Phone hacking: Commons summons on the cards?

The Commons will tomorrow debate the culture committee’s recommendation that Messrs Crone, Hinton and Myler, formerly of News International, be rebuked for misleading parliament in their evidence over phone hacking.

Well, they’re debating whether to refer the matter to the privileges committee. This is expected to happen with no vote or amendment and after a short debate. It’s then up to the privileges committee to decide what they want to do next. There’s a fair chance they’ll feel they have to listen to the accused themselves – more hearings, presumably, as is the tradition of the privileges committee, in private.

They then bring forward a report with their recommendation. That could mean a summons to the bar of the Commons to apologise to MPs. But if the indiviuduals ( unlike John Junor in the 1950s, the last time this was tried) aren’t in apologetic mood, that could mean someone comes to the Commons chamber and sprays the seated MPs with invective.

This is not over, even if the next phase of this saga within the bigger saga is now set for the Commons chamber tomorrow.

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