MPs seek to quiz Murdoch again
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch will be quizzed by MPs for a second time over allegations of phone hacking and corrupt payments, it was announced, as police said they will assess a tape of comments that he apparently made.
The Commons Culture Media and Sport Committee plans to recall Mr Murdoch in the autumn to answer questions over a secretly recorded clip of him meeting News International journalists in March.
Critics have insisted the tape showed Mr Murdoch's real attitude to the crises that have engulfed his empire, in contrast to the contrition he displayed when giving evidence to the committee two years ago. The Hacked Off campaign group has demanded his recall and suggested he may have committed a contempt of parliament.
The News Corp boss was apparently recorded describing the treatment of journalists who had been arrested as a "disgrace" and saying that police had been told to obtain court orders to get information, rather than the company offering up material as it had done previously.
The audio, obtained by the Exaro investigative website and broadcast by Channel 4 News, was said to have been made during a meeting with journalists from The Sun at his British newspapers' headquarters in Wapping, east London, in March. Mr Murdoch is heard railing at the way the police behaved.
"Still, I mean, it's a disgrace. Here we are, two years later, and the cops are totally incompetent," he said. "The idea that the cops then started coming after you, kick you out of bed, and your families, at six in the morning, is unbelievable. But why are the police behaving in this way? It's the biggest inquiry ever, over next to nothing. And now they're arresting their own, who never even took money... They're going to put all newspapers out of business."
When one of the journalists present questioned why so much material had been handed over to the police by News Corp's management and standards committee (MSC), Mr Murdoch indicated that he believed they had gone too far.
He said: "Because - it was a mistake, I think. But, in that atmosphere, at that time, we said, 'Look, we are an open book, we will show you everything'. And the lawyers just got rich going through millions of emails. All I can say is, for the last several months, we have told, the MSC has told, and (name withheld), who's a terrific lawyer, has told the police, has said 'No, no, no - get a court order. Deal with that'."
Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick told MPs that the force is trying to get a copy of the clip, and added: "We will assess the full contents of that tape." It is understood that Scotland Yard has requested the tape to investigate the possible offence of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.
A spokesman for News Corporation said: "Mr Murdoch welcomes the opportunity to return to the Select Committee and answer their questions. He looks forward to clearing up any misconceptions as soon as possible."
