Sunday, July 24, 2011
News International and the Liberal Democrats
Whatever the truth regarding reports in this morning's Observer that Rupert Murdoch's News International launched a campaign of bullying against senior Liberal Democrats in an attempt to force through the company's bid for BSkyB, it does illustrate one point. That is that whilst Labour and the Conservatives cosied up to Murdoch, the Liberal Democrats kept their distance and were lone voices in calling for his empire to be brought under control.
The paper reports on briefings by Liberal Democrat insiders, who say that News International officials took their lobbying campaign well beyond acceptable limits and even threatened, last autumn, to persecute the party if Vince Cable, the business secretary, did not advance its case. They say that this chimes with reports from senior figures in the Labour party who say that Murdoch executives issued threats to Ed Miliband's office after the Labour leader turned on News International when the news broke that murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler's phone had been hacked into by the News of the World.
It is precisely these sort of tactics that raises questions over Murdoch and his company being fit and proper people to own any media in this country. The Americans may be content with Fox News setting the agenda and targetting individual politicians but such practises are anti-democratic and need to be stamped out. Nobody elected News International to anything and they are not likely to either.
The paper reports on briefings by Liberal Democrat insiders, who say that News International officials took their lobbying campaign well beyond acceptable limits and even threatened, last autumn, to persecute the party if Vince Cable, the business secretary, did not advance its case. They say that this chimes with reports from senior figures in the Labour party who say that Murdoch executives issued threats to Ed Miliband's office after the Labour leader turned on News International when the news broke that murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler's phone had been hacked into by the News of the World.
It is precisely these sort of tactics that raises questions over Murdoch and his company being fit and proper people to own any media in this country. The Americans may be content with Fox News setting the agenda and targetting individual politicians but such practises are anti-democratic and need to be stamped out. Nobody elected News International to anything and they are not likely to either.
