Labour MP Tom Watson has called on Alex Salmond to set up a Scottish inquiry into phone-hacking.
He issued the demand after the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee produce its reporting into the News of the World scandal, concluding Rupert Murdoch was not “a fit person” to run a major international corporation.
The committee accused the News Corp chief of exhibiting "wilful blindness" towards the wrongdoing in his organisation.
It said News Corp had been guilty of "huge failings of corporate governance" and that throughout its instinct had been "to cover up rather than seek out wrongdoing and discipline the perpetrators".
The report accused three former senior executives of News Corp's UK newspaper publishing arm News International - Les Hinton, Colin Myler, and Tom Crone - of misleading the committee during its inquiries into the scandal.
And it said that Rupert Murdoch's son James had demonstrated "wilful ignorance" about what had been going on, which "clearly raises questions of competence" on his part.
The most damning judgment was reserved for Rupert Murdoch.
The report said: "On the basis of the facts and evidence before the committee, we conclude that, if at all relevant times Rupert Murdoch did not take steps to become fully informed about phone hacking, he turned a blind eye and exhibited wilful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications. This culture, we consider, permeated from the top throughout the organisation and speaks volumes about the lack of effective corporate governance at News Corporation and News International.
"We conclude, therefore, that Rupert Murdoch is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company."
The committee was split on party lines over a number of key findings - including the verdict on Rupert Murdoch - with the Conservatives voting against and Labour and the Lib Dems in favour.
Responding to the report, a spokesman for media regulator Ofcom said: "We note the publication of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee report. Ofcom has a duty under the Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996 to be satisfied that any person holding a broadcasting licence is, and remains, fit and proper to do so. Ofcom is continuing to assess the evidence - including the new and emerging evidence - that may assist it in discharging these duties."
The report came on the day it emerged that Nationalist MSP Joan McAlpine’s phone was hacked by a private investigator working for the News of the World.
MSP Joan McAlpine says News of the World investigator ‘hacked’ her phone
To leave a comment, please sign in.