07/07/2011

Download Subtitles

Transcript

:00:10. > :00:12.The This is BBC World News Today with me Tim Willcox. Closing down a

:00:12. > :00:22.contaminated title - News International says this week's News

:00:22. > :00:23.

:00:23. > :00:26.of the World will be its last. Clearly certain activities did not

:00:26. > :00:31.live up to their standards, a matter of great regret for me

:00:31. > :00:33.personally and for the paper. dramatic decision was made as

:00:33. > :00:35.detectives think more than 4000 people were potentially phone

:00:35. > :00:43.hacked. Reports too that relatives of soldiers killed in Afghanistan

:00:43. > :00:47.and Iraq were targeted. In these actions are proved to be have -- to

:00:47. > :00:51.be verified I am appalled. I find it disgusting. Fighting inflation

:00:51. > :01:01.and rising wage demands - the ECB raises interest rates - good news

:01:01. > :01:13.

:01:13. > :01:16.Hello and welcome. After 168 years Britain's biggest selling tabloid

:01:16. > :01:19.newspaper the News of the World is shutting down and publishing its

:01:19. > :01:22.final edition on Sunday. The newspaper at the centre of a phone

:01:22. > :01:24.hacking scandal is part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation media

:01:24. > :01:26.empire and the UK's most read newspaper. News International

:01:26. > :01:29.chairman James Murdoch says the newspaper had become sullied by

:01:29. > :01:35.behaviour that was wrong and had failed to hold itself to account.

:01:35. > :01:40.Our Business Editor Robert Peston looks now at the paper's demise.

:01:40. > :01:44.For years it has been perhaps the most famous Sunday newspaper in

:01:44. > :01:50.Britain but the 168 year-old News of the World is being shot because

:01:50. > :01:56.recently it became more famous for all the wrong reasons. This

:01:56. > :02:00.afternoon the chairman of News International, James Murdoch,

:02:00. > :02:05.announced that this Sunday's edition will be the last and all

:02:05. > :02:08.revenues from that edition will go to good causes. It is the

:02:08. > :02:12.revelations that Journalism when bad that means it will no longer

:02:12. > :02:19.roll off the presses. The alleged hacking of the mobile phones of

:02:19. > :02:23.Milly Dowler, and the phone of a parent of one of the so when

:02:23. > :02:27.victims, and the privacy of soldiers killed in actions. -

:02:27. > :02:31.Madeleine action. These are why the News of the World had no future.

:02:31. > :02:39.spoke to a journalist on the paper this afternoon about our before it

:02:39. > :02:44.happened and they were feeling disgruntled. Rupert Murdoch,

:02:44. > :02:49.pursued by journalists in Idaho earlier today... I am not making

:02:49. > :02:54.any comments. He bought the paper in 1969 and four years it was a

:02:54. > :02:58.huge money-spinner so its closure represents a huge humiliation. So

:02:58. > :03:03.what prospects for the News of the World's: staff? They are being

:03:03. > :03:07.invited to apply for other jobs within a media empire that owns the

:03:07. > :03:12.Times, Sunday Times and the sun. In fact, some believe the News of the

:03:12. > :03:16.World may be reborn in days as perhaps the sun on Sunday. It is a

:03:16. > :03:22.typical management stunt of Mr Murdoch, he get rid of problems. In

:03:22. > :03:26.this case nobody in senior management, Rebekah Brooks a clear

:03:26. > :03:30.example, none of those go but the workers at the News of the World

:03:30. > :03:34.going and there is no doubt it will become the Sunday sun. I have to

:03:34. > :03:38.say I think the kind of culture that has driven all these kind of

:03:38. > :03:42.circumstances is as much evidence of the same editor of the Sun as

:03:42. > :03:44.the News of the World. I am interested not in closing down

:03:44. > :03:48.newspapers, but in those who were responsible being brought to

:03:48. > :03:51.justice and those who had responsibility for the running of

:03:51. > :03:55.that newspaper taking their responsibility and they do not

:03:55. > :03:57.think those things have happened today. The News of the World's

:03:57. > :04:02.continued existence provided ammunition to those campaigning

:04:03. > :04:10.against the attempt by a parent company to buy full control of

:04:10. > :04:14.British Sky Broadcasting, and that prize is another clue to why the

:04:14. > :04:21.Murdochs have been ruthless in killing of a newspaper that was

:04:21. > :04:25.their golden goose for years. In a moment we'll hear more of that

:04:25. > :04:29.interview with James Murdoch. Let's just discuss these dramatic events

:04:29. > :04:32.now. With me is the veteran British news correspondent Dame Ann Leslie.

