Make or break for Murdoch in parliament

JAMES Murdoch is to face his day of reckoning.

The News Corp deputy chief operating officer will appear before a special committee of Britain’s parliament today for a second round of questioning about a phone-hacking scandal at his company’s now-defunct News of the World tabloid.

According to company insiders, Murdoch family confidantes, analysts and industry observers, the committee’s success in pinning the widespread corruption that took place at News Corp’s British unit, News International, on James — or how deftly James deflects responsibility — will ultimately determine if he stays at News Corp as the successor to his father, Rupert.

“Thursday is a make or break day for James,” said a News Corp insider and Murdoch family confidant who asked to remain anonymous. “The situation is much more dire than last time around.”

A spokeswoman for News Corp declined to comment on how James Murdoch planned to handle today’s appearance or speculation about his future.

Since July, the situation hasn’t improved for James. In fact, it has grown worse. His initial testimony was immediately contradicted by Colin Myler and Tom Crone, the former editor and former head of legal affairs for the News of the World. Inquiries into other News Corp divisions are taking place in the United States. Moreover, a reporter for The Sun was recently arrested on suspicion of bribing police, suggesting that questionable practices spread beyond a lone “rogue” News of the World reporter to at least one other paper in the News Corp empire.

James would not have been re-elected to News Corp’s board at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in late October had it not been for the Murdoch family’s 40% voting control. Strip out the family’s votes and James’s re-election would have been rejected by a more than 3 to 1 margin.

On Monday, News International, the British newspaper arm of News Corp, admitted its staff had ordered surveillance of two lawyers representing victims suing the media group over phone-hacking, and on Tuesday a private investigator told the BBC he had been paid by the News of the World to spy on more than 90 people, including Britain’s Prince William and the parents of Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe.