Phone-hacking hearing: Key quotes

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corporation has been facing a hearing of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, to answer questions over phone hacking conducted by News of the World journalists. Here are some of the key extracts of his testimony.

Apologising for acts of phone hacking by News of the World journalists, at the start of the session:
"This is the most humble day of my life."
On the News of the World:
"There were people in the company which apparently were guilty. And we have to find them and we have to deal with them appropriately.
"If I can just say something - and this is not as an excuse, maybe it is an explanation of my laxity.
"The News of the World is less than 1% of our company. I employ 53,000 people around the world, who are proud and great and ethical and distinguished people, professionals in their life. I am spread watching and appointing people whom I trust to run those divisions."

Rupert Murdoch struggling with MPs' questions: "That is the first I've heard of that"

On closing the News of the World:
"We felt ashamed of what had happened and thought we ought to bring it to a close. We had broken our trust with our readers, certainly broke it with me, but the important thing was we had broken our trust with our readers."
On Rebekah Brooks' resignation:
Philip Davies: "Why did you not accept Rebekah Brooks' resignation when she first offered it?"
Rupert Murdoch: "Because I believed her and I trusted her and I do trust her."
PD: "And so why did you accept it the second time round? Why did you accept it?"
RM: "In the event, in the event, she just insisted. She was at a point of..."
PD: "And can you tell us..."
RM: "...extreme anguish."
On employees not keeping Mr Murdoch informed about the phone hacking scandal:
Alan Keen: "It became clear from the first couple of questions to you Rupert Murdoch, that you'd been kept in the dark quite a bit on some of these real serious issues, is there more -
Rupert Murdoch: "Nobody kept me in the dark, I may have been lax in not asking, but [the News of the World] was such a tiny part of our business."

The moment Rupert Murdoch was 'attacked'

On whether he should resign from his position as head of News International:
Louise Mensch: "Mr Murdoch, have you considered resigning?
Rupert Murdoch: "No."
LM: "Why not?"
RM: "Because, I feel that people I trusted, I'm not saying who, I don't know what level, have let me down. I think they behaved disgracefully and betrayed the company, and me. It's for them to pay. I think that, frankly, I'm the best person to clear this up."

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