BBC accused of letting Murdoch foes trash him in documentary
Critics’ own controversies are ‘glossed over’ as they tear into media tycoon
THE BBC is under fire for allowing three controversial critics of Rupert Murdoch to trash his reputation in a new documentary about the Australian-born media tycoon.
Corporation bosses have been accused of failing to be impartial by omitting crucial background details about contributors Tom Watson, Hugh Grant and Max Mosley in the three-part documentary. Episode two of the series, entitled The Rise Of The Murdoch Dynasty, focuses on the phone- hacking scandal which rocked the mogul’s News International empire between 2009 and 2011.
Along with Alan Rusbridger, the then editor of The Guardian newspaper, and investigative reporter Nick Davies, Watson, Grant and Mosley are credited with exposing how News of the World journalists hacked the phones of celebrities and even murder victims, including Milly Dowler. But the episode, entitled The Rebel Alliance, either fails to mention or glosses over details such as Mr Grant’s criminal record or the role Mr Watson played in promoting false allegations of a VIP child abuse ring at Westminster.
In the programme, to be shown on BBC2 on Tuesday, July 21, Mr Mosley can barely hide his contempt for Mr Murdoch.
The ex- Formula 1 boss successfully sued the now-defunct newspaper after it published a story claiming he had been involved in a Nazi-themed orgy.
In 2008, a judge ruled there was no substance to the claim of the Nazi theme which, Mr Mosley tells the programme, ‘they completely invented’.
He says the heartbreak unleashed by the publicity surrounding his private life encouraged hi s s on Alexander to rekindle a drug addiction, which claimed his life in 2009. Mr Mosley likens his battle to a ‘war’ that was ‘between good and evil’.
The programme gives a brief background into Mr Mosley’s family links to the far- Right, noting that his father Sir Oswald founded the British Union of Fascists. But it fails to mention that in 1961, Mr Mosley published a highly racist election pamphlet for his father’s party, which claimed ‘coloured immigrants spread diseases’.
The BBC show also features former MP Tom Watson but fails to mention Mr Mosley’s £500,000 donation to the politician.
The former Labour deputy leader repeats an earlier claim that Murdoch’s business operated along the lines of the ‘mafia’ and says: ‘They broke the law on an industrial scale, they covered up and tried to silence their enemies who tried to investigate.’ However, the BBC series fails to mention the recent controversy over Mr Watson, who stands accused of pressuring the police into investigating claims of a child sex ring. The malicious allegations ruined the reputations of ex- Tory MP Harvey
Proctor, late former Home Secretary Leon Brittan and Normandy veteran Lord Bramall.
Last year, fantasist Carl Beech was sentenced to 18 years for perverting the course of justice.
Mr Proctor last night said he believed Mr Watson had pursued the issue of phone hacking and then child abuse to further his own political career.
Similarly, the BBC programme does not dwell on the arrest of Mr Grant after he was caught in a ‘lewd act’ with sex worker Divine Brown. Mr Grant brushes it off as an ‘escapade’ and describes Mr Murdoch as a threat to the democratic process.
Last night, Tory MP Andrew Bridgen questioned the series’ impartiality, saying: ‘For balance, the BBC should have pointed out their contributors are not without controversy themselves.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘The programme includes interviews with a variety of contributors, from those who have criticised Murdoch, to those who count themselves as associates, to ensure there is a balanced factual portrayal of the events covered.’
Watson ‘sex ring’ claim ruined reputations Grant’s arrest brushed off as an ‘escapade’