James Murdoch has defended his actions in the News International scandal, blaming subordinates for feeding him wrong information around just how illegally the company’s flagship newspaper, News of the World, had been conducting its journalism. This emerged today during the Leveson Inquiry into press standards, which we reported on earlier.

“I do recall receiving assurances around journalistic ethics, codes of practice on a number of occasions,” he told Lord Justice Brian Leveson, who is heading the inquiry.

Murdoch also reiterated that he had been misled by his lieutenants about the scope of the illegal behavior in the News of the World’s newsroom.

“I was given assurances by them, which proved to be wrong,” he said.

Embattled media maven Murdoch and his father Rupert, who is still chairman of News International’s parent company News Corp, have been brought in to testify in Leveson’s inquiry into press standards. This follows the closure of News of the World – and the multiple law suits which ensued – in light of the phone hacking scandal in which the paper was implicated last year.

James has been firmly at the centre of that scandal ever since, but if today’s evidence is anything to go on he is still doing his best to plead ignorance.

[Source: Times Live]