Lawmakers to recall Murdoch after he belittles police inquiry in secret recording

British lawmakers said yesterday they would recall media mogul Rupert Murdoch to clarify evidence he gave to them last year after he was secretly recorded belittling a police inquiry into alleged crimes committed by journalists on his papers.

In a meeting with staff on his mass-selling Sun tabloid, Mr Murdoch said he regretted helping a police inquiry into phone-hacking which has grown into a far wider investigation into alleged illegal reporting practices.

He suggested the industry had relied on such tactics for decades.

"Mr Murdoch welcomes the opportunity to return to the select committee and answer their questions," a spokesman for News Corp said in an emailed statement.

“He looks forward to clearing up any misconceptions as soon as possible.”

Mr Murdoch, the head of News Corp and 21st Century Fox , had described himself as appalled by revelations of illegality and phone-hacking that engulfed his British newspaper business two years ago and severely damaged his reputation.

"This is the most humble day of my life," he told the committee during lengthy testimony with his son James. However, after his comments to the Sun journalists were broadcast last week, lawmakers decided they wanted to question him again. "The committee has voted to ask him to reappear in light of the comments he made to News International staff," committee chairman John Whittingdale told Reuters, adding that they had not yet set a date for the hearing.

The committee does not have the power to force Mr Murdoch to appear and there was no immediate comment from News Corp.

Police relaunched an inquiry into claims of phone-hacking by journalists on Murdoch's News of the World tabloid in January 2011, but the scandal only really ignited in July that year when it was revealed reporters had accessed voicemails of a missing schoolgirl who was later found dead.

In the wake of public outrage, Mr Murdoch shut down the 168-year-old paper and issued profuse public apologies.

But in the meeting with Sun staff, the media mogul railed against police and said he had co-operated too closely with detectives when an internal committee he set up supplied thousands of internal emails at the height of the scandal.

Those emails helped police widen their inquiries to include allegations journalists had been paying public officials for information for stories, embroiling the News of the World's sister paper, the Sun.

In a further development yesterday, police said they were seeking to obtain a copy of the Murdoch recording.

“We are seeking to obtain ... the tape of the meeting during which Rupert Murdoch appears to have been recorded and we will then assess the full contents of that tape,” London Police assistant commissioner Cressida Dick told parliament’s Home Affairs committee.