Cameron regrets having hired former editor at heart of phone-hacking scandal
British Prime Minister David Cameron, defending his integrity in an emergency debate in parliament, said on Wednesday he regretted the uproar caused by his hiring of a former newspaper editor at the heart of a phone-hacking scandal.
Under pressure from opponents to apologise, he said Andy Coulson, his former spokesman who once edited Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, had denied knowing of phone-hacking by the paper. But should Coulson turn out to have lied, the prime minister said he would then offer an apology.
Beleaguered but not seen under serious threat of being dumped by his party after less than 15 months in office, Cameron defended his actions and those of his staff in dealings with the police and Murdoch's News Corp media empire.
But the 44-year-old Conservative premier said after his toughest two weeks in power: “You don't make decisions in hindsight; you make them in the present. You live and you learn - and believe you me, I have learnt.”
Cameron, who cut short a tour of Africa as parliament delayed its summer recess to quiz him, said in his opening statement: “I have an old-fashioned view about innocent until proven guilty. But if it turns out I have been lied to, that would be a moment for a profound apology. And, in that event, I can tell you I will not fall short.”
Labour's Ed Miliband, whose muted first year as opposition leader has been given a boost by his assault on Cameron over the scandal, calling the hiring of Coulson a “catastrophic error of judgment”.
“Why doesn't he do more than give a half-apology and provide the full apology now for hiring Mr Coulson and bringing him into the heart of Downing Street?” Miliband asked.
Meantime international media reported Wednesday Rupert Murdoch had flown out of London following his testimony before lawmakers on the phone hacking scandal that has rocked Britain.
The communication’s mogul, who faced Tuesday’s UK parliament, had to answer inquiries over his newspaper’s phone hacking allegations. Murdoch apparently left the country in a private jet leaving from the Luton airport (northern London).-
Suggested Stories
-
Jun 18th 2013
British tapped phones and computers of G20 summit held in London, claims The Guardian
-
Jun 18th 2013
US and EU agree to launch ambitious free-trade negotiations in Washington in July
-
Jun 17th 2013
Maduro meets Francis: agrees on ‘sincere’ dialogue with Venezuelan bishops’ conference
-
Jun 17th 2013
Assange prepared to remain in Ecuadorean embassy in London another five years
42 comments Feed
Note: Comments do not reflect MercoPress’ opinions. They are the personal view of our users. We wish to keep this as open and unregulated as possible. However, rude or foul language, discriminative comments (based on ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality, sexual orientation or the sort), spamming or any other offensive or inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. Please report any inadequate posts to the editor. Comments must be in English. Thank you.
at this rate, you wont last , till the next election .
Brainwash?
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8651617/Rupert-Murdoch-on-Wendi-Deng-my-very-tough-wife.html
Corruption exists in greater or lesser level in the political arena of many countries (if not almost all).
However, the degree of corruption that today the UK has started to worry the important organizations in the world, mainly because it is a corrupt elite, that is the big corporations and interests ecnonómicos now directing the main activities of the country.
This has led to a growing concern because it seems to be getting worse.
In that sense, it is interesting analysis made by Peter Apps of Reuters, as well as the reports of Transparency International.
ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE76J25L20110720?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
www.transparency.org.uk/ti-uk-programmes/corruption-in-the-uk
Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3
Both exposed the sad reality of the UK, which many refuse to accept and with pathetic autism say there is no corruption in the country that soon will change to the name UK & Corp.
If only economic interests remain the main vector FCO and the nation, surely we can expect future serious conflict with many countries worldwide. (In addition to Argentina over the Malvinas theft, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya ... etc.etc.)
It is time for real honest British citizenships change history and bring in peace in their own country and with other nations acting properly.