:04:32. > :04:35.In our New York studio is the journalist and author of The Man

:04:35. > :04:42.Who Owns the News, a biography of Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and

:04:42. > :04:50.CEO of News Corp. A brutal decision, classic Murdoch perhaps. The

:04:50. > :04:58.successful adaptation of the contaminated toxic title? --

:04:58. > :05:04.amputation. I doubt it. For as we Cillian scandals, this is too

:05:04. > :05:11.little, too late. I think the interesting thing is that it is in

:05:11. > :05:15.the last 48 hours where it seems the Murdoch family have awakened to

:05:15. > :05:23.realise the peril area and be drastic steps that might be

:05:23. > :05:30.required to keep them safe. But again, too little too late. A quick

:05:30. > :05:35.response from you about this. Is it too little too late? I agree. I

:05:35. > :05:41.always think Murdoch is the most brilliant gambler. We have to

:05:41. > :05:48.remember that he gambled on satellite news, all of those things.

:05:48. > :05:53.We must also remember the gambler is now 80. But I think this

:05:53. > :05:58.gamble... He had to close News of the World. What he did not do,

:05:58. > :06:04.which you should have done, was sacked the beautiful auburn-haired

:06:04. > :06:11.temptress, Rebekah Wade, for soon you -- for whom he seems to have a

:06:11. > :06:20.great tenderness. It is amazing. I know that they journalists, most of

:06:20. > :06:25.whom were not involved, are furious because they feel they and the

:06:25. > :06:28.paper have been sacrificed for the flame-haired temptress. They say he

:06:28. > :06:35.treats her like a daughter, although it does seem the sun on

:06:35. > :06:40.Sunday will emerge from all of this. Let's hear more from James Murdoch.

:06:40. > :06:50.He gave a detailed interview about why he has taken this decision and

:06:50. > :06:52.

:06:52. > :06:57.also about the future of Rebekah Clearly the practices of certain

:06:57. > :07:01.individuals did not live up to the standards and quality of Journalism

:07:01. > :07:08.we believe in, I believe in and that this company believes in. This

:07:08. > :07:14.company has been a great investor in Journalism, in media in general

:07:14. > :07:18.and do something we believe very strongly in. And clearly certain

:07:18. > :07:23.activities did not live up to those standards. It is a matter of great

:07:23. > :07:28.regret for me personally and for the company. Have you spoken to

:07:28. > :07:33.your father about this? Is he personally ashamed? He was very

:07:33. > :07:38.clear in a comment made yesterday that these allegations are shocking

:07:38. > :07:44.and usually regrettable. This is the way we all feel in the company,

:07:44. > :07:47.not least the many journalists around the world to work and News

:07:48. > :07:53.Corporation, who really believe and what they do and work very hard to

:07:53. > :07:59.do a good job for readers. When they started I had heard rumours

:07:59. > :08:02.that phone hacking was rife. Rebekah Brooks was a journalist who

:08:02. > :08:06.came through your organisation, she was the editor of the News of the

:08:06. > :08:10.World when this was going on, she was paying out large amounts of

:08:11. > :08:14.money to people conducting some of these activities, is it really even

:08:14. > :08:24.vaguely conceivable that she and many others did not know what was

:08:24. > :08:29.going on at this -- what was going on? Rebekah Brooks and are I are

:08:29. > :08:33.committed to doing the right thing, as is this company. It is about co-

:08:33. > :08:38.operating and working fully with the police investigations into

:08:38. > :08:44.there is alleged practices and activities. It is also about making

:08:44. > :08:50.sure we are putting in place the processes, that we understand what

:08:50. > :08:56.happened and we have processes in place to make sure these things do

:08:56. > :09:00.not have an again. But my question was is it conceivable? You were

:09:00. > :09:04.looking people in the eye and saying she did not know you're

:09:04. > :09:11.paying out enormous sums of money to these people. Is that really

:09:11. > :09:17.conceivable? I am satisfied that her leadership of this business and

:09:17. > :09:23.her standard of ethics and conduct throughout her career are very good.

