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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newspaper.
“This is the most humbling day of my life,” Rupert Murdoch told MPs in 2011 when the shocking news of his newspaper’s heist emerged. Happily for the press tycoon, his bagpipe days didn’t last.
On Monday he took his seat as one of the chosen guests at Donald Trump’s inauguration. In the summer, as the UK election approached, Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak rushed to pray. his summer party. Normally the intervening years would not be considered restorative. Murdoch has had to pay more than $1bn in costs and damages to victims of his media’s crimes, industrial embezzlement or malfeasance on both sides of the Atlantic.
Wednesday saw a last-minute settlement in a high-profile wire fraud case against his British company, a case involving one victim who insisted on his day in court. Prince Harry reached the brink, but he has also settled, allegedly with huge costs, an unprecedented apology and admission of historic wrongdoing by private investigators working for The Sun – even though what is the admission of guilt by senior management.
Murdoch’s News Group Newspaperswhich is part of the UK’s Ministry of Information, has used its financial power to keep at least 1,300 cases out of court, to avoid revelations or damaging questions. Local courts in the UK exist to provide redress and not to disclose information. Laws incentivize settlement by dictating potential damages to a successful plaintiff if they go to trial and do not secure more than a predetermined settlement. Those who wish to fight face impossible dangers. Last year the actress Hugh Grant he remained hesitant, saying that not doing so could leave him facing millions in legal costs.
For the Duke of Sussex – and his co-accused, former deputy Labor leader Lord Tom Watson – it really wasn’t about the money. They hoped the trial would expose Murdoch executives to new revelations about the illegal use of private investigators and the company’s efforts to prevent scandals. That opportunity is now denied. The governor claimed a “big win” but the NGN strategy has worked. A lot of money has been spent to keep these cases from going to trial. In the end even he could not resist the financial risks.
Speaking after the settlement, Prince Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, said that NGN had “deleted more than 30 million emails and falsely denied”. They had incurred “payments and expenses in excess of £1bn”. Sherborne added that prosecutors were “strongly armed to settle without knowing the truth”. NGN’s lawyers are strongly opposed to the cover-up proposals and have always said that the cancellation is part of a wider house-keeping operation.
The same modus operandi of paying to avoid court proceedings is used in the US. In 2023, Fox News pays $787mn to settle a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for promoting false allegations that the channel was involved in voter fraud in the 2020 election. The main element of the libel was the fear within Fox that failure to comply with Trump’s plagiarism allegations will see viewers leave for other conservative channels. After the deal, Fox proudly announced: “This decision demonstrates Fox’s continued commitment to the highest standards of journalism.”
The fact that Murdoch is being welcomed into Trump’s party is no surprise. But he is still in court in the UK. The Tories blocked a second phase of public inquiry into media misconduct and opposed government control of the press. Starmer followed that line and fell in love with Murdoch in opposition. The Sun backed Starmer in the election – though perhaps because his victory seemed inevitable.
Since then, Murdoch has handed over the strategic leadership of his businesses to his eldest son Lachlan and sold his set to Sky TV. Rebekah Brooks, acquitted of wiretapping but a former editor of The Sun and News of the World – and the company’s chief executive when the scandal broke – is now CEO of the parent company of the UK, News UK.
There are many who despise Murdoch for his politics and influence, although few would dispute his genius as a businessman and newspaperman. But what is important here is that the settlements have confused vague questions about the actions of the company. Nick Davies, the journalist who broke the scandal, has detailed information from the memos.minutes, emails and documents released in court prior to the now settled caseswhile emphasizing that it is only one side of the story.
Murdoch’s businesses have spent a lot of money to avoid further public scrutiny. Their play is that the great danger has passed and this latest furore will subside. Now the only hope for transparency is that the police will reopen the issues of accountability above the company presented in new documents and by Sherborne and others, including former prime minister Gordon Brown. The police did not distinguish themselves in the first questions and there are questions that need to be resolved. Only when new research can be secured can it truly be called a victory.
Otherwise there can be only one conclusion. Like the Booklets The Great Gatsby, Murdoch’s businesses have been able to ruin lives and walk away with their money. He and his servants still did not bow down; to be loved and loved. The warrior prince won more than most but, in the end, even he could not pay the full price of justice.
