News International IT contractor questioned over deleted emails

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Keith Vaz orders Indian-based firm to reveal knowledge of emails that may reveal scale of phone hacking
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/28/news-international-technology-contractor-india

One of News International's main technology contractors has been ordered by the home affairs select committee to answer questions by tomorrow about its knowledge of the deletion of emails seen as vital to discovering the scale of phone hacking at the newspaper company.

The letter has been sent to HCL Technologies, based in India, by Keith Vaz, the chairman of the home affairs select committee, after what was regarded by some committee members as narrow, to the point of partial, answers by the firm to a previous inquiry by the committee.

There have been allegations, denied by the company, that it has knowledge of the destruction of emails vital to the inquiry into phone hacking .

The exchanges about deletion of emails is a test case of whether News International is now encouraging co-operation with the authorities, including the police and parliament, or whether elements are trying to conceal an earlier cover-up that may have occured at the newspaper group.