Murdoch moves to save BSkyB buyout

Media baron Rupert Murdoch flew into London yesterday to tackle a telephone-hacking scandal that has sent tremors through the British political establishment and may cost him a multibillion-dollar broadcasting deal.

Murdoch, 80, was driven through the gates of his east London headquarters holding up the last edition of the bestselling newspaper he had closed only hours earlier in an attempt to contain the crisis.

Best known for its lurid headlines exposing the misdemeanours of the rich, royal and famous, the News of the World said simply "Thank You & Goodbye" over a montage of some of its most celebrated splashes of the past 168 years. For admirers it had been a stock feature of lazy Sundays, for critics it had become a symbol of craven irresponsibility in the British media.

"All human life was here," the News of the World declared in a supplement to its final edition.

Murdoch had seemed on the point of clinching approval for a cherished prize, the buyout of broadcaster BSkyB, only last week; but revelations phone-hacking had extended beyond celebrities to relatives of victims of 2005 London bomb attacks and of soldiers killed in action stirred broad public anger.

Editor Colin Myler told media massed outside the newspaper's offices he deeply regretted the newspaper's closure.

The scandal has raised questions about relations between politicians, including Prime Minister David Cameron - who hired a former editor of the paper as his spin doctor - and media barons such as News Corp chairman and chief executive Murdoch.

It has also brought to light accusations that journalists working for Murdoch and others illegally paid police for information. A senior police officer said the London police force had been 'very damaged' by its failure to press an initial investigation into telephone hacking at the News of the World. Cameron's opponents have scented an opportunity in their efforts to block Murdoch's $14-billion bid for the 61% of the profitable pay-TV operator BSkyB that News Corp, the world's largest news conglomerate, does not already own.