James Murdoch Needs Shooting.

James Murdoch is the head of News International the British arm of News Corp, Rupert Murdoch's multi-national media empire. As you may have heard News International has recently been in a bit of trouble over the phone hacking scandal. One of the phones News International journalists were accused of hacking into belonged to the family of murdered British schoolgirl Amanda (Milly) Dowler.

In a development unrelated to the phone hacking scandal the Dowler family were recently in the news during the lengthy trial of Levi Bellfeild a serial killer who'd been protected by the state. In that trial Mr Dowler was revealed as a man with an extensive collection of extreme pornography and a less then healthy interest in rape who may or may not have allowed his daughter to be sacrificed to keep one of Britain's pet killers happy. Then without shame Mr Dowler chose to participate a media circus that was designed to inflict maximum pain and suffering on my family with Milly Dowler being a metaphor for my elder sister. That wasn't enough for the Dowlers so they then freely participated in the phone hacking scandal which has already had pretty catastrophic consquences for press freedom in the UK.

James Murdoch has now decided to reward the Dowler family for all this with a damages payout worth several millions of pounds in damages for the phone hacking. He has also decided to announce this on the day when my father was having a dramatic sounding meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury during the United Nations General Assembly.

And to think there are politicians in Britain who used to be intimidated by News International.


Edited at 11:00 on 20/9/11: If you've been following the phone hacking scandal it was largely the result of a campaign by rival newspaper "The Guardian" in what looked like a spectacular fit of jealousy. The latest development is that The Guardian has been served with a court order forcing it to reveal it's sources. If they fail to comply then their journalists and editorial team face lengthy prison sentences under the Official Secrets Act - designed to protect national security. As a result most of the British media have seen the scandal for what it is, an attack on them all and backed off. That makes News International's decision to settle with the Dowler family for about 300 times what even the most generous court would award in compensation look like an act of wanton cowardice.