James Murdoch, son of the embattled global media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, has been accused of misleading the British parliament in Tuesday's testimony on the phone-hacking scandal that led to the shutdown of the tabloid News of the World.

Murdoch had denied knowing about the existence of an e-mail that reportedly contained transcripts of hacked messages. The e-mail, entitled "transcript for Neville," was allegedly sent by a junior reporter to the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. The "Neville" referred to in the e-mail is reputedly Neville Thurlbeck who was News of the World's chief reporter at that time.

The e-mail contradicts the claim by News International, Murdoch's British newspaper branch, that the phone-hacking was the work of a lone reporter.

When asked point blank by Labour lawmaker Tom Watson whether he knew about the e-mail, Murdoch responded by saying, "No, I was not aware of that at the time."

Controversial testimony

Former News of the World editor Colin Myler and former News International legal officer Tom Crone claim that they discussed the e-mail with Murdoch during a legal case involving a story written about Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association.

"We would like to point out that James Murdoch's recollection of what he was told when agreeing to settle the Gordon Taylor litigation was mistaken," the two men said in a statement.

Murdoch, however, maintains that he told the truth when he appeared before the House of Common's Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Tuesday.

"I stand behind my testimony to the select committee," he said.

Serious allegations

Watson said the accusations leveled against Murdoch carried heavy implications.

"If these allegations are true, you can only reach the conclusion that James Murdoch misled parliament," Watson said.

The phone-hacking scandal surrounding the now defunct News of the World has cost London's two top-ranking police officers their jobs and has led to the arrest of several Murdoch employees, most notably former News International chief Rebekah Brooks.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has also come under political fire for hiring former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his press secretary after Coulson had to leave the tabloid in 2007 due to phone-hacking allegations. Coulson, who has been arrested, quit his post with Cameron last January.

Author: Spencer Kimball (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Ben Knight