This could be potentially lethal for James Murdoch.

The New York Times reports:

Two former News International executives publicly contradicted James Murdoch’s testimony to a parliamentary committee, saying Thursday that they told him of evidence in 2008 that suggested that phone hacking at one of the company’s tabloid newspapers was more widespread.

The former executives said they informed Mr. Murdoch at the time that he was authorizing an unusually large secret settlement of a lawsuit brought by a hacking victim.

The problem for Murdoch is that the employees aren’t just anyone – they are Colin Myer (the last editor) and Tom Crone, the former News International legal manager.

The Guardian reports:

Colin Myler, editor of the paper until it was shut down two weeks ago, and Tom Crone, the paper’s former head of legal affairs, said they had expressly told Murdoch of an email that would have blown a hole in its defence that only one “rogue reporter” was involved in the phone-hacking scandal.

This contradicts what Murdoch told the committee when questioned on Tuesday.

The trap was laid by Tom Watson, who asked at the Select Committee hearing:

“When you signed off the Taylor payment, did you see or were you made aware of the full Neville email, the transcript of the hacked voicemail messages?”

James Murdoch replied: “No, I was not aware of that at the time.”

Now he is accused of misleading the Select Committee by prominent former employees.

Reader comments

1. Liberal Conspiracy

   James Murdoch is lying, say ex-NotW staff http://bit.ly/pW8KXz

2. vicki whelan

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3. Nat Guest

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4. Joshua Mostafa

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5. salardeen

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6. Hive

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7. Alan Marshall

   RT @libcon: James Murdoch is lying, say ex-NotW staff http://bit.ly/pW8KXz

8. temaris

   Former NOTW staff – editor & lawyer – say James Murdoch is lying | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/BzkZKhM via @libcon

9. Natacha Kennedy

   James Murdoch is lying, say ex-NotW staff http://bit.ly/pW8KXz

10. Gareth Jones

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11. czol

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12. malcolm

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13. dothakers

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14. Stephe Meloy

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15. The Murdochs get grilled, Glasman alienates Labour on immigration, and the Eurozone steps back from the abyss: Round up of political blogs for 16 – 22 July | British Politics and Policy at LSE

    [...] Channel Four’s Jon Snow asks if the phone-hacking scandal is Britain’s Watergate and Daniel Goodliffe of Labour List optimistically looks ahead to a media landscape without Murdoch. Tuesday’s Select Committee hearings offered politics the chance to come of age writes the Guardian. Lib Dem Voice praises the work of the Select Committee members, not to mention Wendi Deng Murdoch and her right hook. On Friday, Sunny Hundal at Liberal Conspiracy reports that James Murdoch may have misled the Select Committee. [...]