#Leveson :'It's a shameful lie': NOTW's former legal chief Tom Crone slams Murdoch's claims of a 'culture of cover up' over phone hacking 'by editor and lawyer who wanted to protect drinking pals'

• Mr Murdoch had blamed previous editor and legal chief for failure to expose phone hacking during second day of evidence at Leveson Inquiry
• But Tom Crone, former legal manager at the paper, tonight said the allegation was 'personal', 'wrong' and 'demeaned' the 81-year-old tycoon
• Meanwhile, Mr Murdoch apologised for scandal and said he had 'failed'
• He closed the News of the World as he 'panicked' over Milly Dowler claims
• Says his company examined 300 million emails which has led to arrests
• Describes the phone-hacking scandal as a 'serious blot on my reputation'
• Parliament's culture committee to publish phone hacking report May 1

The News of the World's former legal manager tonight accused Rupert Murdoch of a 'shameful lie' after the tycoon blamed him for a phone hacking 'cover up' at the newspaper.
Mr Murdoch told the Leveson Inquiry this morning that there was a ‘culture of cover up’ at the now defunct Sunday tabloid over the scandal and blamed two senior executives, one of whom did not want to incriminate 'drinking pals'.
He pointed the finger at - but did not name - 'two strong characters' including a 'clever lawyer' thought to have been a reference Tom Crone and the paper's editor Colin Myler.
But tonight Mr Crone issued a statement saying: 'Since Rupert Murdoch’s evidence today about a lawyer who had been on the News of the World for many years can only refer to me, I am issuing the following statement.

Tom Crone, the paper's legal manager, and Colin Myler, who took over as NotW editor in 2007 were today accused of a 'cover up' by Rupert Murdoch

'His assertion that I “took charge of a cover-up” in relation to phone-hacking is a shameful lie. The same applies to his assertions that I misinformed senior executives about what was going on and that I forbade people from reporting to Rebekah Brooks or to James Murdoch.
'It is perhaps no coincidence that the two people he has identified in relation to his cover-up allegations are the same two people who pointed out that his son’s evidence to the Parliamentary Select Committee last year was inaccurate.

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• Gordon Brown was in 'unbalanced state of mind' when he 'declared war' on me, Rupert Murdoch reveals at historic day in court
• James Murdoch DID discuss BSkyB takeover with David Cameron... over a Christmas dinner at Rebekah Brooks's house
• Round Two: Murdoch attacks Brown's 'state of mind' again claiming it drove former PM to order Mandelson to make up lies about 'secret deal' with Cameron

'The fact that Mr Murdoch’s attack on Colin Myler and myself may have been personal as well as being wholly wrong greatly demeans him.'
Mr Murdoch was quizzed about the high-profile phone-hacking scandal today which led to the downfall of his 168-year-old paper in July last year.
The News Corporation chairman and chief executive dramatically revealed: 'I do blame one or two people for that who, perhaps I shouldn't name, for all I know they may be arrested.

Mr Murdoch's wife Wendi Deng glares at photographers as the couple and his son Lachlan leave the Leveson Inquiry this afternoon after being quizzed on phone hacking

Rupert Murdoch today said that there was a 'culture of cover up' at the News of the World over the phone hacking scandal and blamed two senior executives

'There is no question in my mind maybe even the editor, but certainly beyond that someone, took charge of a cover-up which we were victim to and I regret.'

More...

• Revealed: David Cameron's four secret meetings with Rupert Murdoch that he didn't disclose
• Shock as Rupert Murdoch refers to Cameron's tragic disabled son Ivan as 'retarded' at the Leveson Inquiry
• Gordon Brown was in 'unbalanced state of mind' when he 'declared war' on me, Rupert Murdoch reveals at historic day in court
• James Murdoch DID discuss BSkyB takeover with David Cameron... over a Christmas dinner at Rebekah Brooks's house
• Round Two: Murdoch attacks Brown's 'state of mind' again claiming it drove former PM to order Mandelson to make up lies about 'secret deal' with Cameron

