Rupert Murdoch faced calls Sunday for the break-up of his British empire despite issuing a second public apology for the phone-hacking scandal that has gone to the heart of the establishment. The media baron’s latest bid to atone for the crisis spawned by the News of the World tabloid fell on deaf ears as opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband called for new ownership laws to dismantle Murdoch’s British media interests. Britain’s top police officer meanwhile came under renewed pressure as interior minister Theresa May prepared to issue a statement detailing “concerns” on Scotland Yard’s links with former Murdoch executives. Miliband told The Observer that British politicians had to “look at the situation” whereby Murdoch was able to own more than 20 percent of the newspaper market plus have a large stake in satellite television. “I think he has too much power over British public life,” said Miliband, who is enjoying a boost in the polls for his stance over the crisis. Murdoch owns The Sun, Britain’s biggest selling newspaper, The Times and The Sunday Times, having closed the News of the World a week ago over the hacking claims. His family also owns a 39 percent share in pay-TV giant BSkyB. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, of the Liberal Democrats, agreed that there should be more “plurality” in the British media.