:09:23. > :09:29.I think what she and we have shown with our actions around

:09:29. > :09:33.transparently and practically working with the police have recall

:09:33. > :09:37.it is the process of information discovery proactive in voluntary

:09:37. > :09:41.that started these investigations to be opened again by police

:09:41. > :09:51.earlier this year. It is the proactive and transparent handing

:09:51. > :09:55.over of information to police to help them in their inquiries. We

:09:55. > :10:03.have led that and I am confident those actions show we are doing the

:10:03. > :10:13.right thing and we are committed to doing that.

:10:13. > :10:13.

:10:13. > :10:21.Picking up on that, the future of the company and the defence of

:10:21. > :10:27.Rebekah Brooks, how much... Sorry, go on. It is extraordinary what we

:10:27. > :10:34.have just heard. A classic non denial denial. Effectively, if you

:10:34. > :10:44.listen to this he was asked twice, did she know? In neither instance

:10:44. > :10:48.

:10:48. > :10:53.did he say she did not know. These There is just no credibility left

:10:53. > :10:56.here. In terms of the bigger picture and the fat that News

:10:56. > :10:59.International want to buy the remaining stake in British Sky

:10:59. > :11:09.Broadcasting, all been decided on plurality, do you think they have

:11:09. > :11:10.

:11:10. > :11:19.done enough to do that now? I think there are two things at work here.

:11:19. > :11:25.There is the screaming for blood in the streets, then areas -- then

:11:25. > :11:29.there are the regulatory issues of buying BSkyB. Those are handled in

:11:29. > :11:36.two different ways and the News Corp and the Murdochs have always

:11:36. > :11:40.been good at behind the scenes manoeuvring. They know how to use

:11:40. > :11:46.influence, the power of their organisation and I think they have

:11:46. > :11:50.done it in such a way that has cleared a path for the BSkyB deal.

:11:50. > :12:00.Now the question is whether the baying for blood in the streets

:12:00. > :12:00.

:12:00. > :12:04.will derail this. I do not know. It is suddenly a possibility.

:12:04. > :12:08.comment about the parameters of the debate of that is plurality,

:12:08. > :12:16.nothing to do with whether somebody is fit to run the organisation.

:12:16. > :12:26.It is significant that the decision on it has been delayed until

:12:26. > :12:27.

:12:27. > :12:34.Whether it was to me documents, or they are waiting for the fuss to

:12:34. > :12:41.die down, I do not know. In a funny way, I have never met him, never

:12:41. > :12:50.met James, I have only met Rebekah Brooks a couple of times, I think

:12:50. > :12:55.there is a bloodlust against Murdoch and his cohorts. The fact

:12:55. > :12:59.is, actually, in his own way, like most businesses he obviously tried

:12:59. > :13:09.to corner a market, he is a businessman, but he did introduce a

:13:09. > :13:09.

:13:09. > :13:18.certain plurality. We had a very stagnant media world which was

:13:18. > :13:23.ruled by the unions. But this is very clearly not the issue any more.

:13:23. > :13:29.The issue is they broke the law again and again and again. And then

:13:29. > :13:33.they covered it up. Not whether he did something good in the past!

:13:33. > :13:39.is not just news International. A lot of politicians are saying this

:13:39. > :13:44.is a problem which has infected a lot of Fleet Street. Especially the

:13:44. > :13:48.tabloid end. All we know is that News International did it, they

:13:48. > :13:55.said they did not do it, they were proved to have done it. I am not

:13:55. > :14:02.arguing with you on the illegality. If you prosecute this down the

:14:02. > :14:06.middle, which I trust will happen, they have to take responsibility.

