Phone hacking: James Murdoch recalled by MPs

News Corp boss to face fresh questions about whether he knew News of the World hacking went further than one reporter James Murdoch is to be recalled to give evidence to MPs on the Commons culture, media and sport select committee following a vote on Tuesday. Murdoch, who oversees News International as deputy chief operating officer of News Corporation, will face fresh questions about whether he knew that phone-hacking at the News of the World went wider than one “rogue reporter”. The date of his appearance has not yet been finalised, but it is understood that he could appear in November. Murdoch insists he was not told about the existence of an email sent by a News of the World reporter marked “for Neville”, which is understood to have been a reference to Neville Thurlbeck, who was the paper’s chief reporter. That suggested phone hacking was not the work of a single reporter, as the company claimed until recently. Colin Myler, the former editor of the paper, and Tom Crone, its head of legal, told MPs last week that they told Murdoch about the email and said that is why he approved an out-of-court settlement of £700,000 including costs to Gordon Taylor, the former chief executive of the PFA. Murdoch told MPs in July that he did not know about the email and was not shown it or informed of its existence. In a statment last week he reiterated that was the case. A News Corp spokeswoman said: “We await details of the commitee’s request, however James Murdoch is happy to appear in front of the committee again to answer any further questions members might have.” •

Posted by on September 13, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.