A British man was convicted Friday of assaulting Rupert Murdoch with a foam pie at a parliamentary hearing into phone-hacking, as MPs demanded the tycoon and his son clarify their evidence from the session. The James Murdoch-chaired British pay-TV giant BSkyB meanwhile tried to calm the waters by offering £1.0 billion (1.13 billion euros, $1.63 billion) in payouts to shareholders after the hacking scandal derailed a takeover bid by the Murdochs’ US-based News Corp.
The crisis has rocked Britain and shaken News Corp., but it also provided a bizarre interlude on July 19 when protester Jonathan May-Bowles splattered Murdoch with foam as the media mogul was being quizzed by lawmakers.
