U.K. pols to quiz James Murdoch further

LONDON -- James Murdoch is to be recalled by British pols investigating the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World. The MP who heads the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, John Whittingdale said Murdoch, who was first grilled by MPs July 19, would need to answer some more questions in order to clear up conflicting accounts of what he knew about illegal practices at the paper. Speaking to Sky News Whittingdale said his committee was "beginning to reach the end of its deliberations," but wanted to tie up "one or two loose ends" by recalling witnesses. He added: "As a final session, we will have some more questions based on what we have heard which we will want to put to James Murdoch." MPs are keen to focus on discrepancies between Murdoch's evidence in July and what they heard last week from former News of the World editor Colin Myler and ex-News International lawyer Tom Crone. Myler and Crone claim they told Murdoch in a 2008 meeting about the so-called "For Neville" email, a reference to the tabloid's former chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck. This indicated that phone hacking was not confined to a single so-called "rogue reporter" at the News of the World, but a routine way of getting stories. Clearly, there are different accounts which we have heard," said Whittingdale. "We have spent some time questioning Tom Crone and Colin Myler last week about their version of what happened. We would want to put that to James Murdoch and hear more about how he recalls the meeting." But before Murdoch, who is News Corp.'s deputy chief operating officer, is invited back, the pols want to hear from other witnesses. These include former News International CEO Les Hinton, who resigned in July after working for Rupert Murdoch for more than 50 years, and Mark Lewis, the U.K. lawyer whose clients include the family of murdered British schoolgirl and phone hacking victim Milly Dowler. Whittingdale said Hinton would be asked about the period in which payments were made to News of the World royal correspondent Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. Both men were jailed in 2007 for intercepting voicemail messages. It is unclear when James Murdoch will appear before the MPs again, but there is speculation that the hearing may take place in November. A News Corp. spokesman said: "James Murdoch is happy to appear in front of the committee again to answer any further questions members might have." Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

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