His evidence comes just days before Parliament's culture committee is expected to publish their report into phone hacking, with News Corp expected to be criticised. 
Mr Murdoch said he was 'misinformed and shielded' from what was going on at the paper and repeated claims there was a 'cover-up'.
He said: 'There were one or two very strong characters there, who I think had been there many, many, many years and were friends with the journalists, or the person I'm thinking of was a friend of the journalists, a drinking pal and a clever lawyer.
'And this person forbade people to go and report to Mrs Brooks or to James. That is not to excuse it on our behalf at all. I take it extremely seriously that that situation had arisen.'
Mr Murdoch's son James, in earlier parliamentary hearings, has repeatedly suggested that he was misled by Mr Crone and Mr Myler, who took over as NotW editor, after Andy Coulson was forced to step down in the wake of the original phone hacking scandal in 2007 when royal editor Clive Goodman was jailed.
Earlier this week he told the inquiry said he was given 'consistent assurances' by senior executives that phone hacking was not widespread and said he 'struggled' to understand why Mr Myler and Mr Crone did not tell him it was rife.
However, the pair have always strenuously denied this, claiming that they made James Murdoch aware of the problems as far back as 2008 and said their former boss's denials were 'disingenuous.'

Back for day two: Rupert Murdoch with his wife Wendi and son Lachlan leave his Mayfair flat in west London this morning as they head back to the Leveson Inquiry to be quizzed about phone hacking

In a frank admission, Rupert Murdoch said he had 'failed' over phone hacking and he was 'very sorry about it'.
Offering further explanation about how he was shielded from the problems, he said Mr Myler - now editor-in-chief of the Murdoch rival paper the New York Daily News - was employed after the original phone hacking scandal to 'find out what was going on'.
Mr Murdoch said he thought Mr Myler had put in 'two or three steps of regulation but never reported back that there was more hacking than we had been told.'
Mr Justice Leveson suggested Mr Murdoch would have wanted to know 'what the hell was going on with the paper' when Mr Murdoch said he delegated the role to Mr Myler.
Mr Murdoch said: 'All I can do is apologise, to all the people including all the innocent people at the News of the World who lost their jobs'.

The phone-hacking scandal led to the closure of the 168-year-old News of the World last July after disclosures that the paper listened to the voicemails of Milly Dowler

In addition, he revealed that Mr Myler 'would not have been my choice' for the appointment and says he believed there were 'stronger' people for the role at the Sun.
In further questioning by counsel to the inquiry Robert Jay QC, Mr Murdoch was quizzed about Gordon Taylor's settlement in 2008.
The chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association had his phone hacked and was paid £425,000 in damages. The incident revealed phone hacking was not restricted to just 'one rogue reporter'.
Mr Murdoch admitted his son James - News International's now former chairman - was 'pretty inexperienced' when he signed off the settlement and the tycoon said he remembered being 'surprised' by the large sum paid out, describing it was 'incredible'.

Mr Murdoch revealed that he shut down the tabloid because he 'panicked' following the reaction the Milly Dowler hacking story

Later Mr Murdoch said he was informed about a story published in the Guardian in July 2009, revealing details of the Taylor settlement, but the police 'disowned' claims that hacking was more widespread than originally thought.
He told the inquiry: 'The article was instantly disowned within 24 hours by the police and we chose to take the word of the police over the word of the Guardian.
'We rested on that until, I think, the beginning of 2011, the Sienna Miller thing came forward.
'We immediately realised there was a great danger and we gave the police the name of Mr Ian Edmondson.'
Mr Edmondson, former news editor at the News of the World, was arrested by police in April 2011 as part of Operation Weeting. He was bailed and has not been charged.
The inquiry then moved on to the closure of the News of the World in July last year. Mr Murdoch revealed that he shut down the tabloid because he 'panicked' following the reaction to the Guardian's revelation that the tabloid had hacked the phone of murdered teenager Milly Dowler.
He said the decision was taken 'very quickly' by him, his son James, and former editor and News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks.

'It was a decision taken very quickly by my son, I think Mrs Brooks was still there, and myself.

'It was done, like that.'

He added: 'I am sorry I didn't close it years before and put a Sunday Sun in,' but said he held back because of its readers.

'Only half of them ever read The Sun,' he added. 'In fact only a quarter of them read it regularly. So that probably was brought into consideration at the time.'

