The pervasive power of Rupert Murdoch: an extract from Hack Attack by Nick Davies

In this first extract from his new book, the reporter who broke the phone hacking story looks at Rebekah Brookss 2009 wedding and how it was a perfect display of the nature of Rupert Murdochs hold on British life

On a bright Saturday afternoon in the middle of June 2009, in the rolling green downland of west Oxfordshire, there is a wedding party. Several hundred men and women are gathered by the side of a great lake, 350 metres long, crowned at the far end with an 18th-century boathouse disguised as a Doric temple. The sun pours down. The guests sparkle like the champagne in their gleaming flute glasses. The bride arrives to the sound of Handels Rejoice!, written for the arrival of the Queen of Sheba. Among the onlookers, two men lean their heads towards each other.

So what do you make of all this? one asks quietly.

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