There are “no immediate plans” to launch a new Sunday tabloid newspaper, to replace the defunct News of the World, which published its last edition a week last Sunday.
The claim was made by James Murdoch, the chair of News International, which owned the News of the World until its closure in the wake of phone hacking allegations made against it.
Both Murdoch and his father, Rupert, faced questions from the Commons culture committee in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.
And asked this afternoon if the company plans to open a new weekly newspaper, Murdoch junior told MPs: “There are no immediate plans for that… That is not the company’s priority now. This is not the time to be worrying about that.”
The statement follows growing speculation a Sunday version of The Sun newspaper could hit the shelves by the middle of next month.
Today’s appearance before the parliamentary committee comes a week after allmediascotland reported the 21 staff – plus half dozen or so regular casuals – at the Scottish News of the World had been placed on ‘gardening leave’.
