News Corporation Drops BSkyB Takeover Bid
News Corporation, the US media group that owns News of the World, has withdrawn its bid for the remaining shares of British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB), for which it already owns 39%. The media firm is headed by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and also owns the Times and the Sun. It says that it’s clear that it would be too difficult to continue with the takeover in the current climate.
This comes as prime minister David Cameron revealed details about an independent inquiry into the phone hacking scandal revealed at the British tabloid last week. The public has become increasingly angry about the phone hacking and paying police for stories, as targets have been murder, war and terrorist victims and their families.
Politicians have overwhelmingly condemned News Corporation due to the phone hacking scandal, while no top figures at News International, which runs the group’s British papers, have taken responsibility or apologised for.
Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg says the move to drop the bid is decent and sensible. Now that this has been done and a proper inquiry put in place, they have the opportunity to clean up the corrupted relationship between press, police and politics, he added.
Labour leader Ed Miliband says that people throughout the country who have been utterly shocked by the scandalous revelations and failure of the company to take responsibility have won. People didn’t think that Murdoch would continue with the bid, as no one should use power in this nation without responsibility, he added. A spokesman for Downing Street also noted that the group should focus on cleaning up and getting their mess in order.