Gordon Brown says he was in tears when The Murdoch scumbags

[malaise]

exposed his son's medical condition.
---------------------

Gordon Brown has launched an all-out attack on News International accusing it of using "disgusting" methods to gain access to personal information.

The former prime minister also alleged the newspaper giant had links to the "criminal underworld".

And he accused The Sunday Times of gaining access to his personal bank and legal files when he was chancellor.

News International said it would investigate Mr Brown' s allegations and wanted to see all the information.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14119225

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[dipsydoodle]

1. New Labour were pretty disgusting themselves

No that that justifies this form of retribution.

[malaise]

2. I agree 100%

I love his line that there was no legitimate way that they obtained the information.

Clearly three papers were involved in targeting him. I'm betting they did the same thing in the US.

The cover up between NI and the police is going to being down some big men and women. This should finish off Brooks.
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[dipsydoodle]

7. What mystifies me

is why Brown has waited until now to come out with this. Most of News International's antics seem to go back to the period between 1997 and 2010 while NL were in power. I'm wondering if there's some considerably more serious stuff tucked away maybe on the subject of Iraq. Brooks did allude to stuff which would come in the future which would make the current material, serious as it is, pale into insignificance.

:hi:

[malaise]

10. That is my view as well

I did notice that Blair suddenly took off on his Middle East Peace Talks as they blew up last week.
Blair is the quintessential scumbag so expect several details to follow.

[salin]

13. Blair and Cameron.

have already seen their better days in their careers. The toxic tarnish will, I suspect, long cling to both of them.

[malaise]

15. Couldn't happen to two nicer persons

:puke:
Cameron's Coalition could end right here.

[salin]

17. two interesting rumors (so far)... Cameron giving the nod to conservative MPs

to support the Labour anti Murdoch BskyB takeover vote (take a little heat off himself.) And last night's accusation that News International is leaking some of the investigation items as an effort to shift focus.

Neither Cameron's shift focus, nor NewsInt. is likely to do much good ... and the strategies indicate recognition of weakness.

As we used to sing "The party's over...." (not polit. party - yet... but the figurative partying among this power elite.)

[October]

14. I assumed they didn't have proof till now. /nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. It was the tipping point of public opinion when Milly Dowler's name was re-introduced

She (or her family) had been mentioned before (months ago, if not years) as one of the possible targets (as were the families of the Soham girls); but at the end of her killer's trial, the public sympathy for her family was overwhelming - it dominated the British news for about 3 days. Whether or not it was already known by Nick Davies at that stage that Milly's messages had been deleted, I don't know; but that was the point at which it became a story that everyone was going to notice, read more, and condemn Murdoch and his employees for. When targets were celebrities who had gained from publicity in the tabloids, or politicians who also cooperated with the tabloids for their careers (and were widely despised anyway), people didn't care that much (even royal aides, or royals themselves, are seen as being in a publicity compact with the papers); but no-one in the whole country thought it was ethical going after murder victims and their families, and they may have affected the investigation too.

So once the Dowler aspect came out, all the other hacks they'd done were publicised. And now, people will look at what they did to Brown, without saying "oh, he's a politician, who cares about him".

[Kingofalldems]

3. In the US, as one DUer said yesterday, we need a local

DA to get the ball rolling on this.

[malaise]

4. CREW and Media Matters have called for

hearings.
Have no fear heads will roll.

[babylonsister]

8. Media Matters is working on it...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1468378

An Email from Media Matters for America. Asking us to get Congress to investigate NewsCorp Here

[lunatica]

5. Now that big names are coming out fighting I feel more confident

that heads will roll.

[Mimosa]

6. Do they have Health Information Privacy (HIPPA) laws in the UK? n/t

[dipsydoodle]

9. Its embraced

by the Data Protection Act. Under that the culprit is the person who gave out the information : not the person who used it.

[democrat_patriot]

11. "News International said it would investigate ... and wanted to see all the info

They already have all of the information.

News International is investigating themselves?

Where is MI-5? Or is this not their jurisdiction? Sounds like Scotland Yard may be compromised.

[malaise]

12. Isn't this just hilarious

:hi: