Murdoch may be quizzed after emails discovery

Speculation was growing last night that James Murdoch is to be interviewed by police over the phone-hacking scandal.

Scotland Yard officers investigating the affair at the News of the World are understood to want to question the News International chief and son of Rupert Murdoch over a series of "bombshell" emails recovered from a data-storage facility in India.

There were claims on Twitter last night, swiftly denied by police sources, that Mr Murdoch had been arrested at Paddington Green police station, London, at 10pm. Yet sources close to Mr Murdoch declined to give an absolute denial that he would be spoken to by police at some stage. It is increasingly likely he could be questioned – interviewed under caution as a witness or arrested – within days or weeks.

Reports yesterday claimed that officers from Operation Weeting, which is investigating hacking, believe the emails – among tens of thousands from the facility – take the inquiry to a "new level".

The reports came just days after Mr Murdoch was summoned before the Culture Select Committee over apparent inconsistencies in his evidence.