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Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
“This is the most humbling day of my life,” Rupert Murdoch declared to MPs in 2011 after the full horror of his newspaper’s phone hacking was revealed. Happily for the media tycoon, his heyday didn’t last.
On Monday, he took his seat as one of the select guests at Donald Trump’s inauguration. In the summer, as the UK election approached, both Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak rushed to pay their respects. Her summer party. Intervening years will generally not be considered rehabilitative. Murdoch has had to pay more than $1 billion in costs and damages to victims of crimes, industrial intrusion or misconduct at his news agency on both sides of the Atlantic.
Wednesday saw a last-minute settlement of an outstanding phone-hacking case against his company in Britain, a case where a victim has the requisites and standing to insist on his day in court. Prince Harry It took it to the brink but he also settled, reportedly for huge losses, an unprecedented apology and an admission of historic wrongdoing by private investigators working for The Sun – though no admissions of guilt by senior officials.
Murdoch’s Newsgroup newspapersA subsidiary of News UK, has used its financial might to keep at least 1,300 cases out of court, avoiding damaging revelations or questions. UK civil courts exist to provide non-disclosure remedies. The rules encourage a settlement by loading potential costs on the winning plaintiffs if they go to trial and do not secure more than the previously proposed settlement. Those who want to fight face impossible risks. Last year actor Dr Hugh Grant Reluctantly settled, saying he could face millions in legal fees if he didn’t.
For the Duke of Sussex – and his co-plaintiff, former Labor Deputy Leader Lord Tom Watson – it wasn’t really about the money. They hoped a trial would break out Murdoch Executives for new disclosures about illegal use of private investigators and company efforts to contain scandals. That possibility has now been ruled out. Duke claimed a “monumental victory” but the NGN strategy worked. A lot of money has been spent to save these cases from trial. Even in the end he could not accept the financial risk.
After the settlement, Prince Harry’s barrister David Sherborne said NGN had “deleted more than 30 million emails and denied lying”. They spent “more than £1 billion on payouts and costs”. Sherborne added that claimants were “strong-armed into settlement without being able to get to the truth”. NGN’s lawyers strongly oppose the suggestion of a cover-up and have always maintained that the deletions are part of a larger housekeeping process.
The same method of paying to avoid the light of day in court cases applied in the United States. In 2023, Fox News paid $787 million To settle a defamation suit with Dominion Voting Systems for sustaining false claims that the channel was involved in electoral fraud in the 2020 elections. At the center of the defamation was Fox’s fear that failing to support Trump’s fraud claims would see viewers leave for more conservative channels. After the deal, Fox humorously announced: “This settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.”
That Murdoch is still welcome in Trump circles is not surprising. But he is still on trial in the UK. The Tories have shelved part two of the promised public inquiry to oppose media abuse and state control of the press. Starmer followed that line and indulged Murdoch while in opposition. The Sun backed Starmer in the election – although perhaps his victory seemed inevitable.
Murdoch has since handed formal leadership of the business to his eldest son Lachlan and sold his stake in Sky TV. Rebecca Brooks, a former Sun and News of the World editor cleared of phone hacking — and the company’s chief executive when the scandal collapsed — is now CEO of UK parent News UK.
There are many who despise Murdoch for his politics and his influence, though few can dispute his genius as a businessman and newspaper man. But what’s important here is that the settlements have pushed awkward questions about the company’s operations Nick Davis, the reporter who broke the scandal, relentlessly detailed the issues arising from the memo.Minutes, emails and documents are now released to courts before settled casesThey are only one side of a story when pressed.
Murdoch’s businesses have spent a fortune to avoid further public scrutiny. Their bet is that the peak danger has passed and this latest outrage will subside. The only hope for full transparency now is for the police to reopen accountability issues raised by Sherborne and others, including the top of the company and former prime minister Gordon Brown, raised in new documents. Police have not distinguished themselves in the original investigation and there are questions to be resolved. It can truly be called a victory only if the new investigation confirms it.
Otherwise there can only be one conclusion. Like the Buchanans the great gatsby, Murdoch’s businesses have been able to destroy lives and retreat into their finances. He and his servants remain degraded; feted and fawned on. The warrior prince won more than most but, in the end, even he could not pay the full price of justice.
