News Corp opens official review into anti-corruption practices
RUPERT Murdoch’s News Corporation has opened a review into anti-corruption practices at operations including its UK newspapers, the media mogul announced yesterday.
In an internal email, Murdoch said the purpose of the review was to “test our current internal controls and identify ways in which we can enhance them” but that the probe “is not based on any suspicion of wrongdoing by any particular business unit or its personnel”.
He added: “As you are all aware, our company has been under intense scrutiny in the United Kingdom. I assured parliament and the Leveson inquiry that we would move quickly and aggressively to redress wrongdoing, co-operate with law enforcement officials and strengthen our compliance and ethics programme company-wide.”
The probe is the latest aspect of a wider review of governance at Murdoch’s UK publishing arm News International that was instigated after the publisher’s chief executive Tom Mockridge took over from Rebekah Brooks last year.
So far, 14 current or former News International journalists have been arrested as part of Scotland Yard’s investigation into corrupt payments.