God Abandons Rupert!

It just goes from bad to worse for Rupert Murdoch.
With News having just posted a $1.9 Billion loss today, yesterday the Church Of England (CEO : HM The Queen) announced that it had sold it shares in News Corp for $3 million because of the "bad behaviour" of some of it's newspapers.

Andrew Whittam Smith is the First Church Estate's Commissioner and in charge of their finances. He is also the founder of the Independent Newspaper which along with The Guardian has been on the attack over the great hacking scandal and other matters previously. It was he who made the decision to sell the Church's stake in News.
A former journalist and the son of an Anglican vicar, Whittam Smith is far from being a prude and was once president of the British Film Board Classification and was responsible during the 90s for liberalising what naughty parts Brits could see in videos and films. Until then it had languished about 50 years behind the rest of Europe.
He also thinks Scotland Yard may soon be feeling the collars of both James Murdoch and his father for having breached Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and is quoted as saying:
"“It means that if you have presided over an organisation that has conducted criminal activities, either you have the orders, or you gave permission, or you connived, but if you did none of these things, then you were neglectful. That, I believe, is the trap in which the directors of News International find themselves."

Could this be why Rupert and James are both moving permanently to New York?. Given how the British courts are now closely co-operating with US courts in extradition matters ala Julian Assange, perhaps both could seek sanctuary in Australia House in The Strand and ask for asylum.

Letteing The Side Down

The picture below of  Puberty Blues author Kathy Lette in her corgi dress giving HM The Queen a good laugh has now swept the world and cements Kathy's place as one of the best Antipodean self publicists in the UK.

Barry Humphries at Kathy's launch

Richard E.Grant

Lette was at Buckingham Palace for a reception hosted by Her Maj before her final trip Down Under. The Queen was heard to comment that she didn't realise there so many Australians in Britain which really shows she obviously doesn't get out much. Immigration records show there are close to 600,000 Aussies at present residing in the UK.

Kathy is quoted today telling a newspaper columnist about her trip to Buckingham palace : "As we’re all convict stock, I bet they spent all day hiding the silverware, don’t you? At least I made the Queen laugh. A first, I’m sure."
"The only funny thing was that the Palace had under-estimated the party potential of a bunch of wild colonials. We were practically swinging from the chandeliers. I gave the Queen a matching corgi scarf, so I do hope she’s going to wear it Down Under. I was very relieved that nothing mated with my leg, in that outfit."

The Shuttle has encountered Kathy and her husband barrister Geoffrey Robertson ( having shared a desk with Geoffrey in High School) many times on their visits to Sydney, the last being the launch of her book Mad Cow at the Boy Charlton Pool where actor Richard E.Grant did the honours.

Kathy's book launch in Sydney

Chatting to Robertson about Kathy's books he told us: "they don't sell that well in the UK  but she is a massive seller in Germany" . Asked to elaborate as to why this may be Geoffrey said "Kathy writes books that send up the British and the Germans lap them up. They have a more base sense of humour than the Brits as well so she seems in tune with them !".
The last time the Shuttle encountered the Queen in London at an official function was a reception at Australia House in the Strand many years ago. One aging journalist from Melbourne was there and was known to be not only a drunk but incontinent as well , sometimes forgetting to wear his protective pads. A group of us watched from the sidelines in horror as the man chatted to Prince Phillip, a puddle of piss gathering around their feet. When Phillip walked away we could hear his shoes squelching.