Culture, Media and Sport CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Linklaters LLP, on behalf of the Management and Standards Committee

In his letter to you of 11 August, in response to question 5 of your letter of 29 July, Mr James Murdoch listed payments made to Mr Clive Goodman subsequent to his guilty plea (on 29 November 2006). The Management and Standards Committee of News Corporation (the “Committee”), on whose behalf we write, assisted Mr Murdoch in providing those answers to you as they were not within Mr Murdoch’s personal knowledge. We write to you because the Committee has become aware of further information relevant to your question.

Mr Goodman was paid a total of £22,504.71 in salary after the date of his guilty plea, in three equal instalments on 6 December 2006, 6 January 2007 and 6 February 2007. The payment of Mr Goodman’s salary on 6 February 2007 (which occurred after he was dismissed) was requested by Mr Stuart Kuttner, then the Managing Editor of the News of the World.

The 11 August letter refers to a payment of £90,502.08 to Mr Goodman made in April 2007. The Committee has since been informed that the payment was made on 8 February 2007, though not processed through the payroll system until April 2007.

Mr Murdoch's letter of 11 August refers to payments of £153,000 to Mr Goodman between October 2007 and December 2007. The Committee has been informed that these payments were in fact made between July and October 2007.

News International has previously informed you that News Group Newspapers Limited paid for Mr Goodman’s legal representation in the criminal proceedings involving him. The Committee has recently become aware that between February and April 2010 News Group Newspapers Limited paid a further £9,631.50 in legal fees relating to Mr Goodman. The payment of these invoices was approved by Tom Crone. The records held by News International in relation to these fees are extremely limited, but it appears that they may have been incurred in connection with the then current Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry.

4 November 2011