News International executive chairman James Murdoch was today due to appear before the British Parliament as he returns for his second grilling by a Commons committee investigating the phone-hacking scandal.

AIDES to Rupert Murdoch were warned as far back as 2008 that there was a culture of illegal voicemail hacking at the News of the World tabloid, according to documents released in Britain yesterday.

THE private detective at the centre of phone-hacking allegations was an “employee” who “acted on the instructions of others”, his legal team said last night.

NEWS Corp’s James Murdoch yesterday denied a statement from former employees of the British newspaper at the centre of the scandal that has rocked his father’s media empire, that he had given “mistaken” evidence to British lawmakers this week.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s power and influence ensured he was always a welcome visitor at No 10, even if it did mean slipping in through the back door.

RUPERT MURDOCH owns one of the most powerful media empires in the world, but the growing phone-hacking and corruption scandal has threatened to bring it to its knees.

A defiant Rupert Murdoch has said he will challenge the “total lies” issued about his News Corporation media empire in the phone hacking scandal when he appears before MPs next week.

THE FBI has opened an investigation into allegations that media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation sought to hack into the phones of 9/11 victims, according to a law enforcement official.

A scandal uncovered five years ago today resulted in the demise of Britain’s best-selling newspaper after 168 years.

Media coverage about the couple charged in relation to the murders of schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells could jeopardise their chances of a fair trial, a senior Tory MP warned today.