Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Gordon Brown denies Rupert Murdoch's Leveson 'war' claim


Ex-Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown has denied News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch's claim that he threatened to "make war" on the media company.
Mr Murdoch told the Leveson Inquiry Mr Brown had phoned him in 2009 after the Sun moved to back the Conservatives.
He quoted Mr Brown as saying: "Well, your company has declared war on my government and we have no alternative but to make war on your company."
But later, Mr Brown responded by saying the allegation was "wholly wrong".
Mr Murdoch had claimed that Mr Brown had not been in a "balanced state of mind" when he made the phone call.
Mr Brown said he did not phone, meet, or write to Mr Murdoch about the Sun's decision to support the Conservatives.
"The only phone call I had with Mr Murdoch in the last year of my time in office was a phone call specifically about Afghanistan and his newspaper's coverage of the war," he said.
"I hope Mr Murdoch will have the good grace to correct his account."
In his written witness statement to the inquiry, Mr Murdoch described attending breakfast and lunches with Mr Brown in which politics and policy were discussed. He added: "I am afraid that my personal relationship with Mr Brown suffered after the Sun no longer supported him politically."
Mr Murdoch said he had frequently met Tony Blair when he was prime minister.
The media mogul said he regarded Mr Blair as a personal friend and enjoyed speaking to him before, during and after his time as prime minister.
In his written statement, he recalled the then-Labour leader speaking "convincingly about the ability of a new Labour Party to energise Britain" at a News Corp conference in 1995.
This evidence session was an opportunity, Rupert Murdoch declared, "to put certain myths to bed".
High up on his list was the idea that he uses his papers and his contact with politicians to further his commercial ambitions. Hitting the desk at one point, he insisted, "In 10 years I never asked Mr Blair for anything. Nor did I receive any favours".
Rupert Murdoch, according to Rupert Murdoch, is a man who doesn't know many politicians and who has never asked a PM for anything. His proudest achievement is clearly the success of the Sun newspaper - ministers seeking an insight into his thinking should read the tabloid's editorials.
The evidence of one Murdoch has already imperilled the political future of one cabinet minister. The evidence of another, has not so far badly damaged the standing of any others.
But there's always tomorrow.
Rupert Murdoch, after all, is a man who by his own admission, is not good at holding his tongue.
"Mr Blair did not expressly request our support in 1995, 1997 or any other election, but he was a politician and I had no doubt that he would welcome the support of our newspapers and our readers," he said.
"I want to say that I, in 10 years of his power, never asked Mr Blair for anything.
"Nor indeed did I receive any favours. If you want to check that, I think you should call him."
Meanwhile, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt's special adviser Adam Smith has quit after Rupert Murdoch's son James on Tuesday revealed details of contacts between Mr Smith and senior figures at News Corp, while the firm was bidding to take control of BSkyB.
But Mr Hunt has rejected calls for him to resign, telling the Commons he had "strictly followed due process" in overseeing the bid.
In his written statement, Mr Murdoch said he first met David Cameron, who was then Leader of the Opposition, at a family picnic at his daughter's country home.
They did not discuss politics as they were surrounded by children, Mr Murdoch said. Mr Cameron visited him at his offices in Wapping, east London, some time later at the Tory leader's request.
Mr Murdoch said: "Mr Cameron, since his election as prime minister, I have met principally in social settings, where little of substance was discussed."
The News Corp chairman said he could not remember meeting Mr Cameron on a yacht near the Greek island of Santorini in August 2008, but that his wife Wendi could.
'A complete myth'
Counsel to the inquiry Robert Jay QC asked Mr Murdoch if he had discussed policy such as broadcasting regulations with Mr Cameron.

