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Rebekah Brooks should hear in August whether she faces further charges

Guardian :: Rebekah Brooks, the former News International chief executive, should know by the end of the summer whether she is to face further charges in relation to allegations of phone hacking and illegal payments to public officials. Southwark crown court heard on Friday morning that Brooks is on bail until the end of July and a date in early August in relation to Scotland Yard investigations into alleged phone hacking and police corruption, respectively.

Continue to read Lisa O'Carroll, www.guardian.co.uk

Investors accuse News Corp board of 'lax oversight'

Guardian :: News Corporation's directors turned a blind eye to phone hacking by News of the World staff, according to a court filing by a group of the company's shareholders. The investors allege that board members refused to initiate a proper investigation for fear of angering Rupert Murdoch and his son, James.

Continue to read Roy Greenslade, www.guardian.co.uk

Police study 'secret' iPhones of senior executives at News International

Independent :: Scotland Yard detectives investigating phone hacking at the News of the World are examining the call records of four newly discovered Apple iPhones issued to senior executives at News International. The smartphones, issued by O2 in a contract beginning in October 2009, included a handset given to James Murdoch, the former chairman and chief executive of News Corp Europe.

Continue to read James Cusick, www.independent.co.uk

Australia: Toothless tiger? Press Council bites hard, says News boss

Crikey :: Fining newspapers or forcing them to publish a right of reply when they are found to have breached standards would be a fundamental attack on free speech, according to News Limited’s editorial chief. Campbell Reid, News Limited’s editorial director, told a forum in Sydney today that the current sanctions regime — which forces papers to publish Australian Press Council adjudications in a prominent position — is tough enough to keep journalists honest.

Continue to read Matthew Knott, www.crikey.com.au

HT: Roy Greenslade, Guardian

[Roy Greenslade:] A debate in Australia about the appropriate powers for a press regulator may be a pointer to News International's views on the outcome of the Leveson inquiry.

Sales slip for The Sun on Sunday in Britain, Murdoch’s new paper

New York Times :: Sales of the Sunday edition have fallen 28 percent, from 3.2 million copies sold in the weeks after it first hit the stands in February, to 2.3 million in April, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The News of the World sold 2.7 million copies (or one copy for every 23 people in Britain), in July, when Rupert Murdoch closed the tabloid.

Continue to read Amy Chozick, www.nytimes.com

Leveson inquiry: Blair says newspapers used as 'instruments of political power'

Guardian :: Tony Blair has told the Leveson inquiry that Rupert Murdoch and other proprietors use their newspapers "as instruments of political power", with the Sun and Daily Mail being the two most powerful. Blair also told Lord Justice Leveson that he has a unique opportunity to at last "drain the poison" from the media with his inquiry into press ethics.

A summary - Continue to read John Plunkett | Lisa O'Carroll, www.guardian.co.uk

Tony Blair: I only had a working relationship with Rupert Murdoch while Prime Minister

Telegraph :: Tony Blair said he only had a working relationship with Rupert Murdochs and denied he was too 'cosy' with News International, as he gave evidence at the Leveson Inquiry into press standards.

Continue to read Rowena Mason, www.telegraph.co.uk

Chris Bryant, MP: News International executives should face possibility of jail

Guardian :: Parliament should be prepared to jail a series of former News International executives for some of the most "flagrant" examples of contempt of parliament, the Labour frontbencher Chris Bryant said on Tuesday. As MPs agreed to refer the executives to the Commons standards watchdog, Bryant said the House of Commons should consider whether to jail or fine the executives.

Continue to read Nicholas Watt, www.guardian.co.uk

Three former News International executives misled Parliament, report tomorrow

itv News :: The long-awaited and potentially explosive report on phone hacking from the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee is due Tuesday morning. MPs had their last meeting this morning to sign off the report and ITV News can reveal some of the findings.

Continue to read Lucy Manning, www.itv.com

Ofcom extends review of News Corp's ownership of BSkyB

Mediaweek.co.uk :: Ofcom has asked News International for documents relating to phone hacking settlements, after stepping its probe into whether News Corporation is a "fit and proper" shareholder of BSkyB.

Continue to read Maisie McCabe, mediaweek.co.uk