Former News International executives on Tuesday undermined James Murdoch’s claim that he was unaware of phone hacking at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid.
Tom Crone, formerly News of the World’s legal manager, told a House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee that he is “certain” James Murdoch knew of an email that implicated several reporters in phone hacking, the Guardian reports.
“It was clear evidence that phone-hacking was taking place beyond Clive Goodman,” Crone told the committee, according to the BBC. “It was the reason that we had to settle the case. And in order to settle the case we had to explain the case to Mr. Murdoch and get his authority to settle.”
He added that he couldn’t recall the details of his conversation with James Murdoch.
Also on Tuesday, News International — a News Corporation subsidiary — announced it will cut 110 jobs across the company.
The latest testimony raises questions about whether James Murdoch will be recalled before Parliament. Murdoch maintains he was unaware of the “for Neville” email that gave evidence of widespread hacking at News of the World, and he stands by his testimony in July. In a statement, James Murdoch called evidence president at the testimony “unclear and contradictory.”
“My recollection of the meeting regarding the Gordon Taylor settlement is absolutely clear and consistent,” he said. “I stand by my testimony, which is an accurate account of events.”
Full coverage of the hearing here.
David Taintor
David Taintor is TPM’s News Editor. He contributes to TPM’s Livewire coverage, among other areas. David is from Chanhassen, Minnesota, where, yes, it gets very cold. Reach him at taintor [at] talkingpointsmemo.com
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