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Since 1986, it has been the pioneer and champion of good corporate governance within the UK. PIRC has a wide spectrum of clients ranging from pension funds, faith-based investors, trade unions to banks and asset managers. Its Corporate Governance Service is an authoritative and vital resource for active investors, whilst its widely-read Shareowner Voting Guidelines provide a market-wide benchmark for investors and forms part of the movement for corporate governance reform and long-term wealth creation strategies for responsible investors. For more information about PIRC or to arrange a meeting, contact Janice Hayward, or call us on 0207 247 2323.

Hacking still haunts News Corp

Overall, 2011 was a bad year for News Corp, as the phone-hacking scandal wrecked its reputation. But already 2012 show signs of being little better.

With a backdrop of the ongoing Leveson Inquiry, and Parliamentary investigation, last week saw two important developments. First, News International settled a string of claims brought by victims of phone-hacking undertaken on behalf of the News of the World. Significantly, the claimants in the case alleged that senior employees and directors of News Group Newspapers, the part of News International that published the paper, were aware of the illegal activity and deliberately misled investigators and destroyed evidence. Reports suggest settlements also include a promise from NGN to continue to search its electronic archives, meaning further evidence of unlawful interceptions could be disclosed. If further wrongdoing is found, those affected are therefore able to make further claims.

Secondly, evidence has begun to emerge of computer hacking activity. When giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry, James Harding, editor of The Times, admitted that a journalist on the paper had hacked the email account of a detective who blogged anonymously in order to reveal his identity. In addition, one of the settlements reached last week was with Christopher Shipman, son of serial killer Dr Harold Shipman, who was awarded an undisclosed fee after his e-mails and phone were hacked.

Meanwhile, News Corp tormentor-in-chief Labour MP Tom Watson continues to pursue the company. Last week he said the new disclosures raised questions about the evidence given by Times editor James Harding to the Leveson inquiry, and by James Murdoch to the select committee. He has also called on the police to investigate as part of Operation Tuleta.
 

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