Murdoch may face hacking probe

RUPERT MURDOCH could be called as a witness to the Leveson inquiry into press standards, it was hinted yesterday.

As former tabloid editor Piers Morgan gave evidence about a conversation he had with the News Corporation boss, Robert Jay QC, counsel to the inquiry, said: “I’m not asking you for his recollection. I can ask him for his recollection when we get there.”

Morgan yesterday told the Leveson inquiry that he “did not believe” he had listened to illegally obtained voice messages.

Morgan, who was editor of the News of the World and the Daily Mirror, told the inquiry that “ethical considerations” were “interwoven” into his work.

He said he was unaware of phone hacking at the Daily Mirror under his leadership and had “no reason” to believe hacking was going on.

He told inquiry chairman Lord Justice Leveson that he had listened to a voicemail message left for Heather Mills, former wife of pop star Paul McCartney.

Morgan, who hosts a CNN television show in the US, said he had “little sympathy” with “celebrities who sell their weddings for a million pounds”.