-led inquiry that The Sun newspaper was guilty of "the conflation of fact and opinion" in its coverage of the Afghanistan conflict and of his premiership. He said that instead of covering the difficult decisions facing his government, The Sun had concluded "that I personally did not care about our troops in Afghanistan."
Brown asserted that The Sun's coverage had done "huge damage" to the war effort. The former prime minister said that the press had "failed this country" by focusing on opinions and ephemera when the war in Afghanistan was at a crucial stage.
Brown had a testy relationship with the powerful Murdoch press during his 2007-2010 term in office. The Sun, renowned for its political clout, backed the Conservative party over Brown's Labour in the 2010 national election. The election produced a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.
Brown also spoke of his pain at seeing leaked details of his young son's health splashed in the tabloid. The Sun said in 2006 that Brown's infant Fraser had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.
Brown said he and his wife Sarah had been distressed by the leak but acknowledged that Sarah had remained friendly with Rebekah Brooks, the Sun's then-editor, and even organized a 40th birthday party for her in 2008.
"I think Sarah is one of the most forgiving people I know. I think she finds the good in everyone."
In an often bitter attack on the Murdoch press in testimony to Britain's media ethics inquiry, Brown directly contradicted Murdoch's claim that the then-prime minister had made an abusive phone call to the media mogul in 2009. Murdoch told the inquiry last month that Brown had vowed to "make war on your company" after The Sun switched its support to the Conservatives.
"It didn't happen," said Brown, adding that he had been shocked to hear Murdoch make the allegation under oath. Murdoch's News International fired back, saying in a statement that the mogul stood by his testimony.
Brown is the first in a string of current and former political leaders to appear this week at the inquiry, set up amid a tabloid phone hacking scandal to examine malpractice in the media and ties among politicians, police and the press. Among the issues the inquiry is addressing is whether newspapers have too much power over the political agenda.
Brown told the judge-led inquiry that The Sun newspaper was guilty of "the conflation of fact and opinion" in its coverage of the Afghanistan conflict and of his premiership. He said that instead of covering the difficult decisions facing his government, The Sun had concluded "that I personally did not care about our troops in Afghanistan."
Brown asserted that The Sun's coverage had done "huge damage" to the war effort. The former prime minister said that the press had "failed this country" by focusing on opinions and ephemera when the war in Afghanistan was at a crucial stage.
Brown had a testy relationship with the powerful Murdoch press during his 2007-2010 term in office. The Sun, renowned for its political clout, backed the Conservative party over Brown's Labour in the 2010 national election. The election produced a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.
Brown also spoke of his pain at seeing leaked details of his young son's health splashed in the tabloid. The Sun said in 2006 that Brown's infant Fraser had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.
Brown said he and his wife Sarah had been distressed by the leak but acknowledged that Sarah had remained friendly with Rebekah Brooks, the Sun's then-editor, and even organized a 40th birthday party for her in 2008.
"I think Sarah is one of the most forgiving people I know. I think she finds the good in everyone."
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