James Murdoch contradicted by his ex-legal manager

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James Murdoch contradicted by his ex-legal manager CASSANDRA VINOGRAD, Associated Press, JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Updated 06:15?a.m., Friday, July 22, 2011

View: Larger | Hide In this Photo taken form TV British Prime Minister David Cameron during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, London, Wednesday July 20, 2011. British Prime Minister David Cameron has defended his former aide Andy Coulson who was an editor at the now defunct British newspaper News Of The World, saying he believes that people are innocent until proven guilty, although Coulson has been arrested in connection with the phone hacking scandal. UNITED KINGDOM OUT - - NO ARCHIVESPhoto: PA Wire/ PAIn this Photo taken form TV British Prime Minister David Cameron... FILE - In this April 13, 2010 file photo, Andy Coulson, formerly editor of the tabloid News of the World, and later Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron's director of communications, speaks on a mobile phone in London. Cameron speaking to parliament on Wednesday July 20, 2011, said that if Coulson had lied about phone hacking at his time at the News of the World then he should face "severe" criminal charges. He added: "If it turns out I have been lied to that would be a moment for a profound apology, and in that event I can tell you I will not fall short." Cameron acknowledged that if he had known when he appointed Coulson what he knew now, he would never have offered him the job .Photo: Oli Scarff/ POOL AFPFILE - In this April 13, 2010 file photo, Andy Coulson, formerly... In this image taken from TV, showing Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron as he makes a statement on phone hacking inside the House of Commons, in London, Wednesday July 20, 2011. Cameron defended his former aide Andy Coulson, saying he believes people are innocent until proven guilty and that the phone hacking affair raised questions over the ethics and values of the police force. UNITED KINGDOM OUT - - NO ARCHIVEPhoto: PA/ PAIn this image taken from TV, showing Britain's Prime Minister David... Newspapers for sale with headlines relating to the phone hacking scandal, near Westminster in London, Wednesday, July 20, 2011. Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday emphatically denied claims that his staff tried to stop an inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World newspaper and defended his decision to hire one of the tabloid's editors as his communications chief.Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/ APNewspapers for sale with headlines relating to the phone hacking... News Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch boards an aircraft at Luton Airport, near London, Wednesday July 20, 2011, to return to the United States after appearing in front of a House of Commons Committee to answer questions on the News of the World phone hacking scandal. UNITED KINGDOM OUT: : NO ARCHIVE:Photo: Steve Parsons/ PANews Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch boards an aircraft at... Media mogul Rupert Murdoch leaves his London residence Wednesday, July 20, 2011, the day after he addressed the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Murdoch was called to face the parliamentary committee on Tuesday to face questioning over the alleged phone hacking of various personalities by people employed by Murdoch's newspaper News of the World, part of News International. UNITED KINGDOM OUT - - NO ARCHIVESPhoto: Lewis Whyld/ PAMedia mogul Rupert Murdoch leaves his London residence Wednesday,... Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron leaves Downing Street in London, Wednesday, July 20, 2011. The Prime Minister will make a statement ahead of a debate at the House of Commons regarding the News International phone hacking scandal.Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/ APBritain's Prime Minister David Cameron leaves Downing Street in... News Corporation head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue residence, Wednesday, July 20, 2011, in New York. Emerging relatively unscathed from a British parliamentary hearing on the phone hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch returned to the United States on Wednesday, where his company faces a host of financial and legal challenges.Photo: Louis Lanzano/ APNews Corporation head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue... News Corporation head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue residence, Wednesday, July 20, 2011, in New York. Emerging relatively unscathed from a British parliamentary hearing on the phone hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch returned to the United States on Wednesday, where his company faces a host of financial and legal challenges.Photo: Louis Lanzano/ APNews Corporation head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue... A pedestrian passes newspapers for sale with headlines relating to the phone hacking scandal, near Westminster in London, Wednesday, July 20, 2011. Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday emphatically denied claims that his staff tried to stop an inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World newspaper and defended his decision to hire one of the tabloid's editors as his communications chief.Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/ APA pedestrian passes newspapers for sale with headlines relating to... A pedestrian passes newspapers for sale with headlines relating to the phone hacking scandal, near Westminster in London, Wednesday, July 20, 2011. Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday emphatically denied claims that his staff tried to stop an inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World newspaper and defended his decision to hire one of the tabloid's editors as his communications chief.Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/ APA pedestrian passes newspapers for sale with headlines relating to... In this image made from television, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron addresses a packed House of Commons, with members sitting in the gangways, in London, Wednesday July 20, 2011. Cameron cut short a trip to Africa trip to return home and appear before an emergency parliamentary session. Cameron's former communications chief Andy Coulson - a former editor at the now-defunct tabloid News of the World - is among several people who have been arrested in the phone hacking scandal. Sitting at bottom right, from right, are Foreiogn Minister William Hague, Home Secretary Therese May, and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. UNITED KINGDOM OUT: : NO ARCHIVE:Photo: AP/ PAIn this image made from television, Britain's Prime Minister David... FILE - This is a Nov. 29, 2006 file photo shows Glenn Mulcaire the private investigator at the centre of Britain phone hacking scandal . News Corp. said Wednesday July 20, 2011 it had now terminated legal payments to Mulcaire a day after Murdoch told lawmakers in a special parliamentary committee hearing that he would try to find a way to stop the payments. UNITED KINGDOM OUTPhoto: John Stillwell/ PAFILE - This is a Nov. 29, 2006 file photo shows Glenn Mulcaire... FILE - In this Monday, May 9, 2011 file photo of British actor Hugh Grant, as he poses with fans as he arrives for the European premiere of the 'Fire in Babylon' film at a cinema in London. A British judge on Wednesday July 20, 2011 awarded "Notting Hill" actor Hugh Grant the right to see evidence that could reveal whether his voice mails were intercepted by journalists at the now-defunct News of the World.Photo: Lefteris Pitarakis/ APFILE - In this Monday, May 9, 2011 file photo of British actor... News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue residence with his wife Wendi, Wednesday, July 20, 2011, in New York. Emerging relatively unscathed from a British parliamentary hearing on the phone hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch returned to the United States on Wednesday, where his company faces a host of financial and legal challenges.Photo: Louis Lanzano/ APNews Corp. head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue... July 8 2011 photo of former Downing Street communications chief and previously News of the World tabloid editor Andy Coulson who avoided the top-level security checks by Government investigators that his predecessors endured, it has been claimed Thursday July 21, 2011. Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron admitted Wednesday that his former media strategist, now arrested under suspicion of phone hacking while at the paper, had only a basic level of vetting, which meant he was not cleared to view the most secret Government files unlike his predecessors under former Prime Ministers. Opposition lawmakers ask if he was vetted at a less stringent level to avoid information about his past coming to light. UNITED KINGDOM OUT - - NO ARCHIVESPhoto: Dominic Lipinski/ APJuly 8 2011 photo of former Downing Street communications chief... News Corporation head Rupert Murdoch exits his Fifth Avenue residence, Thursday, July 21, 2011, in New York. As the scandal runs its course in the U.K., Murdoch's News Corp. must confront at least two U.S.-based shareholder lawsuits, a possible Standard & Poor's credit downgrade, and the beginnings of a federal investigation.Photo: Louis Lanzano/ APNews Corporation head Rupert Murdoch exits his Fifth Avenue... News Corporation head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue residence, Wednesday, July 20, 2011, in New York. Emerging relatively unscathed from a British parliamentary hearing on the phone hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch returned to the United States on Wednesday, where his company faces a host of financial and legal challenges.Photo: Louis Lanzano/ APNews Corporation head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue... News Corporation head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue residence, Wednesday, July 20, 2011, in New York. Emerging relatively unscathed from a British parliamentary hearing on the phone hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch returned to the United States on Wednesday, where his company faces a host of financial and legal challenges.Photo: Louis Lanzano/ FR77522 APNews Corporation head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue... News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue residence with his wife Wendi, Wednesday, July 20, 2011, in New York. Emerging relatively unscathed from a British parliamentary hearing on the phone hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch returned to the United States on Wednesday, where his company faces a host of financial and legal challenges.Photo: Louis Lanzano/ FR77522 APNews Corp. head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue... News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue residence with his wife Wendi, Wednesday, July 20, 2011, in New York. Emerging relatively unscathed from a British parliamentary hearing on the phone hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch returned to the United States on Wednesday, where his company faces a host of financial and legal challenges.Photo: Louis Lanzano/ APNews Corp. head Rupert Murdoch arrives at his Fifth Avenue...

