We do not yet know what Rupert Murdoch will have to say when he arrives in London. I suspect he will be surprised by what he finds. Last evening I saw a brief clip of him walking in a blue shirt talking to a deferential U.S. reporter. Their interview style is a good deal less confrontational than in the UK. It was clear in those moments that he had not taken on board what has happened here.
It is not just the fact of closing the News of the World and containing the damage. The crisis for Murdoch is out of control and spreading. It is not just his paper that has become toxic, it is his whole grip at the centre of affairs in our country; the Murdoch brand itself is toxic and the management of Rebekah and James has lost all credibility. The entire political class is now gunning for his network. It is not just about a Sunday paper any more. Everything Murdoch is subject to challenge by enquiries, regulators, the police and parliament. The damage has spread to those who may in the past have shown favour, or received it, including the Prime Minister and one of Britain’s most lauded policemen, John Yates. The list will grow. More arrests are expected. More disclosures predicted.
Murdoch is not used to this kind of hostility. Nor has he before witnessed, from the receiving end, that rare and awesome power, so difficult to stir and so rarely seen, British national anger. He needs to prepare himself. He described his confidence in Rebekah as ‘total’. There was a time, just a little while ago, when such a declaration from him would have been the end of it. Now his declaration has no effect at all. Like a devalued currency in the marketplace, his word now counts for nothing. His first task must be to restore something of its value.