Murdoch set to be unleashed

The UK government has announced it is to abolish media ownership laws which were designed to halt Rupert Murdoch's march to total domination in the marketplace.

Instead a regulatory framework will be put in place that will not be designed to police any one individual - according to a senior government official quoted in the Financial Times it is no longer realistic to build laws "around one man".

Rupert Murdoch, whose business empire includes the Sun and The Times as well as pay-TV behemoth BSkyB, had previously been prevented from spreading his wings yet further by existing legislation.

However, it is unclear at this stage how Murdoch will benefit from any changes, though he will be keeping a keener eye than most on the year-long consultation process.