Scotland Yard Chief Quits, Ex-Editor Arrested in Hacking Case
Sir Paul Stephenson, head of London’s Metropolitan Police Service—commonly known as Scotland Yard—resigned Sunday just hours after police arrested former editor Rebekah Brooks in the Murdoch hacking scandal.
Sir Paul Stephenson, head of London’s Metropolitan Police Service—commonly known as Scotland Yard—resigned Sunday just hours after police arrested former editor Rebekah Brooks in the Murdoch hacking scandal. Evidence that police officers colluded with Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid executives to suppress evidence of telephone hacking has been mounting over the past week.
Many of those who are demanding full disclosure in this case are not cheering about the Brooks arrest. Some members of the British Parliament and others have observed that the detainment may prevent the newly resigned Murdoch editor from having to answer to the House of Commons.
Even if Brooks is forced to face MPs later this week, she may enjoy a less than hostile reception. It was disclosed Sunday that John Wittingdale, the parliamentarian charged with leading the inquiry against Brooks and the Murdoch family, has connections with members of the Murdoch empire. –ARK
TRUTHDIG’S JOURNALISM REMAINS CLEARThe New York Times:
The commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police Services, Sir Paul Stephenson, resigned his post on Sunday just hours after his officers arrested Rebekah Brooks, the former chief of Rupert Murdoch’s media operations in Britain, as damage from a phone-hacking scandal moved to the highest levels of British public life.
In a news conference, Sir Paul said his position was “in danger of being eclipsed by the ongoing debate by senior officers and the media. And this can never be right,” according to a report by The Guardian.
The Metropolitan Police, commonly referred to as Scotland Yard, has come under harsh scrutiny in recent days, accused in the press and by British politicians of currying too close a relationship with tabloid executives.
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Rebekah Brooks is officially off the hook. For those who might not know, or might have lost track of this story in the whirl of the spin cycle, Brooks is the former editor of Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World tabloid in the United Kingdom.
England's Central Criminal Court has learned that the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper -- which closed after revelations of a phone hacking scandal -- kept a "legendary safe" where "all sorts of stories [about rich and famous people] were buried."
A secret audio recording reveals News Corp Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch criticizing the investigation into allegations of phone hacking by former journalists for his now-defunct News of the World paper, the BBC reports.
At the end of a yearlong investigation into the conduct of British newspapers, the lead inspector fell short of calling for the establishment of a body to police the media industry. Instead, an “independent” entity should be directed to overhaul the organization by which the press regulates itself, he said.
Will Hutton, writing in The Observer, says the "precious freedom of speech of an individual is different from the freedom of speech of a media corporation with its capacity to manipulate the opinions of millions."
“Allowing media power to be concentrated in the hands of a few multibillionaires will impoverish society,” says Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, who offers a seven-question test for whether a media organization is a potential menace to the public.
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