New book 'exposes links between Murdoch, politicians and police'

 

Suggested Topics

A new book which promises to expose the connections between Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper group and senior politicians and police officers is to be published this week.

Dial M for Murdoch, by the Labour MP Tom Watson and The Independent journalist Martin Hickman, will hit bookshops on Thursday. Subtitled "News Corporation and the Corruption of Britain", the 350-page hardback, published by Allen Lane, part of the Penguin group, will concentrate on how News Corp's News International, publishers of the News of the World, Sun and Times, used its political influence to cover up illegal newsgathering techniques at its headquarters in Wapping.

Amid concern that News International's newspapers would seek to damage its launch, the title and publication date of the hardback were kept a closely-guarded secret until yesterday. Only a handful of senior managers at Penguin's headquarters were aware of its timing, and typesetters, who were still preparing the book for publication last week, signed confidentiality agreements.

The gap between the delivery of the final manuscript and publication is thought to be the shortest in Penguin's 77-year history. Mr Watson, who led the questioning of Rupert and James Murdoch at the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee last summer, said he was "very excited to say we've finally finished the book", adding: "I have a hunch it will be one of the most attacked books this year."

The project was overseen at Penguin by Stuart Proffitt, a veteran non-fiction editor who was suspended by Murdoch's book publishers HarperCollins in 1998 in a row over the cancellation of the memoirs of the last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten. At the time, Murdoch, whose demand for the book be scrapped was resisted by Mr Proffitt, was seeking to expand his interests in China.

Disclosures from the book will be made at a press conference in central London on Thursday morning. The title is priced at £20 and will also be available as an e-book, selling on Amazon for £17.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Top stories
News in pictures
World news in pictures
UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures
More stories
       
Independent
Travel Shop
India and Shimla
14 nights from only £1899pp Find out more
Prague city break
Three nights from £199pp Find out more
4* Soreda hotel break, Malta
Seven nights all-inclusive from £399pp Find out more

Day In a Page

National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again
Dylan Hartley: Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong

Dylan Hartley talks tough

Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong
Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

A meeting of global power brokers in a Hertfordshire hotel is exciting conspiracy theorists, but what are they really about?
'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console

'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system'

Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console
Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men

Plenty of sleaze

Dating website pulls intimate 'hook-up' section to curb harassment
Inferno author Dan Brown 'honoured' to be invited to join the Freemasons

The Freemasons’ Code

Dan Brown reveals the message that told him door to the lodge is open
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Nick Buckles survived the Olympics débâcle and a £5bn bid fiasco but a profit warning finally triggered his downfall
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’: Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar

How to say ‘I’m a sellout’

Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar
Why clubs are keen to take a stand

Why clubs are keen to take a stand

There's a real desire around the grounds for safe standing. But will the authorities listen?
In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

Disillusion with a siege mentality and negative playing style made change inevitable
James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

British driver was fascinating man whose epic duel with Niki Lauda in 1976 was typical of an era of glamour and glory – but also the ever-present threat of death