UK MPs summon Murdochs over hacking

News Corporation’s Rupert and James Murdoch have been summonsed to appear before MPs to answer questions on the phone-hacking scandal on Tuesday.

But as US citizens, Rupert Murdoch, who has declined a request to attend the Commons media committee, and his son James, who has offered to go on another day, cannot be forced to appear.

News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks has agreed to attend.

Rupert Murdoch has said he will appear before the judge-led public inquiry.

Meanwhile, a 60-year-old man arrested on Thursday morning is understood by the BBC to be Neil Wallis, the former executive editor of the News of the World.

Mr Wallis, a former member of the Editors’ Code of Practice Committee, is the ninth person to be arrested since the Metropolitan Police launched a fresh investigation in January. He has been taken for questioning at a police station in west London on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications.

The Murdoch-owned News of the World was shut down last week amid the mounting scandal over the alleged hacking of phones belonging to crime victims, politicians and celebrities.

Serious questions

On Tuesday, the Commons culture, media and sport committee invited Mrs Brooks and the Murdochs to give evidence at the House of Commons about the phone-hacking scandal.

In a statement, the MPs said that serious questions had arisen about the evidence Mrs Brooks and Andy Coulson, both of them former News of the World editors, gave at a previous hearing in 2003.

In his letter to committee chairman John Whittingdale, Rupert Murdoch said that although he was not available on Tuesday, he was “fully prepared” to give evidence to the judge-led inquiry announced by the government.

James Murdoch offered to appear on an alternative date, the earliest of which was 10 August.

Mrs Brooks said she “welcomed the opportunity” to give evidence.

But, in a statement, the MPs said: “The committee has made clear its view that all three should appear to account for the behaviour of News International and for previous statements made to the committee in Parliament, now acknowledged to be false.

“Accordingly, the committee has this morning decided to summon Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch to appear before the Select Committee in Parliament at 2.30pm on Tuesday July 19 2011.”

Mr Whittingdale said the Deputy Serjeant at Arms of the House of Commons would now deliver the summons to the Murdochs in person.

The BBC’s political correspondent Ben Wright said the committee expected the Murdochs to have a response ready, which the Deputy Sergeant at Arms would collect and bring back to the MPs.

Our correspondent said if the Murdochs declined to attend the hearing, the matter would then be reported to the House of Commons which could decide the Murdochs were in contempt of Parliament.

The committee was not clear what happened after that because it had not happened for many years, and was taking advice from the Speaker’s Council, he added.

The Leader of the House Sir George Young said there were a range of sanctions available if individuals failed to respond to summons to appear before a select committee – including fines and imprisonment – although he said the latter had not been used for some time.

In other developments:

• Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has urged Mrs Brooks and Rupert and James Murdoch to do the “decent thing” and appear before the committee of MPs. He has also called for “fundamental reform” of the British media, based on the principles of “freedom, accountability, plurality”, and called for independent regulation of the press

On Wednesday Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, whose UK arm – News International – owns the Sun, the Times, the Sunday Times and the now closed News of the World, dropped a bid to take complete control of satellite broadcaster BSkyB.