[ 2011-07-19 ]

Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and former executive Rebekah Brooks (left to right)

Phone-hacking: MPs to quiz Murdochs and Rebekah Brooks
News Corporation chiefs Rupert and James Murdoch
and former executive Rebekah Brooks will be
quizzed by MPs later about the phone-hacking
scandal.

The Murdochs agreed to appear before the Commons
media committee after it issued a summons for
them.

The MPs have said they have questions over
evidence given by Mrs Brooks and Andy Coulson -
both ex-News of the World editors - at a hearing
in 2003.

Two senior police figures who quit over the
scandal also face MPs' questions.

The committee hearing is the latest in a series of
dramatic developments in the phone-hacking saga.

Mrs Brooks quit as chief executive of News
International - the UK arm of News Corporation -
on Friday. On Sunday she was arrested on suspicion
of conspiring to intercept communications and
corruption.

Unexplained death

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul
Stephenson resigned on Sunday and Assistant
Commissioner John Yates quit on Monday over the
hiring of former News of the World journalist Neil
Wallis, now alleged to have been involved in
phone-hacking as a PR consultant for the force.

Both former officers are due to give evidence to
the Commons home affairs committee.

Meanwhile investigations continue into the death
of former News of the World journalist Sean Hoare,
who had made allegations of phone hacking. Mr
Hoare's body was found at his home on Monday.
Police say his death is as yet unexplained but not
thought to be suspicious.

In another development, readers of the Sun's
website were redirected to a hoax story which said
Rupert Murdoch had been found dead in his garden,
after the site was targeted by hackers.

Visitors to the site were redirected to the
Twitter page of a group called Lulz Security,
which has claimed responsibility, before News
International took it down.

And Prime Minister David Cameron is cutting short
his trip to Africa to make a statement in the
Commons on Wednesday and answer questions
"arising" from recent events.

Mr Cameron remains under intense pressure over his
decision to hire Mr Coulson as his communications
chief, BBC political correspondent Iain Watson
said.

Mr Coulson resigned from the post over the
phone-hacking scandal though he said he had not
known about it during his time as NoW editor.

Mrs Brooks resigned as chief executive of News
International last week amid huge pressure - she
was editor of the News of the World in 2002 when
murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's mobile phone
was allegedly hacked into by a private
investigator working for the News of the World but
has denied knowing anything about it.

She had already agreed to appear before the
Commons culture, media and sport committee for a
special one-off evidence session on Tuesday.

But her arrest at the weekend may limit the
questions she can be asked by the committee - for
fear of jeopardising any police investigation. Her
lawyer has said she is not guilty of any crime and
said no allegations were put to her during nine
hours of questioning on Sunday.

News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch and his son
James - who is in charge of the company's European
operations - initially declined to appear before
the committee but changed their minds after the
committee issued a summons.

News Corporation has denied reports it was holding
a meeting to discuss a replacement for Rupert
Murdoch as CEO of the company. A spokesman told
the BBC: "As you would expect, the board has had a
plan in place for some time and it regularly
re-evaluates those plans. Suggestions that a plan
is being currently accelerated or implemented are
inaccurate."

'Utmost care'

It is rare to see executives as senior as the
Murdochs appear before a Parliamentary committee -
although Rupert Murdoch did appear before a Lords
committee, sitting in New York, in 2007.

In his response to the committee, James Murdoch
said he was committed to ensuring that allegations
about the News of the World - which has since been
shut down - are "fully investigated and dealt with
appropriately and robustly".

He also said they had committed to full
co-operation with the current police inquiry and
the planned judge-led inquiry - and asked that the
committee "take the utmost care in ensuring that
the committee hearing does not run any risk of
prejudicing that investigation and subsequent
prosecutions".

The committee is likely to ask James Murdoch about
his statement two weeks ago that the News of the
World had "made statements to Parliament without
being in full possession of the facts" - and that
he had approved out-of-court settlements when he
did not have "a complete picture" of what had
happened.

Among members is Labour MP Tom Watson, who has
long campaigned on the issue of phone-hacking and
on Monday urged the Serious Fraud Office to
investigate out-of-court settlements made to
hacking victims.

Committee chairman John Whittingdale says he hopes
MPs will not act as a "lynch mob" but will not
"let them off".

Mr Whittingdale, a Conservative MP, has said his
committee's purpose will be "to try and get closer
to what actually happened and to uncover the
truth".

Tuesday's session is expected to generate a lot of
interest - two "overspill" rooms have been
arranged at Westminster for those not able to get
a seat in the committee room.

Last week Mr Murdoch's News Corporation dropped a
bid to take complete control of satellite
broadcaster BSkyB.

Source - BBC

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