James Murdoch, one of the faces of the ongoing News Corp. hacking and bribery scandal over in the United Kingdom, wasn’t consulted when it came to killing the media conglomerate’s bid to take over British Sky Broadcasting. According to the Times, the decision was reached between James’s father, Rupert Murdoch, and News Corp. COO Chase Carey. The paper takes this as a signal that James is being rebuked — he used to run BskyB and has been a leading champion of the deal. Now, though, he’s getting pulled deeper into the newspaper scandal over payments that he approved to hacking victims. Reuters even goes so far as to suggest that Carey might be eyed as a successor to Murdoch himself, rather than one of Rupert’s children, as has commonly been anticipated.
Both Rupert and James Murdoch have claimed that they will not be available to testify over the hacking and bribery issues before Parliament, as requested. Instead, News International boss Rebekah Brooks will appear before the MPs.
Meanwhile, Neil Wallis, a deputy to busted former News of the Word boss Andy Coulson and then later executive editor himself, has been arrested as well. He is the ninth person to be brought in by Scotland Yard in relation to the phone-hacking scandal.
Phone hacking: former NoW executive editor Neil Wallis arrested in London [Guardian UK]
Carey’s star rises as scandal taints Murdoch name [Reuters]
Rebekah Brooks to face MPs over phone hacking [Guardian UK]
Father and Son Split on Tactics in Murdoch Family Drama [NYT]
