Key developments in the phone-hacking scandal as they happen, as James Murdoch's evidence to MPs is questioned and Tom Watson MP says new evidence will be 'dynamite'
The Goodman evidence is certainly a bombshell.
In a letter to the head of News International's head of human resources Daniel Cloke (now at Vodafone), Goodman says Crone and Coulson promised he could have his job back when he got out of jail if he promised not to "implicate" the paper in wider phone hacking allegations.
Worse, two versions of the Goodman letter were supplied to the committee - one, supplied by News International, redacted to remove all references to hacking being discussed in editorial meetings.
Davies reports:
In a particularly embarrassing allegation, he adds: "Tom Crone and the editor promised on many occasions that I could come back to a job at the newspaper if I did not implicate the paper or any of its staff in my mitigation plea. I did not, and I expect the paper to honour its promise to me." In the event, he lost his appeal. But the claim that the paper induced him to mislead the court is one that may cause further problems for News International.
Two versions of Goodman's letter were provided to the committee. One which was supplied by Harbottle and Lewis has been redacted to remove the names of journalists, at the request of police. The other, which was supplied by News International, has been redacted to remove not only the names but also all references to hacking being discussed in Coulson's editorial meetings and to Coulson's offer to keep Goodman on staff if he agreed not to implicate the paper.
The Guardian's Nick Davies now has the full story which can be read here
He reveals:
Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and their former editor Andy Coulson all face embarrassing new allegations of dishonesty and cover-up after the publication of an explosive letter written by the News of the World's disgraced royal correspondent, Clive Goodman.
In the letter, which was written four years ago but published only on Tuesday, Goodman claims that phone hacking was "widely discussed" at editorial meetings at the paper until Coulson himself banned further references to it; that Coulson offered to let him keep his job if he agreed not to implicate the paper in hacking when he came to court; and that his own hacking was carried out with "the full knowledge and support" of other senior journalists, whom he named.
The claims are acutely troubling for the prime minister, David Cameron, who hired Coulson as his media adviser on the basis that he knew nothing about phone hacking. And they confront Rupert and James Murdoch with the humiliating prospect of being recalled to parliament to justify the evidence which they gave last month on the aftermath of Goodman's allegations. In a separate letter, one of the Murdochs' own law firms claim that parts of that evidence were variously "hard to credit", "self-serving" and "inaccurate and misleading".
Robert Peston, BBC's business editor, has just tweeted that the law firm asked initially to investigate a batch of News of the World emails has hit back at claims that it had got it wrong.
Harbottle "rejects evidence of Mr James Murdoch that News Int 'rested on' the (Harbottle) letter" for belief Goodman was lone rogue reporter
So a summary so far: The select committee says the fresh evidence they have received in relation to the News of the World phone-hacking scandal is "devastating" and that James Murdoch is "likely" to be recalled for a second grilling.
The former editor of the Sunday tabloid, Colin Myler, and the paper's head of the legal affairs have provided more evidence to support their allegations that Murdoch 'misled' the committee about his knowledge of phone-hacking at the News of the World.
But Watson has hinted at explosive new evidence from the former royal editor Clive Goodman, who was jailed back in 2007 in relation to phone-hacking offences.
Whittingdale says he is not looking to replicate the Leveson inquiry.
Whittingdale says it is unlikely Rupert Murdoch will be recalled. Watson says this is because "the devil is in the detail". Shame. Would have been entertaining.
Asked whether James Murdoch 'misled' the committee, Watson says: "We've not drawn a conclusion from that".
Watson reiterates that the new evidence is "devastating". He refers to fresh evidence in relation to former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman.
Whittingdale says he asked for written submissions and those submissions have "raised questions" which need to be answered in fresh oral hearings
Whittingdale says that Murdoch says he was not aware of the 'for Neville' email but that is not what Myler and Crone says
Watson says that means there is 'contradictory evidence' between Murdoch and Myler and Crone and Murdoch is 'likely' to be recalled.
Says that documents published by the committee at 1pm will be "devastating"
Tom Watson and chairman John Whittingdale answering questions. Whittingdale says Murdoch has submitted details on payments to Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the scandal
Select committee due to finish in a few minutes
tom_watson has just tweeted this:
Documents submitted to DCMS select committee will be published at 12.59pm. On dcms web site. Lobby- I'll be in grimond room at 1pm.
The parliamentary select committee investigating phone-hacking at the now-defunct News of the World is to issue a statement at 1pm after receiving fresh evidence from executives caught up in the scandal including James Murdoch.
The select committee met at 11.30am to discuss new submissions from Murdoch and four other key executives including former head of legal affairs at the tabloid Tom Crone and the former editor Colin Myler who had sensationally accused Murdoch of giving "mistaken" evidence to the committee last month.
Labour MP Tom Watson has already promised that the evidence is "dynamite".
Former chief executive of News International Rebekah Brooks and News International's former head of legal affairs Jon Chapman have also submitted evidence.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2011/aug/16/phone-hacking-scandal-live
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