James Murdoch: hack victim's payout sparks queries over hush-money denial

[cal04]

Despite telling parliamentary committee that astronomical sums were not paid, total cost of Gordon Taylor case to NI was £1m
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/20/james-murdoch-gordon-taylor-payoff?CMP=twt_fd

James Murdoch appears to have given misleading parliamentary testimony about a key phone-hacking cover-up, according to evidence obtained by the Guardian.

Rupert Murdoch's son sought to deny that "astronomic sums" had been secretly paid out to a hacking victim as hush-money. He told MPs the company's legal advice was that the likely award of damages was £250,000, and that this explained the size of a confidential payout he agreed could be paid in 2008 to hacking victim Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the footballers' union the PFA.

But full details of the legal negotiations obtained by the Guardian show that in fact Murdoch's company executives paid far more than that to buy Taylor's silence. After consulting James Murdoch, they eventually agreed to pay £425,000 damages, almost twice as much as the alleged likely award.

With Taylor's legal costs at £220,000, and their own solicitors' fees of some £300,000, the total cost to the News of the World to keep the case out of court amounted to almost £1m.

[dipsydoodle]

1. That's no big deal

Apparently they gave Max Clifford considerably more than that to settle out of court.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4923738&mesg_id=4924385

[Uncle Joe]

2. Kicked and recommended for the OP and dipsydoodle's post #1.

Thanks for the thread, cal.

[safeinOhio]

3. Big shots always get into more trouble

for the cover-up than the actual crime.