Scotland Yard has opened a preliminary inquiry into the deletion of tens of millions of emails during the British phone-hacking scandal that rocked Rupert Murdoch’s news media empire more than a dozen years ago. The development could entangle current and former News Corp executives, including the chief executive of The Washington Post, in an inquiry into whether the deletions were aimed at obstructing justice. The inquiry threatens to reopen a tumultuous chapter in British news media and political history. The scandal toppled Mr. Murdoch’s best-selling tabloid newspaper, News of the World, and led to criminal charges and years of civil lawsuits. Many hacking victims have argued for years that Mr. Murdoch’s British company, News UK, improperly purged emails to limit the fallout.

Source: The Times August 01, 2024 17:30 UTC