Mr Murdoch said the decision to close the News of the World was taken 'very quickly' by him, his son James, and former editor and News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks (pictured)

He added: 'I think newspapers took the chance to make this a huge national scandal, it made people all over the country aware of this, you could feel the blast coming in the window. I'll say it succinctly: I panicked, but I'm glad I did.'
In his witness statement submitted to the inquiry Mr Murchoch said the the firm decided to close the paper because 'the credibility of the brand with its readers was irretrievably destroyed'.
He wrote that the decision to launch the Sunday edition of the Sun was intended to demonstrate the company's commitment to the newspaper.
Explaining the decision to lift suspensions on journalists who had been arrested for alleged unlawful payments to the police when the new publication was launched, he said: 'It was terribly difficult to plan the ongoing operation of the Sun, let alone to consider extending its operations to seven days a week, with key employees under suspension since their arrest.
'There was no prospect of a charging decision for several months.
'Therefore, at the same time as launching the Sunday edition, we decided to welcome back those employees who had been suspended.
'They are innocent until proven guilty and have not, to date, been charged.'
Mr Murdoch described phone hacking as a 'serious blot on my reputation' and said he wished that he'd 'cross-examined' Mr Goodman himself in 2007 about his claims phone-hacking was rife.
He said: '...and if I had decided he was telling the truth I would have torn the place apart and we would not be here today.'
In an effort to show how his company had changed, Mr Murdoch said his business was 'now a new company with rules' and he'd spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a 'clean up.' He said 300 million emails had been examined which has lead to arrests.

News International's HQ in Wapping, East London, where the News of the World was based until it closed on 2009. Mr Murdoch today apologised for the phone hacking and said he had 'failed'

However, he said the arrests at the Sun in February had left him 'greatly distressed' because of the hurt caused to many long-serving employees and their families.
Mr Murdoch also denied suggestions News International tried to cover up the extent of the phone hacking.
He said: 'There was no attempt, by me or several levels below me, to cover it up. We set up inquiry after inquiry, we employed legal firm after legal firm, perhaps we relied too much on the conclusions of the police.'
He went on to explain how it was editors who were responsible for their papers and that the running and governance of the tabloid fell to Mr Myler and Mr Crone, adding that the NotW should not have had the same legal chief for two decades.
Just moments before the inquiry finished for the day Mr Murdoch shared his comments on press regulation saying the law was 'perfectly adequate' but the 'lack of enforcement' was a problem.
He pointed the finger at the rise of the internet claiming it has been responsible for a loss of newspaper circulation branding it a 'disruptive technology'.
In a defence of newspapers he said he believed they were 'a huge benefit to society' and said that he had helped democracy and newspapers 'defended democracy.'

MURDOCH'S MEETINGS WITH THE OPPOSITION

This is a list of Rupert Murdoch's meetings with opposition leaders since 1988, provided to the Leveson Inquiry
September 13 1994 - Dinner with Tony Blair, at which Mr Blair's political views and thoughts about where the Labour party was headed were discussed
May 25 1995 - Possible dinner with Tony Blair and former News International executive chairman Les Hinton
June 17 1995 - Tony Blair attended the News Corporation annual conference on Hayman Island off Australia
September 11 1995 - Possible breakfast with Tony Blair and Les Hinton
February 14 1996 - Possible breakfast with Tony Blair
September 26 1996 - Possible breakfast with Tony Blair
November 8 1996 - Breakfast with Tony Blair and Elisabeth Murdoch
February 3 1997 - Mid-afternoon meeting with Tony Blair at which the upcoming election campaign was discussed
March 31 1997 - Dinner with Tony Blair and Les and Mary Hinton
January 19 1998 - Possible meeting with William Hague, Conservative MP Alan Duncan and Les Hinton
October 15 1999 - Meeting with William Hague and Sebastian Coe
December 2 1999 - Reception with William Hague
March 12 2002 - Meeting with Iain Duncan Smith and Les Hinton
June 2002 - Iain Duncan Smith attended the News Corporation summer party
November 12 2003 - Lunch meeting with Michael Howard and Les Hinton at News International's offices
May 12 2004 - Possible breakfast meeting with Michael Howard and Les Hinton
February 3 2005 - Dinner with Michael Howard and Les Hinton
June 15 2005 - Michael Howard attended the News Corporation summer party
January 18 2006 - Lunch with David Cameron, George Osborne, Les Hinton, Rebekah Brooks and Sun associate editor Trevor Kavanagh
June 15 2006 - Breakfast with David Cameron, Les Hinton and News International editors
February 1 2007 - Possible breakfast with David Cameron
June 23 2007 - David Cameron attended the News Corporation summer party
January 22 2008 - Breakfast with David Cameron, James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks
June 16 2008 - David Cameron attended the News Corporation summer party
January 29 2009 - Lunch with David Cameron
June 13 2009 - David Cameron attended the wedding of Rebekah and Charlie Brooks
June 16 2009 - Possible lunch with David Cameron
June 17 2009 - David Cameron attended the News Corporation summer party
December 15 2009 - Breakfast with David Cameron
December 19 2009 - Dinner organised by Rebekah and Charlie Brooks with David and Samantha Cameron, George and Frances Osborne, James and Kathryn Murdoch This was a social event, although politics and policy may have been discussed
January 28 2010 - Meeting with David Cameron
January 29 2010 - Meeting with David Cameron at a British business leaders' lunch at Davos
January 29 2010 - News International dinner with David Cameron at Davos
June 16 2011 - Ed Miliband attended the News Corporation summer party

