Last updated April 12, 2019
The scandal that began with the revelation that a private investigator hired by the now defunct News of the World newspaper had hacked into the used cell phone of a murdered 13 year old schoolgirl has been taken up yet another level by the resignation of Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and the arrest of former News International executive Rebekah Brooks.
Brooks, who was once the editor of the News of the World and was in charge of the UK wing of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in the United Kingdom until her resignation on Friday, was arrested by police yesterday, not long before Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson announced his resignation in the wake of the continuing scandal that is now implying journalists bribed police officers for information.
Brooks has not been charged but was arrested for “conspiring to intercept communications and on corruption allegations”, according to The Washington Post. Stephenson insists that he has done nothing wrong but is resigning because the office is being tainted by the belief that he has done.
Across the pond, the FBI has launched an investigation into the conduct of News International on US soil, while mainstream media outlets – including “USA Today” – are now finally beginning to turn their attention to the scandal and what it could mean for the Murdoch media empire as a whole. More arrests and resignations are tipped for the coming weeks.