Revealed: Cameron's 26 meetings in 15 months with Murdoch chiefs

[Snoutport]

Source: Independent U.K.

No 10 bowed to pressure over Mr Cameron's handling of the phone-hacking scandal last night and released details of all his contacts with senior staff at the company since he became Prime Minister. Mr Cameron has held more than twice the number of meetings with Murdoch executives as he has with any other media organisation. There were two "social" meetings between Mr Cameron and Ms Brooks, one of which was also attended by James Murdoch, and in return they invited the Prime Minister to a succession of parties.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/revealed-camerons-26-meetings-in-15-months-with-murdoch-chiefs-2314550.html

---

I have been saying all along that the phone hacking scandal will bring down Cameron's govt. I think we are starting to see it unravel. Delicious, eh?

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Popcorn?

And yes...we are going to see revelations here too.

One wonders about the bush years.

[JDPriestly]

3. We need only think of election night 2001. Fox News announced

that Bush had been elected. Fox News was wrong, but it was enough to put Bush in the White House. The damage was done.

The influence of Fox News has been detrimental to our country as well as to the UK.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

23. FOX - A poisonous vine that needs to be eradicated

[JackRiddler]

31. +2000

[aquart]

2. No love for Cameron BUT...

Would any other British government have had a different schedule of meetings? What did Blair's list look like?

Murdoch has been terrorizing ALL of them.

[No Elephants]

9. You're probably right on the money.

However, I don't know if all of them would also have hired Murdoch's castoff.

Ultimately, it's a little like musical chairs. Cameron was the one standing when the music stopped. Life is unfair sometimes.

[aquart]

11. And sometimes it's accidentally just.

[beac]

26. Remember George Bush hiring FOX's Tony Snow?

Could get interesting for "The Decider" too.

[aquart]

28. Like this country would ever let anything touch W.

But the fantasy is certainly pleasant.

[ikri]

10. Probably as bad or worse

But, Labour were terrified of News Corp and even when MPs and ministers had been, or felt, threatened by the company they still acted with an unreal amount of deference to News Corp executives.

They believed that without News Corp on their side they wouldn't win elections (not entirely without reason, in all 3 elections that Labour won they had the backing of News Corp), in the same way they believed that it was only due to their "third way" politics that made them electable. Labour probably had far more power than they ever realised early on, they could have rejected News Corp and Blairite politics entirely and still been successful such was the hatred and distrust of the Tory party at the time.

Murdoch has never been liked or trusted and Labour could have easily gone on the offensive against him without damaging their election chances except with those people who would never vote for them anyway.

[dipsydoodle]

20. At this rate

it won't be long before Blair's list is published for an equivalent period of time. I'd expect that to dwarf Cameron's figure.

[corpseratemedia]

4. he just was making too many excuses in Parliament

i hope so

for me far more sinister is 2000 here ... i really want to know

[Rosa Luxemburg]

24. Right wing friends

Saudi money

[Firebrand Gary]

5. Popcorn, YES PLEASE!

I have not given this story much interest. Only because Murdoch owns everyone and everything, therefor I have thought the guy could do what ever he wanted and get away with it.

I just may be wrong and I would like that more than anything.

[ejpoeta]

8. i am hopeful that his being able to lead people by the nose will get him in the end

because then when he goes to parliament it will bite him in the ass.

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. Stay on it, snoutpout!!!

Keep the info coming, pls.

I hope Fox is losing a lot of advertisers.

[xchrom]

7. Recommend

[Swagman]

12. why are the FBI not investigating Rupert Murdoch for sexual offences ?

Murdoch is a US citizen, It is an offense for US citizen to commit a sexual offense in a foreign land if it is an offense under US law.

The Sun newspaper (proprietor : R.Murdoch) regularly published topless sexually provocative photos of 16 year old girls until the SEXUAL OFFENSES ACT 2003 prohibited such actions and raised the age to 18.

Similar photographs taken today in the UK would result in a charge of producing child pornography. Publishing and selling such photos would result in a long jail sentence.

US teen boys have been jailed in the USA and labelled 'sex offender' for life for 'sexting' topless pics of their 16 year old girlfriends.

There is no statute of limitations for these offenses.

Or is the law only to be used against little people. Wake up FBI.

correction : the Statute of Limitations for a sexual offense in Delaware (News Int HQ) is ten years. 2013 !

[Spider Jerusalem]

15. Because it was legal in Britain until 2003?

And therefore not an offence (note spelling)? The US can't claim jurisdiction, nor can a Federal prosecutor reasonably bring an indictment for something which occurred in a country where it was perfectly legal, because it sets all sorts of very bad precedents.

[Swagman]

18. OK-point taken Means he published child porn, profited from it and got away with it.

Historic abuse I think it's called.

[dipsydoodle]

22. All of News International papers here

are individual UK registered companies each with its own registered number and the shareholders are incidental. As such the companies are subject to UK laws.

Best just deal with that one.

[Hubert Flottz]

13. I hope they tie Bush and Cheney in to this pool of scum too.

You know FOX was their main soapbox. And those WSJ political polls were probably getting their numbers straight from Rupert's office. We know what they were up to but now the world is going to know. They have pushed Trust in the MSM to the brink of extinction. I only hope that the truth comes out about Rupert's part in the selling the invasion of Iraq for Tony and W.(Crimes Against Peace)

"Be sure your sins will find you out."

[Botany]

14. I have no doubt that the NSA's massive wiretaps .....

.... gleaned some information that was passed onto Fox by Rove.

[Hubert Flottz]

16. I hope it all blows up in their criminal faces.

They know that they can NEVER win, without cheating like hell.

[harun]

25. Definitely

[dotymed]

17. Hopefully, in the UK. it will.

I am sure there is a lot of the phone tapping that occurred in America, it will not be covered or prosecuted, IMO. Funny how it used to be just the opposite.

When America was a country of laws, we publicized and prosecuted criminals, especially the ones who thought they were above the law, now we ignore it , except at blogs like DU.

I have a friend who stays pretty current on world affairs, she was barely cognizant that something had happened in the U.K. concerning the tabloid, News of the World.

I was sent a message from "Move to Amend," I think it was, that asked you to rate the "top 40 ideas" submitted by citizens to put people back to work. There were "0" ideas to vote on.

I did reply and ask them how to submit an idea, I have yet to hear anything back. I honestly believe that if the Fairness Doctrine were reinstated (and updated), that just through the free flow of honest information and ideas,

America would benefit in every way. Including employment. The corporations would have to cease their antics or else.

[dipsydoodle]

21. It was hacking here

not tapping which is different. An issue of the hacking was the alleged deletion of texts which is an offence against the sender - not the recipient.

[dmosh42]

19. Murdoch will let the underlings take the blame! No problem for him! n/t

[BeyondGeography]

27. I have a follow-up question

Other than BSkyB, what the fuck for?

[Uncle Joe]

29. What a cosmic coincidence this part is.

Mr Cameron and Ms Brooks, who are neighbours in West Oxfordshire, met over Christmas – including a get-together on Boxing Day – just days after Vince Cable was relieved of responsibility for deciding the fate of News Corp's BSkyB bid. Downing Street has always refused to discuss what they talked about, but officials insist that the subject of the BSkyB takeover was never raised.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/revealed-camerons-26-meetings-in-15-months-with-murdoch-chiefs-2314550.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Cable

December 2010 undercover sting comments

In late December 2010, undercover reporters from The Daily Telegraph, posing as constituents, set up a meeting with Cable, who expressed frustration with being in the coalition and compared it to "fighting a war"; he stated he had "a nuclear option... if they push me too far then I can walk out and bring the government down and they know that", and had to "pick" his fights carefully. He also claimed the Liberal Democrats had pressed for a "very tough approach" to the UK's banks, which had been opposed by the Conservatives. He described the coalition's attempt at fast, widespread reforms (including the health service and local governments) as being a "kind of Maoist revolution", and thought "we are trying to do too many things... a lot of it is Tory inspired. The problem is not that they are Tory inspired, but that they haven’t thought them through. We should be putting a brake on them." When his comments appeared in the press, Cable stated, "Naturally I am embarrassed by these comments and I regret them", before reaffirming his commitment to the coalition government, stating that "I am proud of what it is achieving". <38><39>

In an undisclosed part of the Telegraph transcript given to the BBC's Robert Peston by a whistleblower unhappy that the Telegraph had not published Cable's comments in full, Cable stated in reference to Rupert Murdoch's attempted takeover of BSkyB, "I have declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we are going to win."<40> Following this revelation Cable had his responsibility for media affairs – including ruling on Murdoch's takeover plans – withdrawn from his role as business secretary.<41>

Thanks for the thread, Snoutport.

[Canuckistanian]

30. Leaders should NOT be meeting with media CEO's Ever.

Not when there are TONS of opportunities for regulation cuts in exchange for favorable press coverage.

It just shouldn't happen.

[salin]

32. and get this --- No10 is going to issue a revised list... this one was apparently incomplete

too bad no one on this side of the pond would care or be surprised to find connections and coordination of message between media and govt officials (think Rove during Ws presidency.)