James Murdoch 'may face further questions'

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The culture media and sport committee has announced it will call former News of the World senior managers to give oral evidence into phone hacking.

The evidence session will be held on 6 September.

The newspaper was closed down by parent company News International on 10 July after revelations of widespread phone hacking.

Its former lawyer Tom Crone, editor Colin Myler, head of human resources Daniel Cloke and director of legal affairs John Chapman will give further evidence.

"Depending on their evidence under questioning, the committee may also have further questions for James Murdoch and others," the committee said.

The committee of MPs met today to discuss the evidence it has received in response to its requests to various individuals for further information and clarification as part of its phone hacking inquiry.

It said it decided to hold another evidence session, "having considered the responses it received as a whole".

It will also write to former NI executives Stuart Kuttner, Les Hinton, Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks to ask them whether they wish to add anything to or amend any of the evidence they have previously given to the committee.

It is also writing to Lawrence Abramson, law firm Burton Copeland, and law firm Farrer & Co. with further questions arising from the evidence it has received so far.

The committee today published evidence it has received from News Corporation, Rebekah Brooks, Colin Myler, Tom Crone, Jon Chapman, law firm Harbottle and Lewis, the Press Complaints Commission, Mark Lewis, and law firm Linklaters.

The correspondence calls into question claims that former News of the World editor Andy Coulson had no knowledge of widespread phone hacking at the paper.

Coulson resigned over the issue of hacking in January 2007 after two reporters were convicted of intercepting the voicemail messages of members of the Royal Household.

Later that year he was appointed head of communications by Conservative leader David Cameron and took up the same role in Downing St after the last general election.

Coulson resigned from the government in January, but said he stood by "what I've said" about his ignorance of phone hacking.

He added: "But when the spokesman needs a spokesman it's time to move on."

In a statement to the Commons in 20 July the prime minister said that with "20-20 hindsight I would not have offered him the job".

"I hired Andy Coulson on the basis of assurances he gave me he did not know about hacking," Cameron told MPs.

He said if it turned out his former director of communications had lied to him then he would offer a "profound apology".

"Of course I regret, and I am extremely sorry about the furore it has caused.

"But you don't make decisions in hindsight, you make them in the present. You live and you learn and believe you me, I have learned."

The prime minister had earlier said that if Coulson lied, "it won't just be that he shouldn't have been in government, it will be that he should be prosecuted".