UK minister declares war on Rupert Murdoch

UK minister declares 'war' on Rupert Murdoch
LONDON (AP) - A senior British minister had to step aside from media policy issues after telling undercover reporters he had "declared war" on media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Business Secretary Vince Cable was taped by Daily Telegraph Journalists posing as constituents saying "I have declared war on Mr. Murdoch and I think we are going to win." Murdoch's News Corp. owns several British Newspapers and has a 40 percent stake in broadcaster BSkyB. Its bid to buy the remaining shares in BSkyB was clea...

UK minister declares 'war' on Rupert Murdoch
FILE - In this May 11, 2010 file photo, Liberal Democrat MP Vince Cable leaves Local Government House after meeting with Liberal Democrat MPs in London. Cable, Britain's Business Secretary, apologized Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010 after he was secretly recorded saying he could bring down the government if pushed and claiming Public Sector reforms risked running out of control. A senior British minister had to step aside from media policy issues after telling undercover reporters he had "declared war" ...

British gov't hit by fresh revelations of dissent
Britain's Coalition Government was hit by fresh evidence of internal tensions Thursday from a newspaper sting that has already caused a major row over a minister's unguarded remarks about Rupert Murdoch. The Daily Telegraph published new remarks by Liberal Democrats serving in Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative-led government, in which they openly question the premier's sincerity and say he cannot be trusted. They were speaking to undercover reporters in a sting that has already caught ...

Fresh revelations hit British coalition
Britain's Coalition Government was hit by fresh evidence of internal tensions on Thursday from a newspaper sting that has already caused a major row over a minister's unguarded remarks about Rupert Murdoch. The Daily Telegraph published new remarks by Liberal Democrats serving in Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative-led government, in which they openly question the premier's sincerity and say he cannot be trusted. They were speaking to undercover reporters in a sting that has already caug...

Coalition a 'sham', says Miliband
The latest secretly recorded comments by Liberal Democrat ministers show the Coalition Government is "a sham," Labour leader Ed Miliband has said. The Daily Telegraph secretly recorded ministers saying they were unhappy over some government policies. Vince Cable was taped "declaring war" on Rupert Murdoch. The comments, captured by Telegraph reporters posing as constituents, caused a furore because the business secretary was to have the final say on Rupert Murdoch's bid...

Minister pays price for Murdoch war call
Rocking boat . . . Nick Clegg, left, and David Cameron. Photo: Reuters LONDON: Britain's Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has been stripped of responsibilities for media, telecommunications and broadcasting companies after being recorded boasting that he had ''declared war'' on Rupert Murdoch. The Liberal Democrat minister in the Coalition Government said he would try to block the media tycoon's company News Corp.from taking over BSkyB, the satellite broadcaster Mr Murdoch partly owns. News Corp...

British business minister in 'war' with Murdoch
Britain's business minister said he had "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch and planned to block the media mogul's efforts to take control of pay TV giant BSkyB, in remarks published Tuesday. Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat business secretary in Britain's Coalition Government, made the comments to undercover reporters from The Daily Telegraph newspaper who were posing as constituents. "You may wonder what is happening with the Murdoch press," it quoted Cable as saying. "I have declared war on M...

British business minister in war with Murdoch
Stumble This! Britain's business minister said he had "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch and planned to block the media mogul's efforts to take control of pay TV giant BSkyB, in remarks published Tuesday. Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat business secretary in Britain's Coalition Government, made the comments to undercover reporters from The Daily Telegraph newspaper who were posing as constituents. "You may wonder what is happening with the Murdoch press," it quoted Cable as saying. "I have decl...

British business minister in 'war' with Murdoch
British Prime Minister David Cameron stripped his business secretary of key powers Tuesday over what he termed "totally unacceptable and inappropriate" remarks about media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Cameron's spokesman said that Vince Cable, a senior Liberal Democrat member of the Conservative-led coalition, would no longer have a say in Murdoch's bid to take full control of pay TV giant BSkyB, and his department would lose other powers. The prime minister acted after Cable told undercover newspaper ...

Lib Dems 'concern' over policies
Liberal Democrat ministers have been recorded expressing private concern over Coalition Government policies on welfare reform and Tuition fees. The three politicians were secretly recorded by Daily Telegraph reporters. Michael Moore, Ed Davey and Steve Webb all said they were unhappy over some government policies. The newspaper had previously recorded Business Secretary Vince Cable saying that he had "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch. The comments, captured by Telegraph reporters posing...

UK gov't hurt by business secretary's Murdoch attack
Britain's Coalition Government was under pressure Wednesday after its business secretary was stripped of key powers following his remark that he had "declared war" on media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday told Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable he would no longer have a say in Murdoch's bid to take full control of pay TV giant BSkyB. This came after Cable told undercover newspaper reporters that he planned to block the 12.0-billion-dollar (...

More Lib Dem ministers attack coalition plans
Nick Clegg today sought to play down further revelations involving three Liberal Democrat ministers unhappy with important aspects of coalition policies. Clegg's attempt to draw a line under Vince Cable's embarrassing indiscretions about the coalition and his self-declared war on Rupert Murdoch - was undermined today by further revelations of unease over policies harboured by three ministerial colleagues, which were exposed in secret recordings made by undercover Daily Telegraph reporters....

