In a dramatic escalation of the long-running phone hacking scandal that has besmirched the British press, Rupert Murdoch, the media titan, finds himself personally accused of being privy to and concealing illicit activities conducted by his tabloids. The allegations were leveled during a legal effort to amend an ongoing phone-hacking lawsuit, which implicates not only Murdoch but also other high-profile media executives.
The accusations against Murdoch surfaced in court with claimants, including Prince Harry and actor Hugh Grant, arguing that the mogul was aware of the illegal phone and computer hacking activities as far back as nearly two decades prior, considerably earlier than he previously acknowledged. Their legal representatives contend that Murdoch gave “knowingly false” evidence under oath in a prior inquiry into the scandal.
Adding complexity to the unfolding drama is the involvement of Will Lewis, the newly installed publisher and chief executive of The Washington Post, who has been accused by the claimants’ lawyers of plotting to conceal senior executives’ involvement in the affair while working for Murdoch’s publishing empire in London, now known as News UK.
Representatives for Lewis and The Washington Post declined to comment, and an aide to Murdoch did not respond to requests for comment.
The claimants, who are suing over a range of privacy invasions, including phone hacking, computer hacking, and unlawful payments for confidential personal information, assert that News UK, under the leadership of executives such as Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks, orchestrated a cover-up. Brooks, once the chief editor of Murdoch’s News of the World and Sun tabloids, had resigned amid the scandal and was acquitted of related criminal charges in 2015.
The plaintiff’s counsel, David Sherborne, highlighted that as recently as December 2023, his legal team uncovered new information, despite News UK’s claims that the allegations and underlying documents are too dated to warrant expanding the lawsuits. News UK maintains that after a large-scale police investigation and trials of many individuals between 2011-2015, the Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was insufficient evidence to support charges against the company in 2015.
Yet the claimants argue the company has withheld information. This is underscored by News Corp. having to disburse roughly $1.5 billion in settlements and costs related to the scandal, a stark testament to the gravity of the allegations. One such instance that brought the scandal to full public light in 2011 was the hacking of a missing 13-year-old girl’s mobile phone voicemails.
Murdoch’s past public apologies for the hacking appear overshadowed by the intense scrutiny now on his and Lewis’ alleged roles. According to claimants, emails from Lewis and statements about a hard drive associated with Brooks suggest plans to delete emails and mislead investigators. Lawyers for News UK’s tabloids, such as Anthony Hudson, have urged caution in viewing these allegations, deeming them a means for the claimant group to leverage their claims for broader campaigning interests against the tabloid press.
Relevant articles:
– Rupert Murdoch and new ‘Washington Post’ CEO accused of cover-up in hacking scandal
– Prince Harry targets Rupert Murdoch in phone hacking lawsuit, alleges mogul was involved in a cover-up, CNN, Thu, 21 Mar 2024 11:36:00 GMT
– Prince Harry Lawyers Accuse New WaPo Boss Will Lewis and Rupert Murdoch of Hacking Cover, The Daily Beast, Wed, 20 Mar 2024 20:03:53 GMT
– Prince Harry lawyers accuse Rupert Murdoch of hard drive cover-up in phone hacking scandal, The Independent, Wed, 20 Mar 2024 15:12:23 GMT