James Murdoch was copied into emails discussing phone hacking at News of the World in June 2008. The emails mentioned a "nightmare scenario" and discussed Gordon Taylor’s case against the company. Mr. Murdoch claimed he only read the most recent email, which requested a meeting, and was unaware of wrongdoing at the company. He also stated that he did not read the full email chain and relied on an oral briefing instead.

Labour MP Tom Watson called for the editor of The Sun, Dominic Mohan, to be questioned about potential phone hacking involvement. Watson stated that it was only a matter of time before evidence links The Sun to the scandal. He also criticized News International chairman James Murdoch, stating he is not fit to lead BSkyB and questioning whether News Corporation should continue owning shares in the broadcaster due to alleged corruption and criminality.

James Murdoch declined a $6m bonus due to the controversy over phone hacking at News of the World, while his father Rupert received a $12.5m bonus. James' total remuneration for the year was $33.3m, up 47%. He stated that declining the bonus was the "right thing to do" and will consult with the compensation committee about future bonuses.

A letter from former royal editor Clive Goodman, who was jailed for phone hacking, alleges that senior figures at News of the World knew about the practice and that he was promised his job back if he didn't implicate the paper in court. The letter claims that hacking was "widely discussed" at the paper and that Goodman had been promised his job back by Tom Crone and Andy Coulson. A separate submission from James Murdoch, News Corp's deputy chief executive, revealed that £243,502 was paid to Goodman in relation to his claim of unfair dismissal.