What Vince Cable said about Rupert Murdoch and BSkyB ("I have declared war on Mr Murdoch")
Source: BBC The Telegraph this morning chose not to publish the most explosive part of the remarks made by Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, to undercover reporters. A Whistleblower has passed me the full interview. Here are the excised comments by Mr Cable. "I am picking my fights, some of which you may have seen, some of which you may haven't seen. And I don't know if you have been following what has been happening with the Murdoch press, where I have declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think ...

Here Come More Secret Recordings That Could Break Apart The UK Government
Email Sent! You have successfully emailed the post. A bombshell Scandal is rocking the UK government. Earlier we mentioned how UK Business Secretary Vince Cable was secretly recorded threatening to bring down the Coalition Government (and also threatening war on Rupert Murdoch). Cable was brought into the government as a member of the Liberal Democrats when it and the Tories formed a coalition after Elections earlier this year. Anyway, now there are more recording. Sky News reports that The Tel...

Labour's new media chiefs make their mark as Ed Miliband delivers sharp attack on coalition
Ed Miliband is dominating the headlines today in a sign that his New Media team have sharpened his message. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA Ed Miliband's New Media advisers appear to be making their mark. Tom Baldwin and Bob Roberts have only been in their jobs for a few days but already the Labour Party appears to have sharpened up its act. • Policy level. Labour has written to Sir Gus O'Donnell, the cabinet secretary, asking whether the culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is an appropriate fi...

Cameron and Osborne... you can't trust them, say Lib Dems
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK) Paul Burstow, the care minister, told reporters from The Daily Telegraph: “I don’t want you to trust David Cameron.” And Andrew Stunell, the local government minister, said he did not know where the Prime Minister stood on the “sincerity monitor”. Norman Baker, the transport minister, even privately compared the Conservatives within government to the South African Apartheid regime, claiming that it was his job to campaign from the “inside”. N

Lib Dem minister defends attack
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore has defended his private attack on UK government policies, saying his party was committed to the coalition. He was one of several Liberal Democrat ministers secretly recorded by Daily Telegraph reporters. But Mr Moore said it should not come as a surprise that he was promoting Lib Dem policies in government. Michael Moore told the bogus "constituents" what he insists he is telling everyone: that the gains of stable government, with LibDem influence, out...

Tit-for-tat diplomat expulsions
Britain says it has expelled a Diplomat from Russia's Embassy in London for Espionage and that Russia had responded in kind. These were the first such expulsions since 2007, when a row broke out over the killing in London of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko with a rare radioactive isotope. Russia refuses to extradite a lawmaker whom Britain wants to try for the killing. The latest spat undermines efforts by Britain's new Coalition Government to forge a better relationship with Russia. Britain...

UPDATE 2-UK and Russia in tit-for-tat diplomat expulsions
Tue Dec 21, 2010 1:39pm EST * Britain and Russia expel one Diplomat each * Spat cools hopes for improved relations * First such expulsions since 2007 (Writes through with additional background) By Olesya Dmitracova London, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it had expelled a Diplomat from Russia's Embassy in London for Espionage and that Russia had responded in kind. These were the first such expulsions since 2007, when a row broke out over the killing in London of Kremlin critic Alex...

The Problem, Back Home
A news story last week raised the question: Can state lawmakers be “Conservatives” in Austin if they are cutting funding for necessary programs that governments back home will have to spend Tax Dollars to support? We think the answer is a resounding no. Unfortunately, the question will be raised on many fronts this legislative session as the state looks for ways to close a Budget Deficit now estimated to reach $28 billion. And despite what politicians may try to tell us once their sp...

'Career Average' to Replace Final Salary?
Via Pension Pulse. The BBC reports, Public Pension schemes 'should be career average': Lord Hutton's review of Public Sector pension schemes has been urged to recommend they be changed to career average schemes. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) says such a switch would be the best way to keep the schemes going in the face of rising costs. It would also protect the interests of lower-paid workers, the NAPF said. Most public servants are in better final-salary schemes, whose cost...

British state borrowing hits record high: official
British public borrowing soared in November to the highest monthly level since records began, official data showed Tuesday, sparking concern that the government could overshoot its annual target. The Public Sector net borrowing requirement leapt to 23.3 billion pounds (27.5 billion Euros, 36.1 billion US dollars) last month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement. That beat the previous monthly record of 21.1 billion pounds that was set in December 2009 and was the highest ...

MPs 'concern' over UK Africa aid
A cross party committee of MPs has said it has concerns about the way the UK is spending education aid money in Africa. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee also said it was unsure that the government was getting value for money from its aid programme. And its report said it was worried that £1bn of UK funds given to improve primary education in Africa and Asia were among donations involved in Fraud. The government said the report showed failures by the Labour government. The comm...

Public pension change supported
Lord Hutton's review of Public Sector Pension schemes has been urged to recommend they be changed to career average schemes. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) says such a switch would be the best way to keep the schemes going in the face of rising costs. It would also protect the interests of lower-paid workers, the NAPF said. Most public servants are in better final-salary schemes, whose costs are rising due to increasing longevity. Lord Hutton indicated he would recommend t...

Vince Cable was right about Murdoch but a business secretary is not meant to say it out loud | Michael White
Rupert Murdoch: Cable has declared war on him. Photograph: Hyungwon Kang/Reuters Curiouser and curiouser. I complained this morning that the Daily Telegraph didn't have much of a public interest justification for its sting on Vince Cable in the MP's constituency surgery. Thanks to what looks like an internal leak to the BBC's Robert Peston, it seems it did have one - his hostility to Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB bid - but chose not to run it. The Telegraph was one of the newspaper grou...