LONDON // James Murdoch's behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign spilled out into the public domain yesterday as documents detailing his close ties to the British establishment were examined by a judge-led inquiry into media ethics.
The nature of the Murdoch family's links with senior politicians is one of the key questions raised by Britain's phone-hacking scandal, which has rocked the British establishment with revelations of media misdeeds, police corruption and corporate malpractice.
Critics of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, the global media empire owned by James's father, claim the company's close ties to top UK leaders helped boost its business agenda and allowed it to get away with illegal activities for years.
Some allege that the Murdoch family's influential newspapers helped squeeze favours from loyal politicians. In particular, they argue that Rupert Murdoch's multibillion-pound bid for the lucrative British Sky Broadcasting Group was rubber-stamped by Britain's Conservative Party leaders in return for favourable press coverage.
James Murdoch, showing little emotion, repeatedly denied the charge yesterday.
"I would never have made that kind of a crass calculation. It just wouldn't occur to me," he testified under oath at Lord Justice Brian Leveson's inquiry into media ethics.
Mr Murdoch's comments gave a feel for his company's considerable sway, detailing 20-odd dinners, lunches, breakfasts and other meetings with Prime Ministers David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair between 2004 and 2010.
Mr Murdoch was also in close contact with British treasury chief George Osborne - visiting him at his retreat in Buckinghamshire - and Conservative government minister Jeremy Hunt, who once went so far as to describe himself as "a cheerleader for Rupert Murdoch's contribution to British television".
Over four hours of testimony, Mr Murdoch was quizzed about his wide-ranging access to confidential government discussions about his bid for BSkyB in 2011. At the time, News Corp was lobbying to be allowed to increase its share in BSkyB from about 40 per cent to 100 per cent, a potentially lucrative but sensitive move opposed by many competitors in the media industry.
After the phone-hacking scandal broke last July, News Corp abandoned that bid to take over BSkyB.
Mr Hunt - who is now the minister charged with overseeing the 2012 London Olympic Games - repeatedly gave Mr Murdoch intelligence on his political opponents and provided the inside track on what the government was doing, according to emails made public at the inquiry.
"Do you think it's appropriate, Mr Murdoch, that here you are getting confidential information as to what's going on at a high level of government?" asked inquiry lawyer Robert Jay.
Mr Murdoch hesitated before giving an awkward laugh.
"What I was concerned with here was the substance of what was being communicated, not the channel by which it was communicated," he said.
Earlier in the hearing, Mr Murdoch defended his record at the head of his father's scandal-plagued British newspaper arm, saying that subordinates prevented him from making a clean sweep at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid. He repeated allegations that the tabloid's then-editor Colin Myler and the company's former lawyer Tom Crone misled him about the scale of illegal behaviour at the newspaper.
Mr Leveson asked Mr Murdoch: "Can you think of a reason why Mr Myler or Mr Crone should keep this information from you? Was your relationship with them such that they may think: 'Well we needn't bother him with that' or 'We better keep it from it because he'll ask to cut out the cancer'?"
"That must be it," Mr Murdoch said. "I would say: 'Cut out the cancer,' and there was some desire to not do that."
Revelations that reporters at the News of the World had hacked into the phones of hundreds of high-profile people, including a teenage murder victim, prompted Rupert Murdoch to close the 168-year-old newspaper last summer.
The scandal has triggered three UK police investigations, led to more than 100 lawsuits and launched Mr Leveson's inquiry into media practices.
More on Palestine-Israeli relations
'Ashkal'
Director: Youssef Chebbi
Stars: Fatma Oussaifi and Mohamed Houcine Grayaa
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 6-cylinder, 4.8-litre
Transmission: 5-speed automatic and manual
Power: 280 brake horsepower
Torque: 451Nm
Price: from Dh153,00
On sale: now
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
SWEET TOOTH
Created by: Jim Mickle, Beth Schwartz
Stars: Nonso Anozie, Christian Convery, Adeel Akhtar, Stefania LaVie Owen
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1 minute, 35.246 seconds.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 1:35.332.
4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.497.
5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1:35.571.
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.815.
7. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:35.963.
8. Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 1:36.046.
9. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 1:36.065.
10. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:36.242.
Eliminated after second session
11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.
Eliminated after first session
15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.443.
UAE v West Indies
First ODI - Sunday, June 4
Second ODI - Tuesday, June 6
Third ODI - Friday, June 9
Matches at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. All games start at 4.30pm
UAE squad
Muhammad Waseem (captain), Aayan Khan, Adithya Shetty, Ali Naseer, Ansh Tandon, Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Ethan D’Souza, Fahad Nawaz, Jonathan Figy, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Lovepreet Singh, Matiullah, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Muhammad Jawadullah, Rameez Shahzad, Rohan Mustafa, Sanchit Sharma, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
The five pillars of Islam
'Midnights'
Artist: Taylor Swift
Label: Republic Records
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Bedu
Started: 2021
Founders: Khaled Al Huraimel, Matti Zinder, Amin Al Zarouni
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI, metaverse, Web3 and blockchain
Funding: Currently in pre-seed round to raise $5 million to $7 million
Investors: Privately funded