Media mogul Rupert Murdoch (right), then general manager of Murdoch's News International, now rides with Will Lewis. washington postCEO, July 2011.
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Media mogul Rupert Murdoch (right), then general manager of Murdoch's News International, now rides with Will Lewis. washington postCEO, July 2011.
Peter McDiarmid/Getty Images
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has told a court for the first time that he had personal knowledge of the British tabloid's phone hacking and other illegal activities dating back nearly 20 years, much earlier than he admitted, in an affidavit. He was accused of providing evidence that he knew was false. Formal investigation.
Lawyers for Britain's Prince Harry, actor Hugh Grant and other celebrities also filed suit. washington post's new publisher and chief executive, Will Lewis, actively sought to cover up the role of senior executives in the scandal when he worked for the Murdoch publishing empire in London, now known as News UK. That's what it means. NPR has previously reported on these allegations against Lewis, but Wednesday's presentation fleshed them out in terrifying detail.
The accusations threaten to tie the pair together as Lewis seeks to push forward with his new role on the court. post.with Lewis post A spokesperson for the paper declined to comment. Mr Murdoch's aides did not respond to requests for comment from the 93-year-old media mogul.
The charges come amid efforts by litigants to seek amendments to Mr Murdoch's phone-hacking lawsuit against his British newspaper division. If successful, the case would bring wider and deeper accusations that would bring Mr Murdoch, Lewis & News UK boss Rebecca Brookes and other executives to the fore.
Harry and others are suing over various forms of privacy violations, including phone hacking, computer hacking, and payments to obtain sensitive personal information.
Mr. Brooks is a former editor-in-chief of Murdoch. world news and Sun The tabloid has resigned from the head of its British publishing empire amid the scandal. She returned to the same job in 2015 after being acquitted of criminal charges related to the hack. Harry's lawyer, David Sherborn, wrote in a court filing that he supports the claim that Brooks “lied or gave intentionally misleading evidence” at the criminal trial. Mr. Sherborn is representing 40 plaintiffs.
Mr Murdoch's News UK says the allegations and the documents on which they are based are too old to justify expanding the scope of the case.
“These lawsuits have been going on for over 15 years now; [the Murdoch publishing company] A spokesperson for News UK's tabloid division said in a statement: “The major scandals between 2011 and 2015 are now being brought to a close.”[-]A large-scale police investigation resulted in many people being tried in criminal courts. Corporate liability was also thoroughly investigated, with the Crown Prosecution Service concluding in 2015 that there was no evidence to support charges against the company. ”
Sherborn said the company had not made any announcements and that his legal team received new information in December 2023.
Massive hacking scandal scars Britain
For years, investigators and journalists working for Mr. Murdoch's British tabloids hacked into the voicemails and emails of royals, politicians, and stars of sports, music, and film. Revelations surfaced in separate cases, starting with the arrest of a correspondent in 2006. Mr Murdoch's top officials claimed this was the work of a “rogue reporter”.
The scandal came to the fore in 2011 when it was revealed that the phones of civilians, including victims of violent crimes and veterans killed in combat, had been hacked.
Mr. Murdoch's tabloids were not alone in this behavior, but they were considered – by far – the most serious offenders. Mr. Murdoch's News Corp. has so far paid an estimated $1.5 billion in settlements and costs related to the hacking scandal. Late last fall, the company made a six-figure payment to Chris Huhne, a former cabinet minister whose scandal was heavily covered in the tabloids.
In court on Wednesday, Anthony Hudson, a lawyer for the News Corp-owned British tabloid, warned that the allegations “should be considered very carefully,” according to Reuters. “It is becoming increasingly clear that at least some members of the plaintiff group appear to be using this document as a vehicle for a broader campaign against the tabloids.”
accusation against washington postCEO of
Mr Lewis, who joined News UK in 2010, was tasked with helping Mr Brooks reform the tabloid. Prince Harry's lawyers say Louis tried to cover up the wrongdoing.
Mr. Lewis is accused of helping spread the falsehood that a powerful lawmaker tried to illegally access Mr. Brooks' computer data in order to justify erasing Mr. Brooks's emails. The hard drive of one of her two computers was then reported missing.
According to the plaintiffs, on the same day in late January 2011 that the plan to hide Mr. Brooks' emails surfaced, Mr. Brooks told Mr. Lewis and a friend that he would “present us with a plan for our strategy once this week.” He said he sent the e-mail mentioned above. KRM [Keith Rupert Murdoch] Contains complete facts from day one, all facts from me since 2005. ”
Mr. Sherborn used the email, a copy of which was reviewed by NPR, to claim that Mr. Murdoch had been briefed on a plan to hide evidence and cover up the scope of the scandal. News UK said it would not address specific allegations.
As NPR previously reported, Grant and Harry's legal team cited an email Lewis sent to News UK's head of IT in early February 2011. He received the “green light” from top corporate lawyers to continue what he called “email migration progress.” Lawyers claim the phrase was code for mass erasure. The company has since deleted more than 15 million emails sent by early 2008.
The next day, police officials said in a press conference memo that News Corp had told police there was “no data” before January 1, 2008. Other subsequent emails were also deleted.
The company and Mr. Murdoch publicly apologized for the hack in July 2011. guardian revealed that there are people working for world news They had hacked into the cell phone voicemail messages of a missing 13-year-old girl named Millie Dowler.It turned out that she was murdered.
Subsequent scoops showed that the practice was widespread and, in the memorable words of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, “a breach of the law on an industrial scale.” Brown's audio messages, financial documents and his family's medical records were also targeted by the newspaper, which included hacking and paying hospital staff for personal information. Sun.
Mr Murdoch appointed Mr Lewis as one of three executives on the new Management and Standards Committee. Murdoch said at the time that it was designed to assist prosecutors in investigating cases.
Rather, his lawyers argue, Lewis has and will continue to participate in damage prevention efforts, even as new and damning facts come to light with each passing day.
That summer, Lewis sent an email to the magazine's editor. Sun It was to tell Brown to “calm down” after he told a rival tabloid he believed his son's medical information was obtained illegally. Sun. Mr. Lewis also advised editors to secure a signed affidavit from a confidential source stating that he did not have access to Mr. Brown's son's medical records.
Mr Harry's lawyers argue this shows a criminal intent to hide the truth – that the newspaper paid hospital staff for information. Britain's National Health Service testified that this is likely where the information came from.
Murdoch and News Corp. were later named publishers of Lewis Publishing. wall street journal, he held the position from 2014 to 2020. he took command. washington post He took over in January under owner Jeff Bezos.
“I did everything I could to preserve journalistic integrity,” Lewis said. post Last autumn, he spoke to News UK about his efforts to address the tabloid hacking scandal. “I had the idea early on that I was never going to talk about this, and it was either right or wrong for me to do that.”
