Parliament to put Murdochs on the spot

FATHER-and-son act Rupert and James Murdoch top the bill today in what promises to be a day of gripping political drama in the normally staid surroundings of the parliament’s committee rooms.

It will be the first time the Murdochs have been questioned in public since a newspaper phone-hacking scandal reignited two weeks ago, sparking a firestorm that has raged through their News Corp media empire, brought down top policemen and tarnished Prime Minister David Cameron.

The hearing, likely to attract an audience of millions via the live news channels of the BBC and Sky — part-owned by News Corp — is a further chance for politicians to show they have broken Murdoch’s spell after decades spent trying to win favour with the media mogul.