进入英语学习论坛下载音频 去听写专区一展身手

British lawmakers on Tuesday asked Rupert Murdoch, News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks and Chairman James Murdoch to give evidence to them on phone hacking, a spokeswoman said.

News International, the British newspaper arm of Murdoch's global media empire, said it would "cooperate."

"I can confirm that Rebekah Brooks, Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch have been asked to give evidence to the culture, media and sport select committee," a spokeswoman for the committee said.

They could "possibly" appear on July 19, the last meeting of the committee before parliament ends for the summer, she said.

"It would be in relation to current allegations of phone hacking and previous evidence given by News International executives to the predecessor committee's report on press standards, privacy and libel."

A News International spokeswoman said in a statement: "We have been made aware of the request from the CMS Committee to interview senior executives and will cooperate. We await the formal invitation."

Tom Watson, a member of parliament with the main opposition Labour party and a member of the committee, said the committee "will be sitting next Tuesday and we expect them to attend."

"I suspect that some of them might be too cowardly to turn up but that is up to them to decide," he added.

Watson said MPs wanted to ask Brooks about her knowledge of payments to the police when she was editor of the News of the World from 2000 to 2003, and then when she moved to edit its sister daily, The Sun.

In 2003, Brooks, then known as Rebekah Wade, admitted to the culture committee that "we have paid the police for information in the past."

They also want to quiz James Murdoch on his involvement "in authorizing payments to silence" Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, after his phone was hacked.

Also on Tuesday, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused Murdoch's News International media group of using criminals to illegally obtain information about his private life and of the shock he felt when it published a story about his baby's ill health.

He said the Sunday Times newspaper had obtained access to his building society account and other personal files, and said he had seen evidence collated by the Guardian newspaper that News International was using known criminals to obtain private information.

Questions:

1 What media company is under fire in the UK?

2 What is the issue?

3 Who will be questioned by lawmakers?

Answers:

1. News International

2. Phone hacking

3. Rupert Murdoch, News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks and Chairman James Murdoch

（中国日报网英语点津 Julie 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in