‘Humbled’ Rupert Murdoch Faces Parliamentary Committee

LONDON: News Corporation chief Rupert Murdoch said he was "humbled" as he faced the British Parliament’s culture, media and sport committee alongside his son James today in a hearing on the phone-hacking scandal.

"This is the most humble day of my life," said Murdoch, who said he was "absolutely shocked, appalled and ashamed" when he learned that murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler had been a News of the World phone-hacking victim.

Both executives faced tough questions from the committee about how much they knew about what was happening at News of the World, and when they knew it. The now scuppered plan to take full control of BSkyB was only briefly mentioned. Rupert Murdoch noted: "All our competitors in this country formally announced a consortium to try to stop [us]… They caught us with dirty hands and they built the hysteria up… A mood developed which made it really impractical to go ahead.”

The hearing was interrupted when the News Corp. chairman and CEO was assaulted by an activist wielding a paper plate covered with shaving foam. Wendi Deng leapt to her husband’s defense before the protester was apprehended by security guards. The hearing was then put on hold for 20 minutes.

When he returned, Rupert Murdoch was asked if, as "captain of the ship," he had considered resigning, given that Les Hinton has already resigned because he was the one in charge at News International when the phone hacking was taking place. He responded with a firm "No," adding that the people he trusted who had let him down and "behaved disgracefully and betrayed the company," should be the ones facing the consequences of their actions. He added, "I’m the best person to clean this up."

The hearing ended with Rupert Murdoch reading a prepared statement in which he said, "My son and I have come here with great respect for all of you, for Parliament and for the people of Britain whom you represent.

"This is the most humble day of my career."

Rupert Murdoch went on to apologize for the instances of phone hacking. He noted that he has run News Corp.—a company with 52,000 employees—for 57 years, "and I have made my share of mistakes."

He went on to say, "At no time do I remember being as sickened as when I heard what the Dowler family had to endure nor do I recall being as angry as when I was told that the News of the World could have compounded their distress."

He concluded, "Above all, I hope that, through the process that is beginning with your questions today, we will come to understand the wrongs of the past, prevent them from happening again and, in the years ahead, restore the nation’s trust in our company and in all British journalism.

"I am committed to doing everything in my power to make this happen."