Murdoch says sorry

Rupert Murdoch has issued a statement to News Corp staff in the wake of the CMS select committee's report into phone hacking.

Here's a transcript:


Dear Colleagues

Today, the UK's Parliamentary select committee on culture, media and sport released its full report on issues surrounding phone hacking at the News of the World.

The report affords us a unique opportunity to reflect upon the mistakes we have made and further the course we have already completed to correct them.

I recognise that for all of us – myself in particular – it is difficult to read many of the report's findings. But we have done the most difficult part, which has been to take a long, hard and honest look at our past mistakes.

There is no easy way around this, but I am proud to say that we have been working hard to put things right.

We certainly should have acted more quickly and aggressively to uncover wrongdoing. We deeply regret what took place and have taken our share of responsibility for not rectifying the situation sooner.

To that end, News Corporation continues to co-operate with all inquiries relating to voicemail interception and improper payments to public officials. Indeed, we have gone beyond what law enforcement authorities have asked of us, to ensure not only that we are in compliance with the law, but that we adhere to the highest ethical standards.

I would also like to inform you today that the autonomous management and standards committee, which was established by the company to ensure full co-operation with all investigations, has completed its review of the Times and the Sunday Times, assisted by outside counsel, Linklaters. We found no evidence of illegal conduct other than a single incident reported months ago, which led to the discipline of the relevant employee.

Further, the management and standards committee has also completed its internal review into the Sun.

News International, at the instigation of James, instituted important governance reforms.

In addition, under the guidance of Gerson Zweifach, News Corporation's group general counsel, the company is implementing a more robust global compliance structure, with expanded education, customised controls, and group compliance officers across our businesses.

Today's report comes at a time when our business has never been stronger and we continue to demonstrate strong operational excellence focused on returning maximum value to all of our stockholders.

It is a testament to the integrity and strength of you, our more than 50,000 colleagues around the world, that we could experience such exceptional performance even in the midst of unprecedented public scrutiny. I have also never been more encouraged by your dedication and steadfast commitment to our future.

The opportunity to emerge from this difficult period a stronger, better company has never been greater and I will look to each of you to help me ensure that News Corporation's next 60 years are more vital and successful than ever.

Doesn't it make your heart bleed for him? NOT!

NEWS: Has James Murdoch resigned?

Click here to find out.

COMMENT: Was Guy Fawkes framed?

It's four hundred and six years since there was a plot to blow up Parliament and, with it, King James I. Every year since, bonfires and fireworks have been lit to celebrate the fact that Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators were stopped carrying out their act of terrorism - an act that Guy Fawkes, himself, is said to have referred to as "a desperate remedy".

But was Guy Fawkes really the terrorist history has made him out to be, or was he caught up in a sting operation of which the News of the World would have been proud?

Queen Elizabeth had been monarch for over half a century so, when James I succeeded to the throne, many were hoping for some major changes in society. In the first years of James' reign, many felt the changes they wanted weren't happening fast enough, if at all, and wanted to replace the new king. James' claims to the throne were also questioned.

Small-scale plots against the king had been discovered in the years between Queen Bess' death and November 1605, and several of the Gunpowder plotters were already known to the authorities for their treacherous activities - known trouble makers. This would have made it very difficult, if not impossible, for them to be able to store 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar under the Houses of Parliament without someone becoming suspicious and alerting the authorities. It would also have made it difficult for all the plotters to meet together in one place without raising suspicions.

Shortly before the opening of Parliament, the occasion the plotters had chosen for their attack, a letter was sent to a member of government warning him to stay away. Many historians consider this letter to have been fabricated by the king's officials who, in all likelihood, already knew of the plot.

It seems, from their confessions, that none of the conspirators knew of the letter.

The letter was vague and unsigned but, somehow, the king's men knew exactly when and where to go in order to arrest Guy Fawkes and bring an end to the plot. It also allowed the authorities carte blanche to round up the plotters and, in the longer term, to pursue their anti-Catholic agenda.

It's undeniable that a plot was being planned but, it's possible, the king's men could well have been behind the whole thing.