» SubscribeMain section
-
Top story
News Corporation directors could face charges for neglect of duties
Nick Davies and David Leigh guardian.co.uk 1 August
DATELINE: 1/8/12
Directors within Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation could face corporate charges and prosecution for neglect of their duties, in plans that are being examined by the Crown Prosecution Service. Company lawyers, fearing a dramatic escalation of the hacking scandal by criminalising the boards on which Murdoch family members sit, are understood to have protested to the authorities.
A criminal prosecution could have a strong adverse impact on the deliberations by Ofcom as to whether News Corp representatives are "fit and proper" to hold UK broadcasting licences.
Asked about representations that have been made to the police or the CPS about the unfairness of possible corporate charges, a News International spokesman said yesterday that Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, who is leading the police inquiries into phone hacking, conceded the company culture had now changed: "She agreed that the current senior management and corporate approach at News International has been to assist and come clean."
The company's protestations that it had turned over a new leaf appeared to receive some support from Lord Justice Leveson at his inquiry last week, when he brought up its past alleged obstruction of the police. Leveson said at the inquiry: "I received evidence of the response which the police received when they visited News International in 2006.
"Would it be right for me to conclude at this stage that whatever might have happened in the past at News International titles, the senior management and corporate approach now has been to assist and come clean, from which I might be able to draw the inference that there is a change in culture, practice and approach?" Akers responded: "Yes, sir. I don't disagree with any of that."
One problem for News International, however, is the wording of section 79 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, the hacking legislation under which eight senior News of the World journalists and executives have already been charged. It provides for the corporate prosecution of a company which commits such an offence, and also of any director whose neglect or connivance led to the crime.
The most senior executive so far charged with offences, and the only News International board member, is Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive, who denies separate allegations of an attempted cover-up of the hacking scandal, as well as denying the charges of involvement in hacking. She only joined the board in 2009 and resigned last year.
Rupert Murdoch's son James joined the News International board in April 2008, and resigned last year. His father also recently resigned all his UK newspaper board positions. The only other senior Murdoch executive on the NI board throughout the period of the original hacking scandal was its previous chief executive, Les Hinton, who left the UK boards in 2007. He said later: "I was ignorant of what apparently happened."
Hinton rejected heavy criticisms of him by a Commons committee investigating the phone hacking, which accused him of "selective amnesia" in his dealings with them. The report, published earlier this year, claimed he misled parliament and was "complicit" in a cover-up of the true extent of the hacking.
The culture, media and sport committee also accused James Murdoch of willful blindness in failing to investigate the extent of phone hacking. Opposition MPs on the committee branded Rupert Murdoch as unfit to be in charge of a large media firm, although Tory members refused to support this.
The CPS is not making any public statements. But the disclosure that it was advising the police on possible corporate criminal charges was made by Akers during her Leveson testimony, when she said that advice was being obtained "in respect of both individual and corporate offences". Despite subsequent speculation that this was a reference to possible action against the company by the US justice department, it is understood that the CPS is only looking at potential UK offences. News International said: "We are aware of the reference made by DAC Sue Akers in her evidence to the Leveson inquiry."
Last modified: Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Your comments:
» Click here to add your comment.
Comments will be subject to approval and should not be defamatory, obscene, racist, in breach of copyright, or contrary to law. The CPBF is not reponsible for any views expressed here.
Previous media ownership stories
Rupert Murdoch quits as News International director
Rupert Murdoch concedes News Corp faces divided future
Rupert Murdoch concedes News Corp faces divided future
Rupert Murdoch 'not a fit person' to lead News Corp - MPs
Ofcom escalates BSkyB probe
Local newspapers: Read all about it? If only ...
Going, going….
James Murdoch to resign as BSkyB chair
Rupert Murdoch-linked pirate website targeted rivals, online file shows
BSkyB denies order to pull F1 story undermines Sky News's independence
Reining in the media barons
"Taking on the Media Barons": restraints which Labour says could be imposed immediately
Hacking scandal prompts Unite call for review of UK media ownership
Ofcom steps up test of James Murdoch's fitness to keep BSkyB role
Ofcom steps up test of James Murdoch's fitness to keep BSkyB role
Before it's too late: action on media ownership
Sunday’s Sun will be more of the same
Rupert Murdoch to launch Sun on Sunday newspaper 'soon'
Northcliffe to axe two Kent weeklies in wake of failed deal
A Chance for Change
Submission on Media Pluralism to Ofcom
News Corp subsidiary probed in Australia
James Murdoch resigns from Sun and Times boards
Ofcom media plurality review gets more than 45,000 submissions
Why I believe it's all over for James Murdoch
Campaign grows to oust Murdoch
Phone-hacking: building the campaign for change
Parliament debates media ownership
News International to sell Wapping site
Wapping and the Miners' strike - making the connections
-
Notices
Events & Announcements
World Press Freedom Day
More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
DATELINE: 27/4/13
UK launch of EU media campaign
DATELINE: 13/3/13
The UK launch of a 'European Citizens' Initiative' calling for EU rules against concentration of media power will take place on Thursday March 21 from 11:00am – 12:30pm in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords, London. Guest speakers will include actor and activist Hugh Grant (pictured), media consultant Claire Enders, Professor Steven Barnett, Barry McCall (President of the NUJ) and Marc Gruber (Director of the European Federation of Journalists).
A European Citizens' Initiative is an official petition, like a Downing Street petition. If it succeeds in gathering a million signatures across the EU, the Commission is obliged to respond.
This petition calls for the EU to act to protect media pluralism and press freedom.
CPBF Annual General Meeting
DATELINE: 1/3/13
Make a note in your diary
Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
DOWNLOAD FREEPRESS NOW
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Download Freepress in PDF, ePub or mobi format. Issue 194 now available.
MEDIA FOR ALL CONFERENCE
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Papers from the Media for All Conference
MEDIA MANIFESTO
DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
-
Previous stories
Media Ownership
Rupert Murdoch quits as News International director
Rupert Murdoch concedes News Corp faces divided future
Rupert Murdoch concedes News Corp faces divided future
Rupert Murdoch 'not a fit person' to lead News Corp - MPs
Ofcom escalates BSkyB probe
Local newspapers: Read all about it? If only ...
Going, going….
James Murdoch to resign as BSkyB chair
Rupert Murdoch-linked pirate website targeted rivals, online file shows
BSkyB denies order to pull F1 story undermines Sky News's independence
Reining in the media barons
"Taking on the Media Barons": restraints which Labour says could be imposed immediately
Hacking scandal prompts Unite call for review of UK media ownership
Ofcom steps up test of James Murdoch's fitness to keep BSkyB role
Ofcom steps up test of James Murdoch's fitness to keep BSkyB role
Before it's too late: action on media ownership
Sunday’s Sun will be more of the same
Rupert Murdoch to launch Sun on Sunday newspaper 'soon'
Northcliffe to axe two Kent weeklies in wake of failed deal
A Chance for Change
Submission on Media Pluralism to Ofcom
News Corp subsidiary probed in Australia
James Murdoch resigns from Sun and Times boards
Ofcom media plurality review gets more than 45,000 submissions
Why I believe it's all over for James Murdoch
Campaign grows to oust Murdoch
Phone-hacking: building the campaign for change
Parliament debates media ownership
News International to sell Wapping site
Wapping and the Miners' strike - making the connections
