JOHN PRESCOTT - U.K. NEWSPAPER SAYS MURDOCH TABLOIDS PAID HUSH MONEY

U.K. NEWSPAPER SAYS MURDOCH TABLOIDS PAID HUSH MONEY

Two British newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp paid out more than $1.6 million to quietly settle legal cases that might have revealed that the newspapers had hired private investigators to wiretap British politicians, actors, and sports stars, Britain's Guardian newspaper disclosed today (Thursday), citing an unnamed source at Scotland Yard. The newspaper said that the investigators, hired by journalists working for the two Murdoch tabloids, the daily Sun and the Sunday News of the World , had been able to gain access to personal data concerning the celebrities, including their tax records and bank statements. The Guardian accused Andy Coulson, a former News of the World editor and currently the official spokesman for David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, of failing to take action to halt the wiretapping (referred to in the Guardian account as "phone-hacking"). On Wednesday night, former deputy prime minister John Prescott told the Guardian , "I think Mr. Cameron should be thinking of getting rid of Coulson." Andrew Neil, the former editor of the Sunday Times , which is also owned by Murdoch, called the Guardian expose "one of the most significant media stories of modern times," adding it suggested that the illegal activity was "systemic" particularly at News of the World. "This was a newsroom out of control," he said. But, in an interview with Bloomberg News, Rupert Murdoch denied that any hush money had been paid to the alleged victims to settle their cases. "If that had happened, I would know about it," he said.

09/07/2009