Murdochs disobey the British Parliament
Source: Agencies |
July 15, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MEDIA tycoon Rupert Murdoch and his son James defied the British Parliament yesterday and refused to appear next week before a committee investigating phone hacking and bribery by employees of their newspapers.
The committee said it had issued summonses to the Murdochs, setting up an extraordinary confrontation between one of Britain's most powerful men and a Parliament once seen as easily bent to his will.
The Murdochs' refusal was a dramatic snub of a body that forced them to abandon their ambitions of purchasing highly profitable network British Sky Broadcasting on Wednesday after lawmakers from all parties united to demand that Murdoch's News Corp withdraw its bid after a string of unsavory revelations about phone hacking and bribery by its reporters.
The Murdochs' flouting of Parliament may also allow them to delay potentially uncomfortable public appearances until the furor over the scandal has cooled.
It is highly unusual for witnesses to refuse to appear before parliamentary committees, which quiz everyone from business leaders to prime ministers on a wide range of issues.
Defiance of a parliamentary summons is illegal, and can in theory be punished with a fine or jail time. In practice, such measures have been all but unknown in modern times; the House of Commons last punished a non-member in 1957.
And it was not immediately known how Parliament could enforce its summons of the Murdochs. Rupert Murdoch is a US citizen who may not be legally bound by the order.
Rebekah Brooks, the British chief executive of the Murdochs' British arm, News International, said she would appear before the Culture, Media and Sport committee at a hearing next Tuesday.
James Murdoch, the chief of his father's European and Asian operations, said he was not available next Tuesday but offered to appear on August 10 or 11, without explaining his inability to attend next week.
Rupert Murdoch said he would not appear at all, offering instead to speak before a separate inquiry initiated by Prime Minister David Cameron and led by a judge. He said he was willing to discuss alternative ways of providing evidence to parliament
Meanwhile, the criminal investigation into the Murdoch empire widened as the former deputy editor of the News of the World was arrested.
The Metropolitan Police said Neil Wallis, deputy editor under Andy Coulson from 2003 to 2007, was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications.
The committee said it had issued summonses to the Murdochs, setting up an extraordinary confrontation between one of Britain's most powerful men and a Parliament once seen as easily bent to his will.
The Murdochs' refusal was a dramatic snub of a body that forced them to abandon their ambitions of purchasing highly profitable network British Sky Broadcasting on Wednesday after lawmakers from all parties united to demand that Murdoch's News Corp withdraw its bid after a string of unsavory revelations about phone hacking and bribery by its reporters.
The Murdochs' flouting of Parliament may also allow them to delay potentially uncomfortable public appearances until the furor over the scandal has cooled.
It is highly unusual for witnesses to refuse to appear before parliamentary committees, which quiz everyone from business leaders to prime ministers on a wide range of issues.
Defiance of a parliamentary summons is illegal, and can in theory be punished with a fine or jail time. In practice, such measures have been all but unknown in modern times; the House of Commons last punished a non-member in 1957.
And it was not immediately known how Parliament could enforce its summons of the Murdochs. Rupert Murdoch is a US citizen who may not be legally bound by the order.
Rebekah Brooks, the British chief executive of the Murdochs' British arm, News International, said she would appear before the Culture, Media and Sport committee at a hearing next Tuesday.
James Murdoch, the chief of his father's European and Asian operations, said he was not available next Tuesday but offered to appear on August 10 or 11, without explaining his inability to attend next week.
Rupert Murdoch said he would not appear at all, offering instead to speak before a separate inquiry initiated by Prime Minister David Cameron and led by a judge. He said he was willing to discuss alternative ways of providing evidence to parliament
Meanwhile, the criminal investigation into the Murdoch empire widened as the former deputy editor of the News of the World was arrested.
The Metropolitan Police said Neil Wallis, deputy editor under Andy Coulson from 2003 to 2007, was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications.
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