Channel 4 News has learned that members of the committee set up to investigate the phone hacking scandal shied away from forcing News International chief executive and former Sun editor Rebekah Brooks to attend a meeting with them.

After Mrs Brooks had repeatedly avoided being interviewed, four MPs on the Commons culture, media and sport committee wanted to ask the Serjeant at Arms, the Commons official in charge of security, to issue a warrant forcing her to attend.

In an exclusive interview, former Plaid Cymru MP, and a member of the committee, Adam Price said he was warned by a senior Conservative committee member that if the committee pursued this plan, the tabloids might punish him by looking into his personal life.

…

Adrian Sanders, a Liberal Democrat MP who also sat on the committee, told Channel 4 News the its chair John Whittingdale had hinted to colleagues of the personal repercussions of pursuing the newspaper group.

…. more at Channel 4 News

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1. Liberal Conspiracy

   Senior Tories told MPs to 'back-off' pursuing Coulson http://bit.ly/aLNzeD

2. Nicolas Redfern

   RT @libcon: Senior Tories told MPs to 'back-off' pursuing Coulson http://bit.ly/aLNzeD

3. Andrew Griffiths

   RT @libcon: Senior Tories told MPs to 'back-off' pursuing Coulson http://bit.ly/aLNzeD

4. Mark Edward Lewis

   RT @libcon: Senior Tories told MPs to 'back-off' pursuing Coulson http://bit.ly/aLNzeD

5. Maizey R.

   http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/09/10/senior-tories-told-mps-to-back-off-pursuing-coulson/ <via Liberal Conspiracy re #tories #coulson

6. Ashley Bullard

   RT @libcon: Senior Tories told MPs to 'back-off' pursuing Coulson http://bit.ly/aLNzeD

7. Barry Kirby

   RT @poblish: poblish | 'Senior MPs told others to ‘back-off’ Coulson' http://bit.ly/aLNzeD

8. Andy Sutherland

   RT @libcon: Senior Tories told MPs to 'back-off' pursuing Coulson http://bit.ly/aLNzeD

9. Errol Murray

   RT @libcon: Senior Tories told MPs to 'back-off' pursuing Coulson http://bit.ly/aLNzeD