Luton: Rupert Murdoch flew out of
Britain on Wednesday, ending a turbulent 11-day visit dominated by
the phone-hacking scandal which climaxed in him being attacked
by a foam pie on live television.
"He has left," a spokeswoman for News International,
Murdoch`s British newspaper division, said after his
private jet left from Luton airport north of London.
The Australian-born US citizen arrived in Britain on
July 10 to deal with the crisis over phone hacking at the News
of the World tabloid, several days after he dramatically
closed thee 168-year-old, scandal-hit title.
Since then the row has spread to all parts of the
British establishment, sparking the resignation of two senior
police officers and threatening the reputation of Prime
Minister David Cameron.
During his first week in Britain, Murdoch was forced
to drop his offer for pay-TV giant BSkyB, and accept the
resignations of two of his top executives, Rebekah Brooks in
Britain and Les Hinton in the United States.
In a further show of contrition, Murdoch visited the
family of murdered teenager Milly Dowler, whose voicemail was
allegedly hacked by journalists at the News of the World, to
express his dismay at the claims.
He also apologised to other victims of phone hacking
in full-page adverts in all the major British newspapers last
weekend.
Murdoch`s final day was spent being grilled by a
committee of lawmakers alongside his son James, about what
they knew about phone hacking.
In a final humiliation, he was attacked by a member of
the public with a foam pie, although his wife, Wendi Deng,
stepped in to stop the assailant.
Murdoch must now confront the scandal in the United
States, where the FBI is investigating claims that News
International journalists targeted the phones of victims of
the September 11, 2001 attacks.
In an email to News Corp staff today, he vowed the
company would bounce back from the scandal.
Bureau Report
