Senior executives at News International were warned by a company lawyer in June 2008 that there was "a culture of illegal information access" at the Murdoch-owned media group involving "at least three" of its journalists.
They were also cautioned it would be "extremely damaging" to the publisher's public reputation if that information reached court as part of a legal action brought by Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, whose lawyers had uncovered evidence of phone hacking at the News of the World during a legal battle with the title.
The warning is contained in a legal opinion prepared by Michael Silverleaf QC, the group's counsel, for the News of the World's legal officer, Tom Crone, on 3 June 2008 – and was made public for the first time .
It was handed over by the company's former legal advisers Farrer & Co to MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee, which is investigating phone hacking at the paper, as part of a group of documents requested by parliament. They were published on the committee website.
The documents will intensify the pressure on James Murdoch to explain his role in handling the phone-hacking scandal. They provide the most detailed picture yet of the sequence of events that led him to authorise a payment of £425,000 plus costs to a hacking victim to buy his silence. They appear to confirm that Murdoch was notified at an initial meeting with News of the World's editor Colin Myler on 24 May 2008 that "fatal" evidence had emerged showing that the paper had hacked Taylor's phone. At a subsequent meeting with Myler and Crone on 10 June 2008, Murdoch authorised the payment, totalling £700,000, to Taylor, but he has maintained that he was not made aware of evidence showing that hacking extended beyond a single "rogue reporter".
Thedocuments showed Silverleaf had warned in his opinion that there was "overwhelming evidence of the involvement of a number of senior ... journalists" in repeated attempts to access private information relating to Taylor.
News International said on Tuesday that Murdoch did not see the opinion.
The QC named Greg Miskiw, a former news editor at the paper, and Ross Hindley, a reporter, as apparently "intimately involved". A third name given by Silverleaf is redacted.
The documents will be seized on by MPs when they question James Murdoch, third in command at the parent company News Corp, next week, during his second appearance before the committee.
The committee chairman, John Whittingdale, said : "This contradicts the evidence given to us previously and we shall be asking about this when James Murdoch comes before the committee."
In January 2007, the News of the World's royal editor, Clive Goodman, and the newspaper's private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, were found guilty of hacking into phones belonging to members of the royal household. In the aftermath of that incident, News International said hacking was confined to a single "rogue reporter". Murdoch told MPs in July this year that he was unaware that other News of the World journalists were hacking into mobile phones when he authorised his executives to settle Taylor's case in 2008 by paying him damages of £425,000 plus costs, taking the total payout to more than £700,000.
But Myler and Crone told the committee in September that they had made Murdoch aware at the 10 June 2008 meeting that hacking was not restricted to a single journalist. They claimed this was the reason Murdoch agreed to settle the Taylor's case. James Murdoch subsequently wrote to the committee to deny this. MPs will want to establish if Murdoch saw Silverleaf's opinion when they question him next week, although News International insisted on Tuesday that he was made aware of its existence only several weeks ago. Murdoch told MPs in July he did not remember the earlier meeting, but Farrer & Co has released a copy of a note made by its partner Julian Pike of a phone conversation with Myler in which the former editor revealed what he had discussed with Murdoch in May.
It appears to show that Myler told Pike on 27 May 2008 – several days after his meeting with Murdoch – that they had agreed to seek Silverleaf's opinion before deciding whether to settle the case.
The note refers to allegations made by Goodman that other staff were also guilty of intercepting voicemails.
"James wld (sic) say get rid of them – cut out the cancer," it reads. Sources close to News International highlighted that comment as evidence that Murdoch would have sacked journalists who were guilty of wrongdoing had it been brought to his attention when the meeting took place.
What the documents reveal
February 2005 News of the World signs a contract to pay Glenn Mulcaire £7,000 for information relating to Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association.
June/July 2005 Voicemails on Taylor's phone are accessed illegally, according to company lawyer Tom Crone. However, no article about Taylor appears.
June 2007 Mulcaire found guilty of illegal interception alongside royal editor Clive Goodman. Both are accused of targeting staff of Prince William and Prince Harry. Editor Andy Coulson resigns. During the trial Mulcaire also admits targeting Taylor. Taylor launches a legal action against the News of the World for breach of confidence, misuse of private information and invasion of privacy.
May 24 2008 Crone briefs his editor, Colin Myler, on the status of the Taylor case. Crone notes that Taylor's legal team have found evidence that is "fatal" to News International's defence. In particular Crone notes that there exists a "damaging email" – the so-called "for Neville" email – that proves "we actively made use of a large number of extremely private voicemails" from Taylor's phone.
May 27 Myler apparently discusses Taylor case with James Murdoch, in previously undisclosed meeting. Neither Myler nor Murdoch recall getting together, but Julian Pike, lawyer for News International, writes that the News of the World editor "spoke to Murdoch" and that the two would "wait for silks view".
June 3 Michael Silverleaf, QC advising News International, sends a seven-page opinion to Crone noting that there is "a powerful case that there is (or was) a culture of illegal information access" at the News of the World and that any trial would be "extremely damaging" to the publisher's reputation. Silverleaf also notes that evidence obtained by Taylor's lawyers shows that "at least three" News of the World journalists "appear to have been intimately involved in Mr Mulcaire's illegal researching into Mr Taylor's affairs".
June 10 Critical meeting between James Murdoch, Myler and Crone. Account of the meeting is disputed. Murdoch says he cannot remember being told of the "for Neville" email. Myler and Crone said previously that they did tell Murdoch of its existence because it was the reason to settling the case. Pike noted that Myler was moving "towards" telling Taylor to "fuck off" but Murdoch "wanted to think through options". Ultimately decision is made to settle.
Summer 2008 Case is settled on a confidential basis, with Taylor receiving £425,000 plus costs and other payments to take it over £700,000.
July 2009 Guardian writes "Murdoch papers paid £1m to gag phone-hacking victims".