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Font Page 1 of 1 LONDON (AP) — James Murdoch was under pressure Friday over claims he misled lawmakers about Britain's phone hacking scandal, as a lawmaker called for a police investigation and Prime Minister David Cameron insisted the media scion had "questions to answer" about what he knew and when he knew it.

Two former top staffers in the Murdoch media empire released a statement late Thursday saying they told James Murdoch years ago about an email that suggested wrongdoing at the News of the World tabloid was more widespread than the company let on — contradicting a claim by Rupert Murdoch's son that he was not aware of evidence the eavesdropping went beyond a jailed rogue reporter.

The claim could be a serious problem for the embattled James Murdoch, who heads the Europe and Asia operations of his father's News Corp. Deliberately misleading Parliament is a crime in Britain.

It's also the first sign that Murdoch executives are starting to turn against the empire in the wake of a scandal that has already cost it one of its British tabloids, two top executives and a $12 billion-dollar bid for control of lucrative satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting.

Tom Watson, a legislator from the opposition Labour Party, called for Scotland Yard to look into the allegation and said it "marks a major step forward in getting to the facts of this case."

"If their version of events is accurate, it doesn't just mean that Parliament has been misled, it means police have another investigation on their hands," Watson told the BBC.

News International, News Corp.'s British newspaper arm, said James Murdoch stood by his statement Tuesday to the parliamentary committee investigating the phone-hacking scandal, which exploded with revelations journalists at the News of the World tabloid hacked the phone of a 13-year-old murder victim while police were still searching for her and broadened to include claims reporters paid police for information.

That set off a firestorm which hit at the highest reaches of British society. It forced Rupert Murdoch to shutter News of the World, prompting a spate of high-profile resignations and departures at News Corp. and delivering the 80-year-old media baron and his son to be grilled before lawmakers.

Cameron, who himself has been tainted by the scandal after hiring an ex-News of the World editor, continued to distance himself from a once-cozy relationship with the Murdochs.

"Clearly James Murdoch has got questions to answer in Parliament and I am sure that he will do that," Cameron said Friday, adding the Murdochs had "a mess to clear up."

James Murdoch, in his testimony on Tuesday, batted away claims he knew the full extent of the illegal espionage at the News of the World when he approved a 700,000 pound ($1.1 million) payout in 2008 to soccer players' association chief Gordon Taylor, one of the phone hacking victims.

News International had long maintained that the eavesdropping was limited to a single rogue reporter, Clive Goodman, and the private investigator he was working with to break into voice mails of members of the royal household.

But an email uncovered during legal proceedings seemed to cast doubt on that claim. It contained a transcript of an illegally obtained conversation, drawn up by a junior reporter and marked "for Neville" — an apparent reference to the News of the World's chief reporter, Neville Thurlbeck.

Because it seemed to implicate others in the hacking, the email had the potential to blow a hole through News International's fiercely held contention that one reporter alone had engaged in hacking. If James Murdoch knew about the email — and was aware of its implication — it would lend weight to the suggestion he'd approved the payoff in an effort to bury the scandal.

James Murdoch told lawmakers he was not aware of the email at the time, but former legal adviser Tom Crone and ex-editor Colin Myler contradicted him.

"We would like to point out that James Murdoch's recollection of what he was told when agreeing to settle the Gordon Taylor litigation was mistaken," they said. "In fact, we did inform him of the 'for Neville' email which had been produced to us by Gordon Taylor's lawyers."

The Conservative lawmaker who heads the committee, James Whittingdale, said James Murdoch would be asked in writing to clarify his testimony, but would not be recalled before the committee.

Murdoch's News Corp. is trying to keep the damage from spreading to its more lucrative U.S. holdings, including the Fox network, 20th Century Fox and the Wall Street Journal.

British politicians have felt the heat too, with the country's top two party leaders falling over each other to distance themselves from papers they once courted assiduously.

Cameron's former communications director — Murdoch newspapers veteran Andy Coulson — came under fresh scrutiny Thursday after it was reported that he did not have a top-level security clearance, which spared him from the most stringent type of vetting.

The former News of the World editor was arrested this month in connection with allegations that reporters at the tabloid intercepted voice mails. Victims included celebrities, crime victims and politicians.

Lawyers could also have been targeted, according to The Law Society. It said solicitors had been warned by police that their phones may have been hacked by the paper.

Scotland Yard, accused of failing to properly investigate the scandal for years, has also been asked to investigate another explosive claim: That journalists bribed officers to locate people by tracking their cell phone signals.

The practice is known as "pinging" because of the way cell phone signals bounce off relay towers as they try to find reception. Jenny Jones, a member of the board that oversees the Metropolitan Police Authority, called for the inquiry into the alleged payoffs by journalists at the News of the World.

_____

Robert Barr and Raphael G. Satter contributed to this report.

Printable Version Email This Share0 James Murdoch contradicted by his ex-legal manager LONDON (AP) — James Murdoch was under pressure Friday over claims he misled lawmakers about Britain's phone hacking scandal, as a lawmaker called for a police investigation and Prime Minister David Cameron insisted the media scion had "questions to answer" about what he knew and when he knew... FOLLOW US: U.S./World Photos

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