PHONE-HACKING INQUIRY LIVE: Rupert and James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks face select committee
- Rupert Murdoch: This is the most humble day of my life
- I did not know payments had been made to phone hacking victims...
- ... and had no knowledge that NotW's reporter was found guilty of blackmail
- I was shocked, appalled and ashamed by Milly Dowler phone hacking
- Murdochs admit N.I. paid legal fees for only two men jailed
- News Corps share go up by four per cent as hearing continues
Last updated at 4:39 PM on 19th July 2011
4.31pm: A little information about the dossier of evidence now at the centre of the inquiry. The papers - a selection of hundreds of internal emails - were handed over to lawyers Harbottle and Lewis.
The company wrote to News International claiming that there was nothing criminal within the files. However, a senior legal source has claimed that this was 'manifestly untrue.'
It is believed the file was unearthed by Will Lewis, group general manager of News International, earlier this year.
4.29pm Rupert Murdoch claims News International's senior legal adviser John Chapman had been in possession of the file for some time. Mr Chapman has now left the company.
4.27pm: Paul Farrelly says that the Murdochs inability to explain to the inquiry why a proper investigation into phone hacking was not launched earlier - and who kept crucial evidence in a file unearthed in 2009 from executives - was 'unsatisfactory.'
'We have no idea who was complicit,' he says.
4.21pm: James Murdoch says the decisions have been based on consultation with lawyers.
He is asked if it is time to stop paying the legal fees.
He agrees that he will stop paying Mulcaire's lawyers - if it is not a breach of any contract.
4.13pm: Mr Murdoch is asked who signed off the legal payments.
'I don't know,' he says.
He is asked if this would be done by the managing editor.
Rupert Murdoch again interrupts to speak over his son. He points out it would not have been done by the managing editor's office but at a higher level.
He is asked: 'Was it Les Hinton?'
An admission from Rupert Murdoch: 'It could have been.'
Both Murdochs are keen to stress any payment would have been made on legal advice and not simply authorised by Mr Hinton.
The panel them demands to know if New International is still paying Glenn Mulcaire's legal fees as a civil action progresses.
He admits some fees have been paid.
Committe member Paul Farrelly: 'Can you understand why people would be shocked to hear that you are paying the legal fees of a convicted criminal? Aren't you trying to cover something up?'
4.10pm: James Murdoch has repeatedly insisted he has not knowledge of particular payments made to Mulcaire and Goodman's lawyers
He says that covering legal costs in this sort of situation is normal.
The committee then points out that Goodman hired one of the most top QCs in the country - despite the fact he was pleading guilty.
Again, Mr Murdoch said said he did not know about this.
4.05pm: James Murdoch is forced to admit that he is 'very surprised' to hear that News International are still paying the legal fees of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire and royal reporter Len Goodman. Both were jailed for phone hacking.
4.01pm: He is asked if he had closed the NotW to save Mrs Brooks's job.
'I regret very much the people who are not been able to find work,' he said. 'The two things are absolutely and totally unrelated.'
4pm: Rupert Murdoch: I didn't accept Rebekah Brooks's resignation because I trust her and still do
3.57pm: The Murdochs are now embroiled in a protracted discussion about who paid jailed royal reporter Clive Goodman's legal fees during his court case in 2007. Neither father or son appear to know.
3.55pm Mr Murdoch insisted he knew of no evidence that the phones of 9/11 victims had been hacked but 'absolutely' would launch a full investigation if any revelations came to light.
3.53pm: A little elaboration on Mr Murdoch senior's statement that he was ultimately responsible for the 'fiasco'.
Asked by Labour's Jim Sheridan who was, Mr Murdoch replied: 'The people that I trusted and then, maybe, the people they trusted.'
He said he had worked with Les Hinton, who quit his role as chief executive officer of Dow Jones and Co last week, for 52 years, adding: 'I would trust him with my life.;
Mr Murdoch revealed he had been invited to have a cup of tea as a thank you by the Prime Minister within days of the general election last year.
Snapshots: Rupert Murdoch was animated throughout the select committee hearing and frequently thumped the table to emphasise a point
He admitted he had entered No 10 through the back door after being asked to, he believed, to avoid photographers.
'I just did what I was told,' he added. 'That's the choice of the Prime Minister, or their staff, or whoever does these things. I was asked would I please come in through the back door.
'I was invited within days (of the election) to have a cup of tea to be thanked for the support by Mr Cameron. No other conversation took place.'
He said he was also invited by former prime minister Gordon Brown 'many times' and had also gone in through the back door.
He denied imposing any 'preconditions' on party leaders before giving them support.
3.44pm: Rupert Murdoch: To say we're hands-off is wrong. I work a ten or 12 hour day. The News of the World, perhaps I lost sight of.
Mr Murdoch is asked how often he spoke to his newspaper editors.
'Very seldom,' he said. 'Sometimes I would ring the News of the World on a Saturday night to say have you got any news tonight. But it was just to keep in touch. I ring the editor of the Sunday Times nearly every Saturday night.'