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Jay probing on perception of improper influence, but no evidence to nail the point down. RM says it's a myth”
"Mr Jay, you keep inferring that endorsements were motivated by business motives and if that had been the case we would have endorsed the Conservative Party in every election," he said. "But I didn't. I was interested in issues."
"I want to put it to bed once and for all, that that is a complete myth… that I used the influence of the Sun or the supposed political power to get favourable treatment."
He said the perception of his influence over politicians irritated him.
"Because I think it's a myth. And, everything I do every day I think proves it to be such. Have a look at - well it's not a problem - but how I treat Mayor Bloomberg in New York - sends him crazy. But, we support him every time he runs for re-election."
Mr Murdoch also denied ever discussing with Mr Cameron News Corp's bid for the 61% of UK broadcaster BSkyB it did not own.
He said there was no link in his mind between his support for the Conservatives and News Corp's bid.
'Amusing guy'
Mr Murdoch said he had no strong feelings over the Scottish National Party (SNP) - despite The Sun in Scotland backing them in the last general election.
Rupert Murdoch on Mrs Thatcher: "I didn't expect any help from her, nor did I ask for any"
He denied that any deal had been done with the party's leader, Alex Salmond, who he said was "an amusing guy" with whom he had a warm relationship.
The inquiry yesterday considered claims made in an email from a senior News Corp figure suggesting Mr Salmond would call Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt "whenever we need him to".
Mr Salmond denied any wrong-doing over the BSkyB takeover bid, saying he would be "delighted" to appear before the Leveson Inquiry.
Earlier, Mr Murdoch denied asking or being offered any favours when he met then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at a lunch in 1981, at the same time his company was buying The Times and Sunday Times newspapers.
He admitted he was a "great admirer" of Baroness Thatcher, whom the Sun supported in the 1979 general election.
Counsel Robert Jay QC suggested Mr Murdoch wanted to show Mrs Thatcher he had the will to take on the unions over his bid for the Times and Sunday Times.
But the media mogul replied: "I didn't have the will to crush the unions, I might have had the desire, but that took several years."
'Lazy reporters'
Asked about the News of the World, which was forced to close in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal, Mr Murdoch said he was "sorry to say" he "never much interfered" with it.
Mr Murdoch said he tried very hard to set an example of ethical behaviour and made it clear he expected it.
He said he did not believe in using hacking or private detectives because it was a "lazy way of reporters not doing their job".
But he added: "I think it is fair when people have themselves held up as iconic figures or great actors that they be looked at."
In his witness statement to the inquiry, Mr Murdoch also confirmed that News Corporation's Management and Standards Committee was co-operating with the US Department of Justice.
The news comes after reports that investigations into phone-hacking 

Colombia sex scandal 'did not put Obama in danger'



US President Barack Obama's safety was not risked by a vice scandal involving a dozen Secret Service agents in Colombia, a Senate panel has been told.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told the judiciary committee the misconduct was "inexcusable".
Wednesday's hearing was the first public proceedings on the scandal since it broke earlier this month.
The agents were part of a team preparing for a visit by Mr Obama to the 14-15 April Summit of the Americas.
But asked whether the safety or security of President Obama was ever at risk, Ms Napolitano said that had been one of her first questions to Mark Sullivan, head of the Homeland Security Department, which oversees the Secret Service.
"The answer is 'no'. There was no risk," she was quoted as saying.
Eight of the 12 agents have been sacked. A further 12 military personnel are being investigated, and have had their security clearance revoked.

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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Secret Service Colombia prostitution scandal on Wednesday
"We will not allow the actions of a few to tarnish the proud legacy of the Secret Service”
Janet NapolitanoUS Homeland Security chief
President Obama described the men as "knuckleheads" on Tuesday, but defended the Service as a whole as "incredible".
'Actions of a few'
Ms Napolitano said a "thorough and full investigation" was under way into events at the Hotel Caribe in Cartagena ahead of President Obama's arrival for the summit.
The scandal erupted after a Colombian woman said one of the agents had welched on a promise to pay $800 (£500) to spend the night with her.
It then emerged up to 20 women were allegedly involved in the scandal.
"All 12 [agents]... have either faced personnel action or been cleared of serious misconduct," Napolitano said.
"We will not allow the actions of a few to tarnish the proud legacy of the Secret Service."
She said part of the investigation would focus on "what if anything needs to be tightened up".
A military investigation is also being held into the events in Cartagena, and another Senate panel is looking for any evidence of a pattern of misconduct by the Secret Service over a longer period.
"If so, what was done about it, could something have been done to have prevented what happened in Cartagena?" said Senator Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
"And now that it has happened, what do they intend to do?"
It has also emerged that three Marines and one member of staff at the US embassy in the Brazilian capital Brasilia were punished last year after they allegedly pushed a sex worker out of a car amid a dispute over payment.
An unnamed official told AP news agency the woman involved - who reportedly broke her collarbone when she was pushed - had decided to sue the embassy.



Obama never in danger from Secret Service scandal: official





 U.S. President Barack Obama was never in danger because of a prostitution scandal involving Secret Service agents during a presidential trip to Colombia, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told lawmakers Wednesday.
Testifying at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Napolitano said "there was no risk to the president" stemming from the scandal, which took place in Colombia's Cartagena, where Obama attended a weekend summit.
According to U.S. media reports, the allegations related to activity involving prostitutes by 11 Secret Service agents before Obama's arrival on April 13.
Napolitano said the allegations were "inexcusable" and promised a "thorough and full investigation is under way."
So far, eight agents have been forced to leave the agency, and two have been cleared of misconduct. One other employee had his security clearance stripped, and can now appeal that decision. If the appeal is unsuccessful, he will lose his job because all agency personnel must have a security clearance.
Napolitano said the accused "have either faced personnel action or been cleared or serious misconduct," noting "we will not allow the actions of a few to tarnish the proud legacy of the Secret Service."
The Secret Service is tasked with protecting the president.

Cuban actors in 'defector film' disappear in Miami


Two Cuban actors starring in a film about defectors have disappeared en route from Cuba to a showing at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
Javier Nunez Florian and Analin de la Rua de la Torre, both 20, who star in the film Una Noche, disappeared at Miami airport.
Though their fate is unknown, the pair are assumed to have defected.
The film depicts three Cuban teenagers trying to escape the poverty of their homeland to begin a new life in Miami.
The film's producer, Havana-based Sandy Perez Aguila, said that he last saw the pair at Miami airport during a stopover en route to New York.
They failed to turned up at the departure gate but he was unable to report them officially missing until they had been gone for 24 hours.
'Difficult choices'
Mr Aguila told the Los Angeles Times on Monday that when he arrived in New York, he opened their suitcases and found them empty.
"It was very strange," he said. "We had no conversation about defection on the plane from Havana, or at any other time. They were just excited to come to New York for the premiere."
Director Lucy Mulloy said she was disappointed that the actors could not attend the film's premiere last Thursday.
"I wish they could have been here in New York City to enjoy the Tribeca Film Festival," she said.
"Though they've made difficult choices about what to do at present, I wish them the very best in all their endeavours and I hope I will get to see them again soon."
"I would love to know that they are well," she added.
The actors previously attended the Berlin Film Festival in Germany for several days.
Directorio Democratico Cubano, a US exile group, declined to comment, saying they were not directly related to the case.
Several Cuban athletes and artists have defected to pursue careers outside their home country.
In 2005, Cuban ballet dancer Rolando Sarabia crossed the border into the US. In 2008 seven members of Cuba's Olympic soccer team defected in Florida after a game with the US.
Last year, five members of the National Ballet of Cuba on tour in Canada decided to remain in the country after performing there.

YPF Repsol row: EU warns Argentina over nationalisation







The EU's trade commissioner has warned Argentina that its nationalisation of the oil firm YPF will have long-term consequences and may put off investors.
Karel De Gucht said the EU would seek a settlement at the World Trade Organization if necessary.
Last week Argentina decided to strip the Spanish firm Repsol of its controlling stake in YPF and took over Repsol's offices, infuriating Madrid.
Euro MPs say the EU should review the tariffs that help Argentina's exports.
"By taking this action, Argentina has sent shock waves through the international business community," Mr De Gucht said at the Brussels Management School ICHEC on Tuesday.
"The consequences for its own economic development will be felt for a long time to come."
The EU would do "everything in [its] power" to support the Spanish government's claim for full compensation, he added.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez accused Repsol of having drained YPF since acquiring a controlling stake in the 1990s.
Her move against Repsol was popular among Argentines and the country's senate is expected to approve it on Wednesday.
Repsol has warned of possible legal action against companies or investors who help develop Argentinian resources that Repsol was working on, the Associated Press news agency says.

Nationalising YPF

  • Spain's Repsol has hitherto owned 57.4% of shares with 25.5% belonging to Argentina's Petersen, 0.02% to the Argentine government and 17% traded on stock exchanges
  • The Argentine government proposes to seize 51% of the shares, all of which will be taken from Repsol's stake, leaving the Spanish firm with 6.4%
  • The expropriated shares will in turn be divided between the Argentine government and provincial governors
  • Following the expropriation, Petersen will retain its 25.5% stake and 17% of the shares will continue to be traded
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo told reporters on Monday: "I do not see what interest Argentina has in isolating itself from the rest of the world and closing its doors to investors.
"Argentina needs to get out of this situation. We are trying with our diplomatic efforts to explain that Argentina is working against its own interests."
A quarter of YPF is owned by Argentina's Eskenazi family through its firm, Peterson.
Repsol has said it wants around $10bn (£6.2bn) for its stake in YPF, but Argentina has said it does not accept that valuation.
YPF, Argentina's biggest oil company, was privatised in 1993. Last year it announced huge new finds of shale oil and gas.