Rebekah Brooks quits as attention turns to claims News International hacked 9/11 phones

Murdoch’s top executive in Britain resigns a week after News of the World closure

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Rebekah Brooks

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Rebekah Brooks has resigned as chief executive of Rupert Murdoch’s News International as suspicion grows that phones were hacked belonging to victims of the 9/11 atrocity.

Brooks finally paid the price for the News of the World phone tapping scandal when she resigned on Friday morning, over a week after Murdoch announced the closure of Britain’s biggest selling Sunday newspaper.

The news broke after the FBI confirmed it is investigation claims that News International may have hacked into phones in the wake of the attacks on Ground Zero.

Brooks, Murdoch’s most senior executive in Britain, made her decision public in a memo to News International staff on Friday morning.

She was editor of the New of the World at the time of some of the phone hacking operations and has been called to appear before a British parliament enquiry along with Murdoch and his son James.

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In the internal memo, Brooks said: “I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the crisis that erupted last week and resulted in the closure of News International’s News of the World tabloid.

“I have given Rupert and James Murdoch my resignation. While it has been a subject of discussion, this time my resignation has been accepted.

“As Chief Executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place.

“I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate.

“This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavors to fix the problems of the past.”

The FBI has confirmed that it is examining allegations that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation may have tried to hack into the phone records of victims of the September 11th attacks in 2001.

US Attorney-General Eric Holder said the investigation followed requests from members of the US Congress and will utilize the appropriate federal law enforcement agencies.

Senior Democratic Party Congressman Peter King, who represents an area in New York where many victims lived, believes the allegations have to be investigated.

“We are aware of the allegations and we are looking into it,” confirmed a spokeswoman told AFP from the FBI’s offices in New York.
 

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