Mr Murdoch said he had to deal with a 'multitude of issues' every day, and admitted he may have "lost sight" of the News of the World.
Asked to explain the scale of the reported £1 million payout to publicist Max Clifford over phone-hacking, Mr Murdoch senior replied: 'Apparently there was a contract with Mr Clifford that was cancelled with Mr Coulson.'
3.43pm: News Corp shares have gone up by four per cent
3.41pm: Mr Murdoch junior is asked if he is familiar with the term 'willful blindness'.
He asks for clarification and is provided with a legal definition by the committee. At this point his father interrupts.
'I am familiar with the term willful blindness,' he says. 'And we are not guilty of it.'
Self-assured: James Murdoch seemed more composed than his father and was calm as he answered questions
3.37pm: While James Murdoch remains completely composed, his father appears more prickly. Thumping the table again, he says: 'This country does greatly benefit from having a free press and a transparent press.'
3.32pm: James Murdoch: 'We have no immediate plans to launch a new Sunday newspaper. It has been discussed but there is no decision yet on a new paper to replace the News of the World.'
3.29pm: The committee has released a statement the Murdochs submitted to the hearing.
Mr Whittingdale refused to let James Murdoch read it aloud.
'My son and I have come here with great respect for all of you, for Parliament and for the people of Britain whom you represent,' the statement reads.
'This is the most humble day of my career. After all that has happened, I know we need to be here today.
'Before going further, James and I would like to say how sorry we are for what has happened - especially with regard to listening to the voicemail of victims of crime.
'My company has 52,000 employees. I have led it for 57 years and I have made my share of mistakes. I have lived in many countries, employed thousands of honest and hard-working journalists, owned nearly 200 newspapers and followed countless stories about people and families around the world.
'At no time do I remember being as sickened as when I heard what the Dowler family had to endure - nor do I recall being as angry as when I was told that the News of the World could have compounded their distress. I want to thank the Dowlers for graciously giving me the opportunity to apologise in person.
'I would like all the victims of phone hacking to know how completely and deeply sorry I am.
'Apologising cannot take back what has happened. Still, I want them to know the depth of my regret for the horrible invasions into their lives.
'I fully understand their ire. And I intend to work tirelessly to merit their forgiveness.
'I understand our responsibility to cooperate with today's session as well as with future inquiries. We will respond to your questions to the best of our ability and follow up if we are not capable of answering anything today.'
3.28pm: The Murdochs are asked if their own experience of the media spotlight will change News Corp's approach to headlines and newsgathering. There is no clear 'yes or no' from either father or son.'
Fury: One man wore a Rupert Murdoch mask as he stood outside Westminster
Protests: Dozens of people had gathered outside Portcullis House as the Murdochs gave their evidence
3.26pm: James Murdoch attempts to explain how an internal investigation into the phone hacking scandal progressed.
'I can tell you that the critical new facts as I saw them and the company saw them really emerged in the production of documentary information or evidence in these civil trials at the end of 2010.
'And the duration from 2007 to 2010, and the length of time it took for that to come clear and for that real evidence to be there, is a matter of deep frustration - I have to tell you I sympathise with the frustration of this committee.
'It's a matter of real regret that the facts could not emerge and could not be gotten to, to my understanding, faster.'
He was asked by committee chair John Whittingdale which News of the World staff, apart from Clive Goodman, were involved in phone hacking.
'There have been a number of arrests of former News of the World employees,' Mr Murdoch said.
'These are matters for current criminal investigations and I think understandably it's difficult for me to comment in particular on some of those individuals.'
3.19pm: James Murdoch: There is no evidence that either Les Hinton or Rebekah Brooks knew about phone hacking.
His father says he would trust Mr Hinton - who he has employed for 52 years 'with his life.'
Faltering: Rupert Murdoch's answers were less self-assured than his son and he frequently paused to consider his replies
3.13pm: Mr Murdoch is asked if he accepts he is ultimately responsible for the scandal at the News of the World.
'No,' he says.
3.06pm: And now Mr Watson has turned to the closure of the News of the World. He asks about the 200 jobs that were lost.
'When a company closes, it's natural for people to lose their jobs' Mr Murdoch replies. 'We are making every effort to ensure these people are accommodated in other parts of the company.'
Asked why he had shut the paper he said: 'We had broken our trust with our readers.'
3.02pm: Mr Watson points out that News International executives were found guilty of 'collective amnesia' by a parliamentary inquiry.
Mr Murdoch laughs.
'I don't see why you don't think it's serious,' Mr Watson says.
'You're not really saying amnesia,' Mr Murdoch says. 'You're saying lying.'
3pm: The News Corp boss says: 'I was shocked appalled and ashamed when I heard about the Milly Dowler case only two weeks ago.'
2.58pm: The media tycoon says he did not know that the NotW had paid police for information in 2003.
