JAMES MURDOCH WILL make a second appearance before MPs where he will face more questions on the phone hacking scandal.
The News International chairman has been recalled to appear before the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee after questions were raised about the evidence he gave in his first highly-publicised appearance alongside his father, Rupert, in July.
Since that appearance, ex-employees of News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation, have contradicted evidence Murdoch gave that he was not aware of a crucial piece of evidence suggesting that illegal phone hacking was widespread at the now defunct News of the World newspaper.
Ex-News of the World editor Colin Myler and former legal adviser Tom Crone have insisted that Murdoch was aware of the so-called ‘For Neville’ letter which indicated hacking was widespread when he authorised a payment to a phone hacking victim.
Murdoch told MPs in July that he was not told about this.
It is not yet clear when James Murdoch will appear before MPs, but a spokesperson for News International siad that he would be “happy to appear”.
Meanwhile, BBC News reports on a separate development in the hacking scandal with the mother of a 7/7 bombing victim set to pursue a civil case against News International.
Sheila Henry, whose son Christian Small was killed in the 2005 attacks in London, will be one of six text cases for civil damages claims against News Group Newspapers over phone hacking claims.
In another development, the Guardian reports that News Corporation shareholders are to lodge a complaint against Rupert Murdoch and other members of the News Corp board for widespread corporate misconduct spreading beyond the phone hacking scandal.
In documents lodged in a court in Delaware, a group of US banks and investment funds accuse two of the company’s subsidiaries of “stealing computer technology, hacking into business plans and computers and violating the law through a wide range of anti-competitive behaviour”.
- additional reporting from AP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say