:14:06. > :14:11.If they do that, they must lose their positions within the company

:14:11. > :14:21.and actually quite possibly go to jail. I do not think that will

:14:21. > :14:23.

:14:23. > :14:28.happen. I challenge you... No. are both shouting at each other. We

:14:28. > :14:33.do know Scotland Yard are expected to make five more arrests. One of

:14:33. > :14:43.them will not be Rebekah Brooks. Maybe not this week but in weeks to

:14:43. > :14:44.

:14:44. > :14:50.come. Really? What did they know, when did they know it? The form of

:14:50. > :15:00.this scandal is very clear. The outcome I would say is not so hard

:15:00. > :15:02.

:15:02. > :15:09.to imagine. How high art in your view, does this go? -- high art.

:15:09. > :15:14.Directly to the Murdoch family which is why they closed the paper

:15:14. > :15:17.and why they are so scared. Is it not also because the News of the

:15:17. > :15:22.World has always been considered to be the cash cow, it was not doing

:15:22. > :15:28.so well recently. It was causing problems. That is not true but the

:15:28. > :15:32.way. The sum was or is a greater cash cow than use of the world.

:15:32. > :15:42.They it was always regarded as that and it was not that successful and

:15:42. > :15:50.it was expensive. So it was a business decision parley. -- party.

:15:50. > :15:54.The final 4 - we now hear the sun on Sunday and -- there have been

:15:54. > :16:04.some registered domain names. Is this a sleight of hand? Everything

:16:04. > :16:11.

:16:11. > :16:16.will carry on as normal. It will be This is about credibility. They

:16:16. > :16:26.have lost that over the four year cause of this scandal. If they do

:16:26. > :16:36.that, if this is just a slight of hand... There is little future for

:16:36. > :16:41.

:16:41. > :16:44.It's a halt and and a final thought, is the whole industry in the dock?

:16:44. > :16:50.I have never have to phone, and I have been in the industry 50 years.

:16:50. > :16:53.I have never knowingly met a private investigator either. Most

:16:53. > :16:57.journalists to do not do what the News of the world were doing it, I

:16:57. > :17:01.am not interested in the sex lives of the starlets -- News Of The

:17:01. > :17:05.World. But there are some newspapers who are rare -- riveted

:17:05. > :17:10.by that because their readers are. I think that their readers, and

:17:10. > :17:17.this is a real danger to the Murdoch empire, they are moving off

:17:17. > :17:23.into things like magazines and, on lined stuff, I think in a way the

:17:24. > :17:28.celebs market, which was confined to the News Of The World and the

:17:28. > :17:35.sun, is now so dispersed that I am sure that it really doesn't matter

:17:35. > :17:43.that much any more. I am sure -- sorry for any newspaper to close,

:17:43. > :17:49.because a lot of journalists will lose their jobs. But for millions

:17:49. > :17:56.of people, it is an institution. We will be coming back to this story a

:17:56. > :18:02.bit later on, but we are out of time. Then did to both of you. --

:18:02. > :18:06.thank you to both of you. That catch up on some of the day's

:18:06. > :18:09.other news. Details are emerging of the devastating impact of the

:18:09. > :18:12.drought in the Horn of Africa on people fleeing from Somalia to

:18:12. > :18:15.Ethiopia. The World Food Programme says more than 110,000 have now

:18:15. > :18:19.arrived at remote camps in South- Eastern Ethiopia. It's described

:18:19. > :18:22.them as the lucky ones. Rebels in Libya have advanced

:18:22. > :18:26.against Government forces on a strategically important road south

:18:26. > :18:29.of the capital Tripoli. A BBC correspondent says the rebels have

:18:29. > :18:34.moved between ten and 15 kilometres in the last 24 hours towards the

:18:34. > :18:37.town of Gharyan, which is held by Colonel Gaddafi's forces.

