FBI to probe News Corp over 9/11 hacking claims
It came just hours before Murdoch gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal, owned by News Corp, in which he defended the company’s handling of the scandal.
The 80-year-old said News Corp had handled it “extremely well in every way possible” and had made “minor mistakes”.
He added that the damage to the company’s reputation would be repaired.
Meanwhile, the decision for the FBI to investigate was made after US Representative Peter King, a Republican, wrote to FBI Director Robert Mueller demanding an investigation, said the official.
The FBI had received letters from King and other members of Congress, the official said.
Meanwhile, Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, bowed to pressure from MPs last night and agreed to appear before the Commons committee investigating the scandal.
James Murdoch wrote to the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee to confirm they would both give evidence next Tuesday, having previously said they were unavailable to attend.
Their refusal had prompted the committee to issue summonses ordering them to appear.
The Leader of the House, George Young, confirmed that they could be fined or even imprisoned if they failed to turn up.
Earlier, former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis became the latest senior figure at the defunct tabloid to be arrested by police on the Operation Weeting investigation into phone hacking.
Wallis, 60, who served under Andy Coulson’s editorship, was questioned for several hours at a London police station after being detained in a dawn raid on his home.
It subsequently emerged that he had been paid £24,000 (€27,000) by Scotland Yard to work as a two-day-a-month public relations consultant.
His contract was cancelled less than six months before Operation Weeting was launched.
It is reported that Home Secretary Theresa May has written to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson to get the “full picture” on Wallis’s involvement.
Paul is now expected to give evidence to the Commons Home Affairs Committee — which is looking at the police investigation into phone-hacking — on the same day as the Murdochs appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
The Murdochs’ decision to accede to the MPs’ demands came little over 24 hours after they dropped their takeover bid for BSkyB in the face of overwhelming opposition from parliament.
Rupert Murdoch told the Wall Street Journal that his appearance before the committee would give him a chance to redress what he called “lies” spoken about the company in parliament.
The News Corp chairman and chief executive and his son, who is the organisation’s deputy chief operating officer, will appear alongside Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News International, which published the NOTW.
However, in his letter to the committee, James Murdoch urged members not to cut across the police inquiry in their questioning.
“We have been advised that, in the light of the fact that there are to be multiple reviews of the issues, this does carry the risk of prejudicing other judicial proceedings and in particular the ongoing police investigation and any potential subsequent prosecutions,” he wrote.
“I would therefore respectfully ask you to take the utmost care in ensuring that the committee hearing does not run any risk of prejudicing that investigation and subsequent prosecutions.”
The announcement that they would now be appearing was welcomed by the committee chairman, Conservative MP John Whittingdale, who said he hoped they would take the opportunity to apologise for what had happened.
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