U.K. Politician Calls for U.S. to Press Charges Against Rupert Murdoch's Media Empire Mogul's Company

Labour Party member Chris Bryant makes the case in a chat with "The Guardian," as Murdoch opponents look to capitalize on secretly taped comments from the media boss.

A British Labour party politician has said U.S. authorities should press corporate corruption charges against Rupert Murdoch's media empire after a secret recording of the media mogul emerged.

In the tape Murdoch indicates that bribing of public officials was widespread in Britain's newspaper industry and also seems to signal that he was aware of bribery at his own company, specifically tabloid The Sun, describing it as "the culture of Fleet Street."

Member of Parliament Chris Bryant, who has himself been compensated for phone hacking by the defunct News of the World, said the latest revelations were "another reason" for the FBI to take action, according to a report in The Guardian.

The action would be taken under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it an offense for American companies to pay public officials on foreign soil.

The Labour minister told the newspaper that he had spoken to the Metropolitan police, and claimed the force had been in touch with the FBI.

But, according to The Guardian, Bryant said he believed the U.K. authorities were reluctant to consider bringing any corporate corruption charges in the U.K. because the force was "waiting for Operation Elveden [the investigation into unlawful payments made to public officials] to finish."

News Corp denied that Murdoch was aware of any bribery at the time. "Mr. Murdoch never knew of payments made by Sun staff to police before News Corporation disclosed that to U.K. authorities," it said. "Furthermore, he never said he knew of payments. It’s absolutely false to suggest otherwise."

The secret tape also showed Murdoch criticizing U.K. authorities and signaling regret about the extent of his company's co-operation with the police on various probes. A transcript of the recording was obtained by investigative web site ExaroNews and picked up by Britain's Channel 4.

Watson posted a letter to U.S. senators John Rockefeller and Patrick Leahy on his web site, saying he had attached a transcript of the Murdoch tape to it.

Read More... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/murdoch-tape-uk-politician-calls-581075

Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin
Open Evenings and Weekends this Summer
Call Us Now (310) 273-9600   
 http://www.jonathanfranklinlaw.com

In the UK, GCHQ is a Greater Problem than American Spies, Claims Intelligence Whistleblower

GCHQ, Britain’s electronic eavesdropping agency, is tapping into vast numbers of emails and internet messages and is “worse” than US spy agencies, a former American intelligence worker has said.

Edward Snowden said Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters had gained access to the network of cables that transmitted international phone and internet traffic.

Mr Snowden, who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, has passed a number of documents to the Guardian newspaper in recent weeks. Among those are papers suggesting that GCHQ has programmes named Mastering the Internet and Global Telecoms Exploitation, which are focused on online and telephone communications.

The documents refer to information derived from global communications networks as “special source exploitation”. They are said to show that last year GCHQ handled 600 million “telephone events” each day, had tapped into more than 200 fibre-optic cables and was able to process data from at least 46 of them at any one time.

Mr Snowden, who has accused US intelligence agencies of violating privacy, was quoted as saying: “It’s not just a US problem. The UK has a huge dog in this fight. They [GCHQ] are worse than the US.”

Whitehall sources said that it was “hardly a secret” that GCHQ sought access to electronic communications, since that was “precisely what it is there to do”.

Source... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10135919/GCHQ-is-a-greater-problem-than-American-spies-claims-intelligence-whistleblower.html

Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin
Open Evenings and Weekends this Summer
Call Us Now (310) 273-9600    
 http://www.jonathanfranklinlaw.com

Comedian - Game Show host Jimmy Tarbuck Arrested in Child Abuse Scandal

Veteran comedian Jimmy Tarbuck from the UK is the latest familiar face from British TV of yesteryear to be arrested over an allegation of child sex abuse.

Tarbuck's arrest hit the headlines in the U.K. Tuesday with the BBC, the Daily Telegraph and The Guardian carrying reports of his arrest.

A local English police force confirmed that a 73-year-old man had been arrested in Kingston upon Thames on April 26 following an investigation and information about an alleged assault on a young boy in the late 1970s.

Tarbuck is best known for his stint as a host on the popular TV quiz show Winner Takes All. His 50-year onscreen career also includes being master of ceremonies for commercial broadcaster ITV's popular variety show Sunday Night at the London Palladium.

According to a BBC report, Tarbuck's arrest came after information was passed on by Metropolitan Police officers working on Operation Yewtree, the investigation set up following the death of Jimmy Savile in 2011, when hundreds of sex abuse allegations were made against the former Top of the Pops presenter.

The local English force that arrested Tarbuck told the British media his arrest is not part of Yewtree but a "separate investigation."

Read More... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/uk-tv-veteran-jimmy-tarbuck-511614

U.K. Soap Opera Star Michael Le Vell' Charged With Child Sex Offenses

News of actor Michael Le Vell's arrest, one of the most familiar faces on British TV for his role on ITV's "Coronation Street," hits the British headlines.

Actor Michael Le Vell, one of the most familiar faces on British TV after spending more than 30 years on screen in ITV's iconic soap opera Coronation Street, has been charged with child sex offenses.

Le Vell plays the boss of a car shop in the soap opera that has long been the commercial broadcaster's flagship early evening soap opera here.

The 48-year-old actor, whose real name is Michael Turner, is accused of 19 sex offenses including raping a child, indecently assaulting a child and sexual activity with a child.  Greater Manchester police said the actor will appear in court on Feb. 27 to face the charges.

Le Vell has been arrested before, in September 2011, but the investigation was dropped three months later in late December, when authorities said there would be no further action taken against him as there was not enough evidence to charge him.

Read More... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/uk-soap-opera-star-charged-421831