Murdochs Agree to Appear Before U.K. Panel
News Corp.’s chairman and chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, and his son plan to attend a parliamentary committee hearing here next week to answer questions about the phone-hacking scandal, in what is expected to be a high-profile face-off with lawmakers on an issue that has triggered widespread public and political criticism of the company.
The Murdochs initially declined to attend next Tuesday’s hearing, held by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. On Thursday morning, James Murdoch, deputy chief operating officer of News Corp., had told the committee he was unavailable on the scheduled date, offering alternative dates in August. His father, Rupert, also had said he was unavailable, but that he would be prepared to give evidence in a coming public judge-led inquiry and after that he would be prepared to discuss how best to give evidence to the parliamentary committee.