Some ( ! ) SPY SYSTEMS vacuum billions of messages daily ..
home,office,mobile ..phones,emails,fax,telex ( internet & comments !!),
satellite transmissions ,microwave links,voice,text images captured
by satellites continiously orbiting the earth and processed by
high powered computers...
the only reason why Murdoch did not invest in argentina,
was because you were more corupt than he was,
pot kettle black, mmm
Well has you said the Brasil street children aint innoncent,so maybe the Mau Mau got what they deserved
Mau Mau militants were also guilty of widespread atrocities. At Lari, on the night of March 25–26, 1953, Mau Mau forces herded 120 Kikuyu into huts and set fire to them, killing any who attempted to escape.[156] Kikuyu were also tortured, mutilated and murdered by Mau Mau in large numbers.[157]
Thirty-two British civilians were murdered by Mau Mau militants. The most well known Mau Mau victim was Michael Ruck, aged six, who was murdered along with his parents. Newspapers in Kenya and abroad published graphic murder details, including images of young Michael with bloodied teddy bears and trains strewn on his bedroom floor
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1375967/Kenya-Mau-Mau-atrocities-1950s-dossier.html
PS - the DailyMail, really?
Brazil, 20 police officers arrested, suspected of being a death squad
SAO PAULO — Brazilian authorities say they have arrested nearly 20 police officers suspected of taking part in a death squad that allegedly murdered and tortured innocent women and children.
Federal police spokesman Elias Abraao says 19 Goias state troopers face charges ranging from murder and hiding bodies to torture and gang formation.
He says the group was active for at least 10 years and killed at least 40 people.
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/16/ap/latinamerica/main7355168.shtml
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12489109
www.grapevine.is/Home/ReadArticle/US-Considering-Sanctions-Against-Iceland-Over-Whaling
www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/12/10/icelandic-opposition-leader-denies-macau-corruption-allegations/
www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/04/cronyism-and-corruption-are-killing-economic-freedom-in-argentina
www.estandardsforum.org/argentina/business-indicators?id=167
and these hypocrites, complain about great Britain,
pot kettle black.
,,
We have already had this discussion before, and I remember I've remarked many times how dumb you are, thinking you can comment on an issue by googling random links. But go ahead; just don't forget this: you know about those 20 policemen because they have been investigated and were arrested. Those British that castrated the Kenyans, on the other hand, have not been punished in any way, and were probably considered national heroes at the time they commited those atrocities. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail and the Telegraph and other ultra-nationalist, the-UK-can-do-no-wrong outlets are trying to whitewash the crimes your men did less than a century ago. So don't you think your childish attempt to divert attention to your crimes proves we're equal. There is a difference between us two.
“Four elderly Kenyans were give the go-ahead at the High Court today to sue the British government over alleged colonial atrocities committed during the Mau Mau uprising
At the earlier hearing the judge was told that Mr Mutua and Mr Nzili had been castrated, Mr Nyingi was beaten unconscious in an incident in which 11 men were clubbed to death, and Mrs Mara had been subjected to appalling sexual abuse”
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/8651727/Four-Kenyans-allowed-to-sue-British-government-over-torture.html
Brazilian police 'execute thousands'
Hundreds, possibly thousands of people are shot by police every year in Brazil, a BBC investigation has found.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4463010.stm
if spyware, tapping & hacking is employed by everybody all the time across all countries, by companies and by governments, why is it such a big deal when Murdoch does it to get a story? Do we not enjoy the stories - the more salacious the better? Are we a bit hypocritical?
Or is there one rule for the Establishment/government, and a different rule for the rest?
OK, Murdoch is powerful, but not THAT powerful. I guess the powers that be decided that the time has come to 'trim his wings'.
You know about those policemen because they have been investigated and were arrested. Those British that castrated the Kenyans, on the other hand, have not been punished in any way, and were probably considered national heroes at the time they commited those atrocities. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail and the Telegraph and other ultra-nationalist, the-UK-can-do-no-wrong outlets are trying to whitewash the crimes your men did less than a century ago. So don't you think your childish attempt to divert attention from your crimes proves we're equal. There is a difference between us two.
And what's your answer? Another random link. You must be emptiest poster on is forum, sticky. Two can pay this game, though.
“Hanan Saleh Matrud was playing with her friends in a narrow alley which ran beside her house on 21 August last year when the armoured personnel carrier drew up, some 50 metres away.
”A unit of troops from the King's Regiment then spilled out of the vehicle. Stories differ about what happened next. The troops insist they came under attack from stone-throwing mobs, and a warning shot was fired. Locals say the only crowds were playing kids, who had been coaxed into the open by the soldiers' offers of chocolate.