:18:37. > :18:40.In a landmark judgement that could pave the way for a flood of

:18:40. > :18:43.compensation claims, the European Court of Human Rights has ordered

:18:43. > :18:47.Britain to pay tens of thousands of dollars to relatives of Iraqis

:18:47. > :18:49.killed by British troops during the occupation. Correspondents say the

:18:49. > :18:52.ruling will be watched closely by other countries whose soldiers

:18:52. > :18:55.served in Iraq. A man wanted by the Spanish

:18:55. > :18:58.authorities in connection with an attempt to assassinate King Juan

:18:58. > :19:01.Carlos in 1997 has said he will fight moves to extradite him to

:19:01. > :19:06.Spain. The 44-year-old - who's suspected of being a member of the

:19:06. > :19:12.Basque separatist group ETA - appeared in court in London. And

:19:12. > :19:16.was remanded in custody. The European Central Bank has

:19:16. > :19:20.raised its main interest rate by a quarter of one percent. The rate is

:19:20. > :19:22.now 1.5 percent. It's a controversial decision by the bank,

:19:22. > :19:25.because the countries already struggling with government debt

:19:25. > :19:28.crises - particularly Greece, Ireland and Portugal - will now

:19:28. > :19:30.face higher borrowing costs. At a press conference in Frankfurt

:19:30. > :19:40.earlier today, the President of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet, explained

:19:40. > :19:43.the reasons for the rise. decision will contribute to keeping

:19:43. > :19:51.inflation expectations in the Euro- zone firmly anchored in line with

:19:51. > :19:56.our aim of keeping inflation rate below but close to 2% in the medium

:19:56. > :20:02.term. Such anchoring is a prerequisite for monetary policy to

:20:02. > :20:08.contribute to economy Growth -- growth. At the same time, interest

:20:08. > :20:16.rates remain low, thus the monetary policy stays cumulative, lending

:20:16. > :20:23.support to economic creativity and job creation. Let's go to Berlin,

:20:23. > :20:28.we can talk to Dr Ferdinand Fichtner. Trying to curb inflation

:20:28. > :20:34.and further price rises, good news for Germany, but not for many other

:20:35. > :20:39.peripheral countries in Europe. That is probably true. This is

:20:39. > :20:44.obvious be the big problem BCB currently faces, that we have solid

:20:44. > :20:48.growth -- this is obviously the problem the ECB currently faces.

:20:48. > :20:52.But we had huge differences between the member states. We have solid

:20:52. > :20:56.growth in Germany, we are looking at another year of above 3% growth,

:20:56. > :21:02.but on the other hand we have stagnation in southern Europe, like

:21:02. > :21:06.Spain, Italy and Greece. Clearly it is a difficult situation, but the

:21:06. > :21:12.ECB has to make policy for the whole euro area, and in this sense,

:21:12. > :21:15.I guess it is fair that the EC be increased -- increased rates today,

:21:15. > :21:21.and it is very sensible not to do this have to strongly because this

:21:21. > :21:24.would stall growth in the crisis economies of the peripheries.

:21:24. > :21:27.Listening to Jean-Claude Trichet, it did seem that further interest

:21:27. > :21:35.rises are on the way and that will push those countries further into

:21:35. > :21:38.the economic mire. I actually don't think that it makes such a big

:21:38. > :21:43.difference in Greece, for example. It is not the interest rate which

:21:43. > :21:48.posed the problem, it is the levels of debt of the Government, it is

:21:48. > :21:54.the levels of debt of households in Spain, for example. So it is not

:21:54. > :21:59.really about interest rates, which increase by a weak demand. The

:21:59. > :22:05.European Central Bank has to make policy for the whole area. In

:22:05. > :22:10.Germany, we are facing the inflation rate of 2.5%. In the euro

:22:10. > :22:15.area, it is an average of 2.7%. We have strong growth, so in the next

:22:15. > :22:19.year, we can expect strong wages which will feed into higher prices.

:22:19. > :22:24.So there could be the second-round effect in Germany, in the

:22:24. > :22:30.Netherlands and possibly France. So the ECB has to react, just have to

:22:30. > :22:36.signal to the people that it has looked at prices, that prices are

:22:36. > :22:40.its main priority, and that other tasks have to stay behind.