2.56pm: Mr Murdoch claims he did not know payments had been made to Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor and publicist Max Clifford over phone hacking.
James Murdoch said his father was told of an out-of-court settlement with Mr Taylor after it became public in 2009.
'Please understand that an out-of-court settlement of civil claim of that nature and of that quantum is something that normally in a company of our size the responsible executives in the country would be authorised to make,' he said.
'It is below the approval thresholds that would have to go to my father as chairman and chief executive of the global companies.'
We're sorry: Both James and Rupert Murdoch apologised for the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World
2.53pm: Mr Watson is now on the attack. He presses Mr Murdoch on the Thurlbeck blackmail case.
When asked when he was told about the case, Mr Murdoch said: ‘I’d never heard of it.’
He then gives monosyllabic answers to questions.
Asked did he know that there was an investigation into blackmail by a NotW employee, he responds: ‘No.’
Mr Watson then said: ‘Despite the fact that blackmail could result in a 14-year prison sentence, no-one in your British companies saw fit to inform you?
The media mogul replied: ‘No.’
Asked whether he agreed with Judge Eady, who procided over the civil case in January, that the lack of action at NI reveals a remarkable state of affairs? ‘No.’
Mr Watson demands to know why the News Corp boss did not know that Mr Thurlbeck had been found guilty of blackmail.
Mr Murdoch shrugs: 'Why didn't he put him in jail?' he asks.
'Because it was a civil case,' Mr Watson bites back.
2.51pm: Asked why he did not dismiss NotW chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck after the company lost a libel case against Max Mosley, Mr Murdoch replies: 'I've never heard of him'.
Support: Mr Murdoch was accompanied by Wendi Deng (centre) and his legal adviser Joel Klein
2.49pm Compared to his son, Mr Murdoch speaks slowly and falters as he replies. But now he is riled. He thumps his fists on the table and says: 'I need to say something and this is not an excuse.
'My company employs 53,000 people – most of whom are distinguished an ethical people. It is one per of our company.’
2.48pm: Now Tom Watson gets a go. This time he's gunning for Rupert Murdoch who has remained silent throughout the early part of the hearing. He is asked who in his company has lied to him. He says: 'I don't know.'
2.44pm: Mr Murdoch claims that 'critical new facts' about the phone hacking investigation only became evident during civil trials at the end of 2010. Mr Whittingdale has asked a string of questions about the company's knowledge of hacking - and when they became aware of how endemic it was.
2.42pm: James Murdoch has once again apologised to all the victims of phone hacking. ‘I apologise to all victims of phone hacking,' he says.
't is a matter of great regret of mine, my father's and everyone at News Corporation. These actions do not live up to the standards our company aspires to everywhere around the world.
'It is our determination both to put things right, make sure these things don't happen again, and to be the company that I know that we have always aspired to be.'
He tells the committee: 'We acted as swiftly and as transparently as possible.'
2.39pm: Rupert Murdoch interrupts his son: 'I would just like to make one statement,' he says. 'This is the most humble day of my life.'
2.38pm: The chairman welcomes the Murdochs and then demands to know to what extent the committee has been misled over phone hacking.
2.36pm: A chaotic start. Proceedings are delayed while a handful of protesters are removed.
2.34pm: Rupert and James Murdoch - with their legal team - have filed in to face the select committee. Mrs Murdoch pours water for both of them.
2.26pm: Jemima Khan - an alleged victim of phone hacking - is just one of the dozens of people who have turned out to watch the Murdochs and Mrs Brooks give evidence.
2.20pm: Rupert Murdoch's wife Wendi and his legal adviser Joel Klein have accompanied him to Portcullis House.2.13pm: James Murdoch has arrived at Westminster.
Shielded: Rebekah Brooks leaves a PR office in central London. The windows of her car are heavily blacked out
Briefing notes: Mrs Brooks was holding a summary of Sir Paul Stephenson's evidence to the select committee this morning
2.11pm: Mrs Brooks appears to be reading a summary of Sir Paul Hutchinson's evidence to the Home Affairs select committee this morning. The former chief executive officer of News International has spent the morning at the offices of PR consultants Bell Pottinger in High Holborn.
2.07pm: The scene outside Portculis House where the select committee is being held is chaotic. Members of the public have queued for eight hours to see the Murdochs and Brooks grilled by MPs with some arriving at 6.30pm. One described it as 'the best show in town.
2.03pm Rebekah Brooks is also on her way. She's driven away from a PR firm in central London in a black Audi. Her driver is forced to take evasive action in traffic to thwart photographers crowding round the car.
1.55pm Rupert Murdoch arrives in Westminster ahead of his grilling by MPs this afternoon. He car was forced to negotiate a crowd of angry protesters, some brandishing placards
Under pressure: Rupert Murdoch's car arrives at Westminster ahead of his grilling by MPs this afternoon
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
PHONE-HACKING INQUIRY LIVE: Rupert Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks face committee | Mail Online
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