Murdoch faces Leveson grilling

Rupert Murdoch faces a two-day grilling under oath at the Leveson Inquiry into press standards this week.

The 81-year-old News Corporation chairman and chief executive will be asked about the phone-hacking scandal, his oversight of hisUK newspapers, and his influence over British politicians.

His son James, 39, who is appearing before the landmark public inquiry on Tuesday, is set to be questioned further about when he learned of evidence suggesting hacking was rife at the News of the World.

Court 73 at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London will be packed for Rupert Murdoch's evidence sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. It will be the billionaire's highest profile public appearance since he gave evidence to the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee last July.

Mr Murdoch told MPs it was the "most humble day" of his life and apologised for the phone-hacking scandal, but the session was disrupted when a protester pelted him with a foam pie.

The setting is more formal this time: the media tycoon will swear an oath promising to tell "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" before undergoing scrutiny at the hands of the experienced counsel to the inquiry, Robert Jay QC.

The Murdochs are appearing separately, meaning that James Murdoch will not be able to interrupt to help his father answer questions as he did in front of the MPs.

The Leveson Inquiry has a wide-ranging remit to examine the culture, practices and ethics of the press, and make recommendations for the future regulation of British newspapers. It has already taken evidence on unethical and possibly illegal behaviour by journalists, and on relations between police and newspapers.

Inquiry chairman Lord Justice Leveson is now turning to contacts between politicians and the national press. He will hear evidence on Monday from John Ryley, the head of Sky News, who is likely to be asked about the broadcaster's decision that it was in the public interest for a journalist to hack into the emails of back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin.

Also appearing are Aidan Barclay, chairman of Telegraph Media Group, which publishes the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, and Evgeny Lebedev, chairman of the companies which own the Independent and London's Evening Standard.

©Press Association