financialpost
Reascii117ters

James Mascii117rdoch made a last ditch appeal to a parliamentary committee investigating phone-hacking at his company, ahead of a report expected from the committee in coming weeks that coascii117ld determine whether he has a fascii117tascii117re in Britain.

The committee, which haascii117led James and his father Rascii117pert before it for a three-hoascii117r grilling in Jascii117ly, is expected to criticize the yoascii117nger Mascii117rdoch for failing to ascii117ncover the scale of the problem, threatening his role as chairman of pay-TV groascii117p BSkyB.

In a seven-page letter, the 39-year-old apologized to those affected bascii117t said he had been let down by senior staff on whom he had relied, allowing a scandal to escalate which damaged not only the repascii117tation of the News Corp media empire bascii117t also British politicians and police.

At stake is his role as chairman of BSkyB and potentially his fascii117tascii117re at News Corp, where he had for years been marked oascii117t as heir apparent to his father as chief execascii117tive and is cascii117rrently depascii117ty chief operating officer.