Post date: Nov 10, 2011 5:23:49 PM
James Murdoch blames former News of the World editor Colin Myler for poor information in relation to a phone-hacking scandal, and says ex-legal head Tom Crone misled parliament.
LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (NOVEMBER 10, 2011) (PARLIAMENT TV) - James Murdoch turned on his former News of the World colleagues on Thursday (November 10) as he fought to survive a second grilling over phone-hacking by British lawmakers and keep his place in his father's media empire.
Murdoch blamed Colin Myler, the last editor of the now-defunct Sunday tabloid, for giving him incomplete information, and accused the newspaper's ex-legal chief, Tom Crone, of misleading the committee of MPs investigating the hacking.
Myler and Crone have contended that they made Murdoch aware in 2008 that Taylor had in his possession transcripts of hacked phone conversations that seemed to implicate other journalists.
Murdoch reiterated on Thursday that Myler and Crone had not shown him the transcripts, contained in an email dubbed the "For Neville" email, and said Crone had misled parliament.
"That it was the 'for Neville' email also perhaps was the beginning of suspicion that other individuals were involved at the News of the World was not described to me and the email was not shown to me either," Murdoch said.
He denied that he himself had misled the parliamentary select committee, although he did express some regret, in contrast to his July appearance before the committee.
"At various times, and I am sorry for this, the company moved into an aggressive defence too quickly," he said.
Opposition Labour Party MP Tom Watson asked Murdoch: "Do you think Mr Crone misled us?" Murdoch answered: "It follows that I do, yes."
News Corp long maintained that the hacking was the work of a lone, "rogue" reporter and a private detective who both went to jail for the offence in 2007. Murdoch approved the payoff to hacking victim and soccer boss Gordon Taylor in 2008.
"I can tell you that at no point did Mr Crone or Mr Myler discuss evidence or suspicion of wider spread phone hacking during the meeting of June 10th or otherwise in relation to increasing the offer of settlement with Mr Taylor's attorneys," said Murdoch.
James Murdoch was brought into News International after the date of the last known phone-hacking, but has been accused of failing to ask the right questions at least, and possibly of participating in a huge corporate cover-up.
He is currently deputy chief operating officer of News Corp with responsibility for all its non-U.S. business, and was until recently expected to take over sooner or later from his father, Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch.
He is also still chairman of News International, News Corp's British newspaper arm.
An admission by News International this week that the News of the World ordered the surveillance of lawyers representing hacking victims as recently as this year has added to the impression that the culture may not have changed significantly.