Media scion James Murdoch, his father's heir apparent, has come under fire over claims by former newspaper executives that he misled MPs about what he knew, and when, about Britain's phone-hacking scandal.
The allegation raises questions not only about his succession to the helm of the media empire but what he may have relayed to Rupert Murdoch, the CEO and controlling shareholder. One media expert said on Friday that, as far as the leadership was concerned, James was already out of the running.
"When Rupert Murdoch is replaced, we now know it's not going to be James Murdoch," newspaper analyst Ken Doctor of Outsell Inc. said.
The younger Murdoch's credibility was tested after he told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that he was not aware of evidence that eavesdropping at the News of the World went beyond a jailed rogue reporter.
That statement was contradicted on Thursday by two former top staffers, who insisted that they told him years ago about an email that suggested wrongdoing at the paper was more widespread than the company let on.
James Murdoch has stood by his testimony to parliament, but Prime Minister David Cameron has joined opposition MPs - and some shareholders - in saying that he has questions to answer.
Lying to parliament is illegal, and Tom Watson, a legislator from the opposition Labour Party, called for Scotland Yard to investigate.
"I think this is the most significant moment of two years of investigation into phone hacking," Watson told the BBC.
Although James Murdoch was not testifying under oath at Tuesday's parliamentary hearing, he could theoretically face sanction if it becomes clear he deliberately misled MPs - although that prospect is highly unlikely. Far more serious is the prospect of getting sucked into Britain's expanding police probe.
The scandal exploded earlier this month with revelations journalists at the News of the World tabloid hacked the phone of a 13-year-old murder victim while police were still searching for her and broadened to include claims reporters paid police for information. Then one allegation of illegal behaviour at the paper followed another, setting off a firestorm that has hit at the highest reaches of British society.
Source: news.smh.com
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