James Murdoch warned over phone hacking, e-mail shows

Correspondence released Tuesday shows that James
Murdoch was warned in writing of the seriousness of
a threat to sue his News of the World newspaper over
phone hacking in 2008.
"Unfortunately it is as bad as we feared," the editor
of the tabloid e-mailed proprietor Murdoch about the
case, according to a copy of the correspondence
published by Parliament Tuesday.
The e-mail from Colin Myler appears to undercut
Murdoch's repeated testimony that he did not know
details about phone-hacking by his employees.
Murdoch concedes in a letter to lawmakers, also
published Tuesday, that he replied to the e-mail, but
he does not admit having read it.
Murdoch is at the center of a scandal over illegal
eavesdropping by the newspaper, which he shut
down in July in the face of public fury at phone
hacking.
Editor Myler e-mailed Murdoch in June 2008 about a
phone-hacking victim's threat to sue News of the
World, describing Gordon Taylor as "vindictive."
Myler requested that Murdoch meet him and the
paper's lawyer, Tom Crone, for "five minutes" on
June 10.
Murdoch appears to agree in his reply three minutes
later, but said in his letter to Parliament dated
December 12 that he did not review the entire e-mail
chain, which includes detailed correspondence about
the Taylor claim.
News of the World ultimately settled with Taylor for
700,000 pounds (about $1.2 million.)
It also settled with several other celebrities, including
actress Sienna Miller.