“What is certain is that Hanan, a shy eight-year-old, fell after the shot was fired - her abdomen slashed open by a ricocheting bullet.”
britisharmykillings.org.uk/product/446-16/Hanan-Saleh-Matrud
PS- Besides, sticky, who suffers from crimes from our own sadistic officers are Brazilian ourselves. Our shit is our own. You have no stake in this, so STFU. Who suffers from your country's abuses, on the are hand, are other peoples - Kenyans and Indians in a recent past, Iraqis not lon ago...
I also totally understate the extent of corruption and mayhem in Brasil.
I suppose if Brasil or Argentina or any totalitarian state had the capacity of a GCHQ, they would also use it fully. It would be naive to think otherwise.
Authorities say they are looking at the possible role of what they call rogue police, in a potential act of reprisal for recent arrests of eight officers.
A death squad has killed at least 30 people in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, police say.
Rights groups accuse police of carrying out a 1993 massacre in the state.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4401525.stm
Two can pay this game, though
Bring it on,I bet you run out of links before I do :-))))
they blame others and reply with another subject,
what really is the truth,
only the dead know, and they are not talking lol.
you know I am talking about corruption on the political classes;
I have said before that I find the man in the street even naively honest, though willing to condone intense corruption in his country's ruling classes.
Dilma's unwillingness to bring in anti-terrorist legislation would catch many people like the Italian Red Brigade murderer (Good) - and would indeed, catch herself and other South American national leaders! (Not so good, from her point of view).
Brazil - Amnesty International Report
www.amnesty.org/en/region/brazil/report-2008
Seems even off duty Firemen are in on the killing of street children in Brazil
“You know about those policemen because they have been investigated and were arrested.”
How does your link prove me wrong? It says such authorities are pursuing 'rogue' police, doesn't it? And I'm sorry sticky, but this is the last time I'm going to reply to you. You're an ultra-natonalist immature troll who can't have some truths regarding your 'great' nation thrown at your face - truths such as those told by the Kenyans I talked about before - and think they can be annuled if only you can mud sling other nations. The fact of the matter, though, is that you can only talk about our rogue police because we have investigated and/or arrested them - something you haven't done to your own rogue police and soldiers (whom, btw even your media defends). I can talk about them because their victims are demanding justice, not because your Justice has done something about them. And as I said before - our wrongdoings are ours; no one other than us are hurt by them. The suffering your rogue officers inflict, on the other hand, target mainly peoples of other nationalities. Try to refute me, and we'll talk. But don't you think that I will be engaging with this silly competition for very long with a dumb animal such as you.
PS - it seems you can't even properly read your links.
@Geoff
This is what you said:
“Brasilian life is a constant, never-changing ronde of criminality,
at all levels and in all spheres of life.”
“All spheres of life”, “constant”, “never-changing.” C'mon Geoff, don't you have the courage of your convictions? Why the double-facedness?
So that makes it all ok then LOL
In Brazil, prisons are normally overcrowded and unfit for human habitation. Prisoners and suspects are frequently killed, tortured, beaten, subject to electrical shocks, and all sorts of maltreatment at police stations and prisons.
A considerable number of police precincts, perhaps even a majority of them, include a torture room. The most common torture technique employed by the Brazilian police is called pau de arara, or parrot’s perch.
The parrot’s perch, as a report from the Human Rights Watch (HRW) correctly explains, “is a bar on which the victim is suspended from the back of his knees, with his hands tied to his ankles.
they blame others and reply with another subject,
And that's exactly what sticky idiot who received a stick in his junta, does.
totally agree..... britain is not precisely a country able to teach us nothing about human rights. 1.000.000 killed in afghanistan, never heard of a militar been judged because of abuse of militar force, their press doesnt show what is happenning every day on battle to not turn the public opinion against, and their prisons....suicide is the most frecuent act for someone when getting in jail (human rights anywhere ?)
www.wsws.org/articles/2005/set2005/pris-s06.shtml
we dont need to learn nothing about you thank you.
they blame others and reply with another subject
The subject tooth fairy was Britains role in Human rights abuses in 1953,I just gently pointed out Forgetits beloved Brazils not too good record on the SUBJECT
But there it is: www.amnesty.org/en/region/uk/report-2008 And remember, that's only the beggining.
www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/brazil-amnesty-international-condemns-violence-rio-de-janeiro-2010-11-26
Rio police have killed over 500 people so far this year in so-called “acts of resistance”. Large swathes of the city continue to be dominated by paramilitary police groups.
www.wsws.org/articles/2005/sep2005/pris-s06.shtml
and an interesting view of conflicts in afghanistan libya and iraq
humanitarian rights you want to teach us???? you live constantly in war..in a violent culture, makes me laugh such hipocrasy
www.english.pravda.ru/history/23-07-2011/118576-NATO_in_trouble-O/
cease the fire what you are doing in libya doesnt help anybody
By Marcela Valente
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39928
In the (eastern) province of Buenos Aires (the country’s most populous), 30,000 inmates are packed into installations built for 13,000.
