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| Murdoch at Westminster |
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| Written by Gordon Prentice | ||||||
| Tuesday, 12 July 2011 18:36 | ||||||
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More high drama with news that Rupert and James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks have been invited to appear before the Culture Select Committee. The Guardian reports that the Committee cannot compel witnesses to appear before it. This is not the case. The House of Commons Library briefing on departmental select committees tells us that the formal power of summons extends to UK citizens only. (see attachment and search for the word “summons”) If the Committee asserts itself there is no escape for Rebekah Brooks. And would the Murdochs stay away in these circumstances? I guess so. The Library Paper also tells us that members of parliament cannot be compelled to appear before select committees. Time this was changed. Ed Miliband, who put in a confident and convincing performance on the Andrew Marr show on Sunday, was quizzed about the Ashcroft vs Baldwin controversy. Michael Ashcroft claims Miliband’s Director of Strategy, ex-Times journalist, Tom Baldwin paid someone to hack into one of the tax cheat’s many bank accounts. Miliband states unequivocally there is no truth whatsoever in this allegation. The simple solution would be for the Culture Select Committee to invite both of them before it to take questions under oath. Alas, you wouldn’t see Ashcroft for dust. He would run a mile before agreeing to appear before a select committee on those terms. He would be dangerously exposed; all alone with no expensive lawyers to shield him. Last year, when the Public Administration select committee did a one-off inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Ashcroft’s elevation to the peerage, he and William Hague declined to come before us. As I recall, Sir George Young wrote to the Committee informing us they were “not inclined to attend”. They gave the committee two fingers. We raged. But there was nothing we could do about it.  Tags:
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 July 2011 19:21 |
