So Rupert Murdoch's phone hacking hacks have now has issued an apology to some of the victims of the company's dodgy operations. This is just the beginning and it could end up costing News Corporation a lot of money.
Now we have reports that News Corporation faces a flood of compensation claims and possible criminal prosecution. Lawyers say that settling all the claims could cost Rupert Murdoch as much as $66 million, more than double what he has offered so far.
Writing in The Guardian, Henry Porter says News Corporation has gone to extraordinary lengths to suppress the story but that it is hard to imagine a more dangerous breach of trust by a public corporation.
Porter writes: "Never mind the footballers, TV presenters and film stars that Rupert Murdoch's people have been busily buying off or threatening since this scandal broke. There are hundreds of them, maybe even thousands, and they all have the right to a private life, but the gravity of this affair lies in this: at the same time as Murdoch's organisation was maintaining sway over the course of politics in this country, his journalists were listening to government ministers' private messages. It is difficult to imagine a more dangerous breach of trust by a public corporation, which of course may even have implications for national security. If the chancellor's phone was hacked, it certainly does."
This story will not go away. News Corporation's reputation is badly damaged and that's likely to have an impact on future deals.
no comment untill now