Despite More Hacking Scandals By "News Of The World" The Board At BSkyB Have Unanimously Backed James Murdoch's Position As Chairman Of The Board

By Kathleen

Despite revelations today that News of the World journalists may have hacked into the phone of Sara Payne, the mother of an eight year old girl who was murdered by a serial sex offender, James Murdoch has been unanimously retained as chairman of BskyB after a meeting also held today. The Lib Dem media spokesman, Don Foster, has called on BskyB to reconsider their unanimous backing of James Murdoch. Foster earlier asked Ofcom to further investigate whether the Murdoch empire is "fit and proper" to hold a 39 per cent share in BskyB

After her daughter's death Sara Payne mounted a campaign which led to a law being passed allowing parents access to information about people living near them who were child sex offenders. This campaign was widely supported by the News of the World and came to be known as Sarah's Law. Sara Payne worked closely with NOTW editor, Rebekah Brooks, on the campaign and they became close friends. It is thought that Rebekah Brooks gave the phone to Sara Payne which was subsequently hacked by investigator Glenn Mulcaire.

The Guardian reports that friends have revealed that Sara Payne is "devastated and deeply disappointed."

Sara Payne, whose eight-year-old daughter Sarah was abducted and murdered in July 2000, has been told by Scotland Yard that they have found evidence to suggest she was targeted by the News of the World's investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who specialised in hacking voicemail.

Police had earlier told her correctly that her name was not among those recorded in Mulcaire's notes, but on Tuesday officers from Operation Weeting told her they had found her personal details among the investigator's notes. These had previously been thought to refer to a different target.

Friends of Payne have told the Guardian that she is "absolutely devastated and deeply disappointed" at the disclosure. Her cause had been championed by the News of the World, and in particular by its former editor, Rebekah Brooks. Believing that she had not been a target for hacking, Payne wrote a farewell column for the paper's final edition on 10 July, referring to its staff as "my good and trusted friends".

The evidence that police have found in Mulcaire's notes is believed to relate to a phone given to Payne by Brooks to help her stay in touch with her supporters.

On Thursday night Brooks insisted the phone had not been a personal gift but had been provided to Payne by the News of the World "for the benefit of the campaign for Sarah's law".

In a statement, Brooks said the latest allegations were "abhorrent" and "particularly upsetting" because Sara Payne was a "dear friend".

Responding earlier to news that Payne's details had been found in Mulcaire's notes, one of Payne's close colleagues said: "We are all appalled and disgusted. Sara is in bits about it." It is not known whether any messages for Payne were successfully hacked by Mulcaire.

Understandably this recent revelation has outraged even more people in the United Kingdom who want to see the people responsible brought to justice. Unfortunately for the victims the legal inquiry which opened today into the phone hacking scandal is unlikely to be an impartial one. This is because the judge selected by UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, Lord Justice Leveson, has a direct social link to Newscorp via his contact to Matthew Freud, Rupert Murdoch's son-in-law.

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Be sure to read Malia's latest post in which she exposes the sheer gall of the Palins. Bristol Palin is filming in Alaska so she can claim tax credits for her reality TV show.