AUSTRALIAN MEDIA:

Management of the Crikey news website has revealed the fate of public donations of close to $600,000 to its fighting fund established last August when media mogul Lachlan Murdoch launched his now-abandoned defamation action.

Eric Beecher, chair of Crikey’s publisher Private Media, this morning revealed that all $588,000  received by the defence fund had been spent.

“I personally authorised the money to be spent both here and in the US on a special clandestine operation to see the Murdoch defamation action brought to a satisfactory end,” Mr Beecher explained.

“Both men are now detained in Martin Place in Sydney (main picture) where we will be holding them as long as it takes for Crikey subscribers and anyone who gave money to the fighting fund to come down here and exercise their right to freely express their opinions to both men in any way they see fit.

“I don’t think anyone is really happy that Lachlan Murdoch is able to just walk away from the action he initiated and which has caused Crikey, its staff, and readers so much angst and distress.

“That’s why yesterday I gave the go-ahead to initiate our fallback plan to have both Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch abducted in the US and flown to Australia to face justice at the hands of Crikey supporters.

“We believe this is an appropriate way to spend the fighting fund now that it is not needed to pay our defamation lawyers.”

Mr Beecher said the operation to bring the Murdochs to Sydney had included the hire of a private corporate jet but for only a one-way flight.

“Unfortunately we don’t have any money left to return the pair to America so once all our subscribers and donors are finished with them I guess they’ll need to find their own way home,” he said.