News Corporation has a lot on its plate. Its UK operation is engulfed in what the prime minister calls a firestorm. The brand is toxic and the family management is under siege from parliament, the police, a judicial inquiry and the public, all on a scale and with a scope without precedent. Yet the crisis, whilst growing still, is significantly defused by the withdrawal of the BSkyB bid. The management has been cut down to size and that size is a good deal smaller than people had, until very recently, thought. Whether it stays or goes is still an issue, but less so. The empire may not be powerless but it is a lot less powerful. As the police investigation advances there will be more arrests and as the Inquiries get into their stride there will be more astonishing disclosures. The police themselves are damaged, more damage will come and some promising careers will be cut short. But all of this is predictable and will happen within known boundaries.
Politically , the government has now fallen into line, having utterly misjudged the public mood and the political power of the Labour Opposition. It will not now be engulfed, though it is severely damaged, especially the Tory element. Ed Milliband has been making all the running and although Cameron is now earnestly and with his usual polish, singing the same tune, it is Ed Milliband’s song. A systemic failure in the efficacy of the Downing Street machine calls for examination and repair.
As for Rupert Murdoch, it is not known how long he will stay in the UK. When he returns to the US, he may find things have changed there also.