Westminster is in tumult. In the last hour, allegations of phone hacking, corruption and other journalistic misdeeds at News International have developed significantly.
Here is the latest:
- News International has withdrawn its guarantees to spin off Sky News should it buy the rest of BSkyB, prompting Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, to refer the bid to the Competition Commission.
- David Cameron has joined Nick Clegg in calling for News Corporation to drop its bid until the criminal investigation into phone hacking is complete. He said if he was in their position he would focus on clearing up the mess at NI before he focused on the bid for BSkyB.
- The Guardian has reported significant new allegations about how reporters from the Sunday Times repeatedly targeted Gordon Brown and his family.
- The Metropolitan Police has accused News International of deliberately undermining its investigation by leaking details to the media. The Met referred specifically to an Evening Standard report that accused members of the royal police of selling personal information about the royals to journalists/
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey