Sunday, July 17, 2011

Scandal Grows at News Corp.

Rebekah Brooks is the chief executive officer of News International, the parent of the scandal-ridden News of the World tabloid. - Rebekah Brooks is the chief executive officer of News International, the parent of the scandal-ridden News of the World tabloid. | REUTERS


Rebekah Brooks released after being arrested in phone-hacking scandal

LONDON— The Associated Press
UK police investigating phone hacking and bribery have released former News International executive Rebekah Brooks hours after her arrest.
Rebekah Brooks, Rupert Murdoch's former British newspaper chief, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of phone hacking and bribing police, only 48 hours before both of them were to be grilled by U.K. lawmakers investigating widespread lawbreaking at a Murdoch tabloid.

The arrest of the 43-year-old Ms. Brooks, often described as a surrogate daughter to the 80-year-old Mr. Murdoch, brought the British police investigations into the media baron's inner circle for the first time.
The arrest also raises the possibility that his old friend Les Hinton, who resigned Friday as publisher of The Wall Street Journal, or Mr. Murdoch's 38-year-old son and heir apparent, James, could be next.
Ms. Brooks' detention also moves the police inquiry closer to the heart of British political power. Ms. Brooks is the ultimate social and political insider, who dined at Christmas with Prime Minister David Cameron and counts numerous celebrities and senior politicians among her friends.
Until Friday, she was the defiant chief executive of News International, Mr. Murdoch's British newspaper arm, whose News of the World tabloid stands accused of hacking into the phones of celebrities, politicians, other journalists and even murder victims. In the tumultuous last two weeks, she had kept her job even as Mr. Murdoch shut down the 168-year-old tabloid and tossed 200 other journalists out of work.More...

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