mr. sheridan, respectfully. >> again, mr. murdoch, have you ever imposed any preconditions -- >> which visit to downing street are you talking about? >> just following the last general election. >> i was invited within days to have a cup of tea, to be thanked for the support by mr. cameron. no other conversation took place. it lasted minutes. >> and that's the one you went in through the back door? >> yes. i had been asked also by mr. brown many times. >> through the back door? >> yes. >> can i also ask you, mr. murdoch -- >> and my family who went there many times. >> have you ever imposed any preconditions upon a party leader in the u.k. before giving them the support of your newspapers? >> i've never guaranteed anyone the support of our newspapers. we change -- we had been supporting the thatcher government and the conservative government that followed and we changed and supported the labor party whenever it was, 13 years ago, with the direct loss of 200,000 circulation. >> did you ever impose any preconditions on either t

mr. sheridan. s why why is that? >> i don't have direct knowledge of that, mr. sheridan. i apologize.dditional questions on that in the future, i'm happy to supply written answers, but i don't have direct knowledge and i'm not in a position to answer those questions. >> just a couple more questions. james, could you please confirm or deny whether any news corporation company is the subject of an investigation ? >> i have no knowledge of that. i have no knowledge of that at this point. >> could you also confirm or deny whether or not any news corporation company is the subject of an investigation by the financial services authority? >> i don't believe so, but not to my knowledge. >> finally, please confirm or deny whether any news corporation company is the subject of an investigation? >> not to my knowledge. we have ongoing dialogue with the hric and the various subsidiaries here. as far as investigations are concerned, i have no knowledge of one. >> thank you. >> thank you. mr. murdoch, to made the recommendation to close down "the news of the world" to news corporation? >> who? >> w

mr. sheridan pointed out, it was not just journalists, but many people to find jobs for. in the case of thomas, i explained he predominantly for the last few years had worked for the legal manager of "news of the world," and in fact, the legal teams he worked on all of the other newspapers, so that's the current situation with tom. >> can i just ask you about nevil neville, and did you know that when you were editor of "news of the world" that he was a somebody who was an informant to the police? >> no. >> you didn't know that he was an informant to the police? >> no. is that true? >> well, it is in the "evening standard" and they quoted -- they have quoted court reporters dated back to 2000 when he said himself after a case that the police were very interested about the type of intelligence i was coming up with that was revealed in court and the judge said it was a substantial volume of information and it was extremely useful to the police. it says also that sources close to him, and this is a quote people right at the top of "news international" was aware of his role wi

mr. sheridan pointed out, he worked as the legal manager for the news of the world and the legal teams on all the other newspapers. so that was the current situation with tom. >> can i just ask you about nevelle thurback. did you know that he was a -- somebody who was an informer to the police? >> no. >> you didn't know he was a police informer. >> no. is that true? >> it many in the evening standard. they quoted -- they quote a court report dated back to 2000 when he said himself after a case that the police were very impressed about the type of intelligence i was coming up with that was revealed in court and the judge said it was a substantial volume of information that was extremely useful to the police. it says sources people right at top of new news international we aware of his role with the police. >> i was not aware nerks velle was a police informant. >> that comes as a shock to you? >> you are telling me now. i'm not even sure what it mean particularly. if you are asking me about the -- do members of the press and members of the police force have a symbiotic relationship of excha

mr. sheridan, i apologize but if you have additional questions on that, in the future, i am happy to supply written answers, but i don't have direct knowledge and i'm not in a position to answer those questions. >> a couple more questions. james, could you please confirm or deny whether any news corporation company is the subject of an investigation? >> i have no knowledge of that. i have no knowledge of that at this point. >> and, whether any news corporation company is the subject of an investigation by the financial services... >> i don't believe so. not to my knowledge. >> and please confirm or deny, finally, whether any news corporation company is the subject of an investigation by hmrc? >> not to my knowledge, we have ongoing dialogue with the hmrc anniversary subsidiaries but as far as investigations are concerned, i have no knowledge of one. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. murdoch, did you make the recommendation to the board of news corp. >> did i... >> make the recommendation, to close down the news of the world, the decision made by news corp.? >> it was the result of a discussio

mr. sheridan pointed out, just journalists. in the case of tom, as i explained that he predominantly for the last few years had worked as the legal manager for "the news of the world" and, in fact, there's legal teams on all the other newspapers. so that was the current situation for tom. >> can i just ask you about neville philbin? did you know that when you were editor of "news of the world," did you know that he was somebody who was an inform aanto the police? >> no. >> you didn't know -- >> no. >> that he was a police informant? >> is that true? >> it's in "the evening standard." they quoted -- they quoted court reports dated back to 2000 when he said himself after a case the police were very impressed about the type of intelligence i was coming up with that was revealed in court and the judge said it was a substantial volume of information that was extremely useful to the police. it says also that sources close say, and this is a quote, people right at the top of news international were aware of his role to the police. >>

mr. sheridan pointed out he drove secretaries of many -- in the case of tom as i explained he worked as managernd the legal team on all the other newspapers. that was the current situation with tom. [inaudible] >> did you know when you were at "news of the world" -- somebody who was an informant to please? >> no. >> you didn't know? >> exactly. >> in the evening standard -- dated back to 2,000 when he said after a case that the police were interested in the intelligence that was revealed in court and the judge said it was a substantial volume of information that was useful to the police. and also that sources people at the top of news international were aware of these roles. >> i was not aware of the informant. >> that is a complete shock to you. >> yes -- not even sure what it means. if you are asking me about members of the press and members of the police force, a symbiotic relationship of excessive -- exchange information they did. i am not sure what informant means. >> the allegation is after a substantial volume of information in scotland yard and in return received dozens of items of conf