Tom Crone giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry
James Murdoch was made aware in 2008 that the so-called "for Neville" email contained "direct and hard evidence" that phone hacking went beyond one reporter, former News of the World legal manager Tom Crone told the Leveson inquiry today.
According to Crone, Murdoch – who admitted yesterday that he was sent and received a copy of the "for Neville" email but claims he did not read it – was told face-to-face in a meeting about the contents of the damning email.
The email related to the a claim against the tabloid by former Professional Footballers Association chief Gordon Taylor, and contained a transcript of a hacked voicemail not intended for "rogue reporter" Clive Goodman, who had already been jailed.
Murdoch has consistently denied being aware, prior to public revelations earlier this year, of the contents of the email and the evidence that News International's "rogue reporter" defence – which it maintained until late 2010 – was false.
But Crone alleged today that Murdoch was "aware of the situation in the Taylor case", adding: "No seriously relevant part of it was not told to him".
The lawyer told the inquiry that he took a copy of the email, along with opinion from the publisher's lawyers, to a meeting with Murdoch. He said he could not remember whether he actually passed the copy to Murdoch, but said that he "held it up" and made the News International chairman aware of what it contained.
The dispute between Crone and Murdoch over whether Murdoch was aware of the contents of the "for Neville" email first arose during select committee hearings in September.
Both Crone and former News of the World editor Colin Myler told the committee that Murdoch had been made aware of the evidence – a claim that Murdoch strenuously denied, accusing his former executives of misleading the committee. In turn, Crone called Murdoch "disingenuous".
Murdoch claims that he only became aware of the full contents of the email on 7 December 2011, when it was passed to him by the select committee. It has now emerged that he was sent the email by Myler in 2008, as part of a chain of correspondence, but he maintains that he did not read it.
In a letter sent to the committee on Monday, Murdoch acknowledges that he received Myler's email as part of the chain, but points out that he responded just two minutes later to agree to a request for a meeting and claims he did not read the rest of the chain.
Murdoch later authorised the Taylor case to be settled with a payout of more than £700,000.
Crone's evidence to the Leveson inquiry will put further pressure on Murdoch over whether he knew about the extent of hacking at the News of the World in 2008.
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