:22:40. > :22:46.Ferdinand Fichtner, thank you for joining us.

:22:46. > :22:53.At least one person has been killed after part of the roof of a Dutch

:22:53. > :22:57.football stadium collapsed. The stadium is home to FC Twente.

:22:57. > :23:02.One of those injured but the key to escape with his life. Lucky as well

:23:02. > :23:08.that it is off season, preventing what could have been an even larger

:23:08. > :23:14.tragedy. The male of the home city says they are using sniffer dogs

:23:14. > :23:17.and cameras to find anyone who is trapped -- the mayor. TRANSLATION:

:23:17. > :23:21.Beat southern side of the stadium is currently being renovated to

:23:21. > :23:24.increase the number of seats. A large part of the roof collapsed

:23:24. > :23:29.and that number of people were trapped and as far as we know, one

:23:30. > :23:35.person has died. The mayor says it is to rally to know why the brute K

:23:35. > :23:43.been, but eyewitnesses say a crime -- it is too early to know why the

:23:43. > :23:47.roof caved in, but eyewitnesses said the crane may have collapsed.

:23:47. > :23:51.Eyewitnesses said it felt like a pack of cards. Another said he

:23:51. > :23:56.thought it was an earthquake. 25 ambulances from around the region

:23:56. > :24:00.have rushed to the scene. The stadium was undergoing renovations

:24:00. > :24:10.to expand its seating capacity to accommodate the many fans that

:24:10. > :24:11.

:24:11. > :24:14.Bashir's national champions FC Twente gather. And -- last year's.

:24:14. > :24:20.Let's return briefly to that dramatic decision by News

:24:20. > :24:25.International to make this week's News Of The World its last edition,

:24:25. > :24:30.following be deepening scandal of the packing of fire -- celebrities

:24:30. > :24:34.and grieving families and soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

:24:34. > :24:39.Let's go to Naomi grimly. Something of a problem still for the

:24:39. > :24:43.Government. What has the reaction been? The Government has made it

:24:43. > :24:47.very clear that they put no pressure on News Of The World to

:24:47. > :24:54.close, but there is still all these big questions. For a start,

:24:54. > :24:57.questions about David Cameron's judgment in befriending too fat --

:24:57. > :25:02.former editors of the News of the world, Andy Coulson and Rebekah

:25:02. > :25:07.Brooks, who is still in place as the most senior executive. And also

:25:07. > :25:11.the question about what happens to the takeover bid for BSkyB. It is

:25:11. > :25:14.clear the Murdoch family are still very keen on that prize, but there

:25:14. > :25:19.is more and more pressure on ministers to park the whole thing

:25:19. > :25:22.because of the questions about corporate ethics. Just speaking off

:25:22. > :25:27.the record to those marketing people who have had close links to

:25:27. > :25:31.News International, this idea of a seven day Sun newspaper has been

:25:31. > :25:40.discussed for a long time and some interesting domain names have been

:25:40. > :25:45.registered. That is correct, at the Sun on Sunday has been registered.

:25:45. > :25:50.There is a lot of speculation that that he might happen and most MPs

:25:50. > :25:56.are very cynical and think it will be a rebranding exercise, or old

:25:56. > :26:01.wine in new bottles. They may at Westminster, thank you very much. -

:26:01. > :26:05.- may omit. Let's just remind you of that news

:26:05. > :26:10.today that News International has taken the dramatic decision, after

:26:10. > :26:15.168 years of being in control of Britain's biggest selling tabloid

:26:15. > :26:19.newspaper and has decided to shut it down. News Of The World will

:26:19. > :26:26.publish its final edition on Sunday. The paper has been at the centre of

:26:26. > :26:29.a phone hacking scandal, it is part of Rupert Murdoch's empire. Shares

:26:30. > :26:35.in News Corporation yesterday dropped by three. % -- 3.6%. We

:26:35. > :26:40.have heard by James Murdoch, saying the newspaper had become sullied by

:26:40. > :26:44.eight behaviour that was wrong and had failed to hold itself to