CAMERON'S TIES SPARK QUESTIONS
As Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire took a step to contain the damage of a deepening scandal on Saturday, publishing full-page ads in every national newspaper in Britain under the words "We are sorry," the government released information documenting its close ties to the company that continued even as the scandal escalated.
The crisis seemed far from over for Murdoch and his News Corp., as the scandal that began over illegal phone hacking by one of his newspapers, the now defunct News of the World, widened to include a second newspaper in his stable, the Sunday Times.
Nor was the crisis abating for Prime Minister David Cameron, whose aides released a diary of his meetings with executives and editors of News International. The diary shed light on what Cameron acknowledged last week was the "cozy and comfortable" world in which politicians, the media and the police in Britain have functioned for decades, one he said had to yield to much greater public scrutiny. The diary showed that since taking office in May 2010, Cameron has met 26 times with Murdoch executives, including Murdoch; his son James, the top official of News International; and Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of the British subsidiary and editor of News of the World, who resigned Friday.
While the police investigation has largely centered on cellphone hacking by journalists at News of the World, it has now spread to the investigative unit of the Sunday Times, a person familiar with internal News Corp. discussions said. That person said the investigation would expand to include hacking into e-mail accounts and other online privacy invasions.
NEW YORK TIMES
