James Murdoch denies claims he ‘misled’ MPs

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.

Murdoch, chairman of News Corp’s British newspaper arm, News International, said on Tuesday he had not been aware of an email that contained transcripts of hacked voicemails when he agreed to a large out-of-court settlement with a victim of the hacking.

Former News of the World paper editor, Colin Myler, and News International’s former chief legal adviser, Tom Crone, cast doubt on his account yesterday, the first time that it has been publicly suggested that Murdoch was aware of the scale of the problem at an earlier date than he has previously admitted.