Rupert Murdoch has caused something of a storm over the weekend by referring to phone-hacking victims as "scumbag celebrities" in a tweet:
And there was more to come from the Tweeting tycoon. In an apparent bid to justify the hacking of celebrity's phones, Murdoch went on to suggest privacy campaigners, such as the "scumbag celebrities" lobbying David Cameron for tougher privacy laws, could unwittingly protect sex offenders like Jimmy Savile through their actions.
Replying to another tweeter, Murdoch said:
Perhaps the notoriously forgetful Murdoch really believes his journalists were only hacking phones in search of criminals. And perhaps he's deliberately overlooking the important public interest difference between unearthing criminal activity and hacking into celebrity voicemails for gossip, in order to muddy the waters. He may be hoping people are so stupid they'll think 'Well I don't like sex offenders so I guess I'm opposed to privacy laws'.
But attempting to benefit from the awfulness of the Savile story isn't just incredibly tasteless, his nonsense logic puts Murdoch on a par with former News Of The World hack Paul McMullen who infamously told the Leveson Inquiry that "privacy is for paedos".
I think one of the best tactics the Hacked Off campaign can have is to just let Murdoch keep talking.
Posted by: Rich | Oct 15, 2012 at 09:12
...and he can't spell (Saville). Anyone know a good editor?
Posted by: Kitty Wales | Oct 17, 2012 at 00:50