Categorized | Feature, Human Rights
Tools Of Torture: A Look Inside Argentina’s Jails
by Marc Rogers, 23 March 2010. Tags: overcrowding, prisons, violence
www.argentinaindependent.com/feature/tools-of-torture-a-look-inside-argentina%e2%80%99s-jails-/
directly in your jails prisoners killed themselves
and if you are good only for making wars and money with wars then you are living in a more violent environment (Ive read that kind of comment here)
have you ever been not involved in war?? any time tell us
i see you are proud of it, your diputados make a training programe with militars sharing their duty(here not), militars go to school (here not),you have the militars culture in your soup (here not)
there is here a programme to teach peace culture. Impossible for you to do that as the example you can give is always that of participating in wars.
hope it functions
www.english.pravda.ru/history/23-07-2011/118576-NATO_in_trouble-0/
We have never had our country run by the Military,unlike Argentina
Argentina military junta members,
top officers, and ministers
www.yendor.com/vanished/junta.html
you continue in the killing in the wars and dont judge nothing.
to build peace you dont have to make wars, you need education.
you participate in wars because you get a secondary benefit from them, you make a lot of money. i dont eat glass.
i would like to be shown every day in your free press the quantity of afghans iraquies and libaneses that are been killed every day. thousands and thousands. injustice victims of lunatics with little possibility to defend themselves. wars that last an eternity and doesnt resolve conflicts on the contrary they generate more war.
this region fortunatelly is living pacific times and also building its own ways of defending ourselves with peace, by our own, when having problems, like ecuador and bolivia. we as a region all go to defend one to another and defend the democracy.
we dont want foreigner interventions we dont want you to teach your humanitarian way of understanding human rights. thank you.
Libya: Britain's £1bn warLibya conflict could cost UK taxpayers £1bn over six months as Gaddafi clings on and cost of involvement soars
Cost of war in Afghanistan soars to £2.5bn• Iraq total also up despite pull-out ·
• Annual bill for conflicts hits £4.5bn
you sell arms and militar equipment tell me how much money do you get with that??
“Brasilian life is a constant, never-changing ronde of criminality,
at all levels and in all spheres of life.” (Geoffward)
“All spheres of life”, “constant”, “never-changing.” C'mon Geoff, don't you have the courage of your convictions? Why the double-facedness? (Forgetit)
[For illustrative purposes only]
“All spheres of life”:
(i) Unemployed, poor, un-housed, favela dwellers – street beggers/street crime, ‘black economy’, petty theft, drug trafficking, car thefts, gatos, mugging, gun crime, lost bullets, abduction & extortion;
(ii) Employed, middle class – credit agreements, drug addiction/dealing, land appropriation, any from (i);
(iii) Corporate/business sphere – skimming off the deal, fraud, sweeteners, buying politicians, deforestation, land-deals/appropriation, any from (ii);
(iv) Political/governmental administrative – Mensalao, fixing the kick-backs, fixing the law, immunity & impunity, overseas bank accounts, nepotism, institutionalizing corruption, politicizing the legal process, creating but not upholding the laws of the land, land deals, any from (iii).
Lower spheres have different motivations and different capabilities to undertake ‘higher level’ crimes; and, as usual, it is the poor bloody middle class that suffer most from the array of crimes, whilst the basally-poor may suffer more in proportion to their limited assets.
The disproportionate beneficiaries of crime are the drug dealers and the politicians.
You may have a different array of details if you do the same exercise, but the pattern hold good.
The solutions involve top-down management of change, as I have said elsewhere.
watch how you are making business with wars
www.globalissues.org/article/74/the-arms-trade-is-big-business
i dont buy your double moral speech. thank you. i pass.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!