Clifford: Paper closed to save Murdoch empire

PUBLICIST Max Clifford said the News of the World was closed to protect the reputation of Rupert Murdoch’s wider media empire, which includes newspapers and TV stations around the world.

“I think the cancer, in News International terms, was too deep and had spread too far to be checked. So they let the patient die because it couldn’t be saved,” he said.

“They were obviously aware of not only the tremendous damage done to the News of the World but also News International by recent allegations.