James Murdoch said he stood by his testimony to British lawmakers in a statement posted on News Corp.'s website.Ex-editors dispute James Murdoch's testimony to a parliamentary committeeThey say they had told Rupert Murdoch's son of a key e-mailThe e-mail is believed to have played a key role in settlement with Gordon TaylorNews Corp. executive James Murdoch says he stands by his testimonyLondon (CNN) -- Two former top editors of News of the World have accused James Murdoch of having given "mistaken" evidence to a parliamentary committee about a settlement to Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association.
The editor of the News of the World at the time it folded on July 10, Colin Myler, and the paper's former head of legal affairs, Tom Crone, said they had told Murdoch of an e-mail "that would have blown a hole in its defense that only one 'rogue reporter' was involved in the phone-hacking scandal," the Guardian newspaper reported.
But Murdoch, the scion to media mogul Rupert Murdoch, offered contradictory information to the committee on Tuesday.
The e-mail is called the "for Neville" e-mail, so named for its connection to the News of the World's former chief reporter, Neville Thurlbeck.
It is thought to have played a key role in the decision by executives at News International, which owned News of the World, to pay some £700,000 ($1.1 million) to Taylor in an out-of-court settlement after he threatened legal action, the Guardian reported.
In a statement posted on News Corp.'s website, James Murdoch said, "I stand by my testimony to the select committee."
But Myler and Crone described as "mistaken" James Murdoch's recollection of what he was told when he agreed to settle the Taylor case.
"In fact, we did inform him of the 'for Neville' e-mail which had been produced to us by Gordon Taylor's lawyers," they said in a joint statement.
The Guardian said John Whittingdale, the chairman of the culture, sport and media select committee, had described the e-mail as "one of the most critical pieces of evidence in the whole inquiry," and said Friday that the committee would ask James Murdoch "to clarify."
The e-mail was "seen as one of the few available pieces of evidence showing that this activity was not confined just to Clive Goodman," the sole journalist for News of the World who has been prosecuted in the phone-hacking scandal, Whittingdale told the Guardian.
The case was settled with a proviso of confidentiality.
James Murdoch told the committee on Tuesday that Crone and Myler had not told him about the e-mail when he agreed to approve the settlement with Taylor.
"When you signed off the Taylor payment, did you see or were you made aware of the full Neville e-mail, the transcript of the hacked voice mail messages?" James Murdoch was asked Tuesday by committee member Tom Watson.
"No, I was not aware of that at the time," Murdoch answered.
Asked why he had approved the hefty settlement payment to Taylor, Murdoch said: "There was every reason to settle the case, given the likelihood of losing the case and given the damages -- we had received counsel -- that would be levied."
Asked whether he felt the Taylor settlement was too high, he said, "Going back and looking at what we knew in 2008, looking at that advice, remembering that advice and looking at the context of the time, if we step back those three years, it was a decision that, given that context, I would still stand by, I think."
Asked what kind of preparation he had had before his testimony, James Murdoch replied, "We were advised, fundamentally, to tell the truth, and to come and be as open and transparent as possible. That is my and my father's intent and intention, and we hope that we can show you that that is what is happening."View the original article here
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