Rupert Murdoch's appearance before British lawmakers came to an abrupt halt Tuesday when a protester appeared to rush up to him while he was giving testimony in the House of Commons.
A man appeared to rush up behind Murdoch's back, but was struck by the media mogul's wife, Wendi Deng, who was sitting behind her husband.
Police were later seen holding a handcuffed man with white foam on his face and shirt.
The foam appeared to have spattered Murdoch in the face on Tuesday afternoon.
The hearing in the House of Commons resumed a few minutes later after the protester had been apprehended.
Earlier in the day, Murdoch told lawmakers that he appoints trusted lieutenants to run the divisions of his sprawling news empire, and he believes them to be largely "proud and great and ethical and distinguished professionals."
The 80-year-old media mogul was appearing before a House of Commons committee at the request of lawmakers who are probing a phone-hacking scandal that has embroiled many top politicians, police officers and journalists in Britain.
Murdoch recently shut down his popularNews of the World tabloid after it was revealed staff members had allegedly hacked into the phone of a murdered British teenager in 2002.
News of the World staff are accused of accessing Milly Dowler's phone and deleting messages, which then gave her family false hopes that the slain 13-year-old schoolgirl might still be alive.
The News Corp. chairman told the committee Tuesday that he was "shocked, appalled and ashamed" at the reported actions of News of the Worldstaff who were involved in the alleged Dowler debacle.
Despite speculation that Murdoch had closed the News of the World down for financial reasons, he told lawmakers that he had done so because of the criminal allegations about the paper.
But when questioned in detail about the extent of his knowledge of the News of the World operations, Murdoch suggested that the shuttered tabloid had been only a small fraction of his worldwide business.
"The News of the World is less than one per cent of our company," Murdoch told lawmakers in London.
"I employ 53,000 people around the world who are proud and great and ethical and distinguished professionals in their own right," he added, trying to convey a sense of the former tabloid's importance in News Corp.
He also told the committee that he did not believe the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation had uncovered evidence that staff members from any of his papers had hacked the phones of Sept. 11 victims and their families.
Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, and News Corp. executive Joel Klein, who is heading an internal investigation into the wrongdoing, sat behind him when he appeared before the committee.
James Murdoch, the elder man's son and the head of News Corp.'s European and Asian operations sat beside his father and also answered questions from lawmakers on Tuesday.
Both Murdochs continue to speak with lawmakers in London on Tuesday.
A man appeared to rush up behind Murdoch's back, but was struck by the media mogul's wife, Wendi Deng, who was sitting behind her husband.
Police were later seen holding a handcuffed man with white foam on his face and shirt.
The foam appeared to have spattered Murdoch in the face on Tuesday afternoon.
The hearing in the House of Commons resumed a few minutes later after the protester had been apprehended.
Earlier in the day, Murdoch told lawmakers that he appoints trusted lieutenants to run the divisions of his sprawling news empire, and he believes them to be largely "proud and great and ethical and distinguished professionals."
The 80-year-old media mogul was appearing before a House of Commons committee at the request of lawmakers who are probing a phone-hacking scandal that has embroiled many top politicians, police officers and journalists in Britain.
News of the World staff are accused of accessing Milly Dowler's phone and deleting messages, which then gave her family false hopes that the slain 13-year-old schoolgirl might still be alive.
The News Corp. chairman told the committee Tuesday that he was "shocked, appalled and ashamed" at the reported actions of News of the Worldstaff who were involved in the alleged Dowler debacle.
Despite speculation that Murdoch had closed the News of the World down for financial reasons, he told lawmakers that he had done so because of the criminal allegations about the paper.
But when questioned in detail about the extent of his knowledge of the News of the World operations, Murdoch suggested that the shuttered tabloid had been only a small fraction of his worldwide business.
"The News of the World is less than one per cent of our company," Murdoch told lawmakers in London.
"I employ 53,000 people around the world who are proud and great and ethical and distinguished professionals in their own right," he added, trying to convey a sense of the former tabloid's importance in News Corp.
He also told the committee that he did not believe the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation had uncovered evidence that staff members from any of his papers had hacked the phones of Sept. 11 victims and their families.
Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, and News Corp. executive Joel Klein, who is heading an internal investigation into the wrongdoing, sat behind him when he appeared before the committee.
James Murdoch, the elder man's son and the head of News Corp.'s European and Asian operations sat beside his father and also answered questions from lawmakers on Tuesday.
Both Murdochs continue to speak with lawmakers in London on Tuesday.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment