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News Corp head Rupert Murdoch has expressed regret over critical comments he made of London’s Metropolitan Police, saying in a letter to two British politicians that his words were “overly emotional” and triggered by “frustration” over his media empire’s ongoing legal troubles.
In the recordings, taped by a News Corp staffer in March 2013, Murdoch can be heard saying of the police, “I mean, it’s a disgrace. Here we are, two years later, and the cops are totally incompetent.”
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He was addressing a roomful of Sun reporters arrested over claims that they had paid off public officials and police for tips. Murdoch pledged his support to them in that meeting, even if they were to be found guilty.
Channel 4 reports that Murdoch sent a letter dated July 17 to MPs Keith Vaz and John Whittingale, defending his decision to offer the embattled staffers some “personal understanding” during a stressful time.
Murdoch made it clear, however, that he “did not intend to suggest that any violations of the law are tolerable or acceptable.”
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“I accept that I used the wrong adjectives to voice my frustration over the course of the police investigation,” he wrote.
Murdoch has previously said that he felt “hurt” and “betrayed” over the leaked tapes.
A rep for News Corp had no immediate comment on the matter.
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