The latest allegations in the phone hacking scandal at News Corp’s UK tabloid papers elevate it to a new level. This is no longer just a matter of journalists infringing the privacy of celebrities in order to gossip about them in print. By intercepting the voice messages of a murdered schoolgirl, Milly Dowler, as the News of the World is alleged to have done, the newspaper has potentially impeded a criminal investigation. If true, this is not only wrong and illegal; it exhibits a fundamental lack of human decency.
Oddly, the Financial Times thinks Rupert Murdoch capable of doing the right thing which would be to fire those involved and appoint an independent investigation. But News Corp. has evaded and stonewalled the phone hacking scandal for five years. It isn’t going to change.