MURDOCH'S MEETINGS WITH TONY BLAIR, GORDON BROWN AND DAVID CAMERON

Tony Blair
June 1 1997 - Meeting
September 2 1997 - Meeting
November 13 1997 - Lunch
January 29 1998 - Meeting
May 12 1998 - Meeting
January 21 1999 - Lunch
January 21 1999 - Dinner with Gordon Brown and then-News International executive chairman Les Hinton
May 25 1999 - Dinner
June 10 1999 - Reception
August 6 1999 - Chequers
October 12 1999 - Meeting
October 21 1999 - Lunch with Cherie Blair
January 17 2000 - Dinner
October 30 2000 - Dinner
January 17 2002 - Dinner with Les Hinton and Lachlan and James Murdoch
March 13 2002 - Breakfast
June 4 2002 - Dinner with Wendi Murdoch, Cherie Blair, and Les and Mary Hinton
February 13 2003 - Meeting with Les Hinton and James Murdoch
August 18 2003 - Dinner with Lachlan Murdoch, Les Hinton and others
November 13 2003 - Meeting
September 15 2004 - Meeting
April 7 2005 - Meeting with Gordon Brown and Michael Howard
April 7 2005 - Dinner
June 18 2005 - Lunch
September 15 2005 - Breakfast
January 22 2006 - Meeting
June 14 2006 - Dinner
January 28 2007 - Dinner
January 31 2007 - Tea
June 8 2007 - Dinner with Cherie Blair
September 27 2007 - Lunch
Gordon Brown
October 6 2007 - Meeting
October 6 2007 - Dinner with Sarah Brown and JK Rowling
October 29 2007 - Lunch
January 22 2008 - Lunch
April 16 2008 - Meeting
June 6 2008 - Dinner with Wendi Murdoch and Sarah Brown
June 15 2008 - Dinner for around 36 people, including Wendi Murdoch, then-president George Bush and Laura Bush
June 16 2008 - News Corporation summer party and dinner afterwards with Murdoch family members and Sarah Brown
September 25 2008 - Dinner hosted by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg
September 26 2008 - Meeting
November 13 2008 - Meeting
January 13 2009 - Breakfast
June 13 2009 - Wedding of Rebekah Wade and Charlie Brooks
June 22 2009 - Reception for Labour peer Lord Paul
June 26 2009 - Dinner with Sarah Brown and Lord Paul
September 23 2009 - Dinner with others
December 14 2009 - Breakfast
David Cameron
May 18 2010 - Meeting
July 21 2010 - Michael Bloomberg dinner with Wendi Murdoch and others
July 21 2010 - Early evening meeting (proposed)
June 16 2011 - News Corporation summer party
June 20 2011 - Breakfast (possible)
June 20 2011 - Times CEO Summit dinner

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2135453/Leveson-inquiry-Rupert-Murdoch-says-culture-cover-News-World.html#ixzz1tAKfsnGX