The buck must stop with Murdoch – and ministers

The government will pass emergency legislation this week to resolve the crisis in relation to police bail ( MPs to vote on police bail emergency bill , 5 July). Could it not do the same to create legislation making it impossible for media corporations to gain or hold a licence to operate if their employees, or people who work on their behalf, engage in illegal or criminal behaviour, as seems now the case with News of the World? The conduct of NoW employees regarding phone hacking, "blagging", paying police officers and now interfering with a police investigation is odious and not in the public interest. Jeremy Hunt's feeble assertions that he can do nothing about News International's attempts to buy all of BSkyB do not wash. Barbara Cairns Leicester • Rebekah Brooks is putting enormous energy into stressing that she was completely unaware of the shocking phone-hacking activities at NI ( Report , 6 July). Frankly, I don't give a damn if she knew. If business leaders don't carry the can for ethical malpractice unknown to them, what chance that they will focus on preventing and rooting out such behaviour? The new Bribery Act takes that excuse away from management for bribes made under its watch. Let's do the same for illegal journalism. Michael Littlechild Director, Good Corporation • This is epic corporate mismanagement. Excellent though the Steve Bell cartoon was ( 6 July ), Murdoch should not be allowed to wriggle out of this, even if he sacks Brooks. He is responsible for his company, the buck stops with him. He should be debarred from running, or owning, any company in the UK as he has proved he is not fit to run a whelk stall (apologies to ethical whelk-stall owners). As for allowing the takeover of BSkyB – you have got to be joking. Kevin Bray Leeds • The exposure of the NoW hacking scandal surely calls into question the integrity, judgment and probity of not only the sitting PM but senior figures across the political spectrum. For years they have unashamedly courted the Murdoch media empire and allowed its pernicious brand of populism to shape political debate. Witness the demonisation of public sector and welfare claimants while rapacious corporate excess goes largely unchallenged. If Cameron and his ilk want to understand what's behind "Broken Britain", they can now stop looking. Colin Montgomery Edinburgh • Much of the British establishment – politicians, police, media (with a few notable exceptions), the judiciary, bankers and the Treasury, and a few others – seemed to have reached a state closely resembling the Augean stables. Where can we find a Hercules to clean them up? Tony Cheney Ipswich, Suffolk