‘I did not turn a blind eye to phone hacking’ James Murdoch tells MPs

“Whilst I accept my share of responsibility for not uncovering wrongdoing sooner, I did not mislead Parliament and the evidence does not support any other conclusion.”

Mr Murdoch, who announced he was stepping down as executive chairman last month, said it was not because he had known about alleged criminal wrongdoing at the now defunct Sunday tabloid, but because he wanted to devote himself to other roles at parent company News Corporation.

He denied he had turned a “blind eye” to wrongdoing and promised to be vigilant in the future. He went on: “Clearly with the benefit of hindsight, I acknowledge that wrongdoing should have been uncovered earlier.

“I could have asked more questions, requested more documents and taken a more challenging and sceptical view of what I was told, and I will do so in the future.

“I have sought to explain, however, that it was reasonable for me to rely on my senior executives to inform me of what I needed to know. In this case, the approach fell short. But it is important to know that I did not turn a blind eye. I was given very strong assurances about investigations recently done, and these assurances were echoed by the Metropolitan Police.”

He said his father Rupert’s company had already made “significant efforts” to settle civil cases brought by victims of phone hacking by compensating and apologising to them.

“I reiterate my personal apology to those who had their privacy invaded,” he added.

“In my evidence submitted to the committee I expressed my shock and anger at the widespread wrongdoing that has emerged and my frustration that I was not made aware of it sooner, all of which is a matter of great and real regret to me.”