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Rupert Murdoch and his son James today stuck two fingers up to Parliament by refusing to give evidence to MPs about the News of the World phone hacking.

The executives defied a request to appear before a Commons Culture Select Committee next week asked to look into the scandal that happened under their noses at News International.

Instead former editor Rebekah Brooks faces the prospect of being grilled on her own by MPs scenting blood.

Committee chairman John Wittingdale formally asked Rupert and James Murdoch to attend but the pair sent back letters saying they could not make it. They will now be issued with summons.

Mr Murdoch senior said he would be willing to take part in a judge-led inquiry while his son said he was too busy to attend and had offered to give evidence on August 10 or 11.

As Rebekah Brooks is a British citizen she would have been in contempt if she refused to attend.

Despite promising to appear she said she may refuse to answer questions because there is an on-going police investigation.

In separate developments, Andy Coulson's former deputy editor at the News of the World was being questioned by police in connection with the phone hacking probe today. Neil Wallis, 60, was held following a dawn raid by officers at his home in Chiswick, west London.

As the News Corp crisis went global, U.S. media watchdogs have called for the FBI to investigate claims that the company hacked into the phones of victims of the 9/11 attacks.

Senator John Rockefeller demanded a probe into whether any journalists working for the Murdoch empire had targeted U.S. citizens after the terror attacks.

And the boss of News Corp's Australian division, John Hartigan, said all editorial payments made over the last three years will be investigated.

In London, Select Committee Chairman Mr Wittingdale said that after the two Murdochs had refused to give evidence the Deputy Serjeant at Arms had been dispatched to deliver a summons to them in person.

Mr Wittingdale insisted select committees had taken such steps against individuals in the past, and they had complied.

In his letter to the chairman, Rupert Murdoch said that although he was not available on Tuesday, he was 'fully prepared' to give evidence to the judge-led inquiry announced by David Cameron yesterday.

'I will be taking steps to notify those conducting the inquiry of my willingness to do so,' the letter said.

'Having done this, I would be happy to discuss with you how best to give evidence to your committee.'

James Murdoch wrote that he could attend on August 10 or 11, adding: 'Naturally if neither of these proves suitable, I would be willing to consider any alternative dates you suggest.'

Ms Brooks's response to the committee said she 'welcomed the opportunity' to give evidence. But she warned she would not be able to answer all of the questions put to her.

'Given that we are in the midst of an investigation, and we do not want to prejudice it, I hope you will understand why we feel it would not be appropriate to respond to such questions at present in order to be consistent with the police's approach, and that as a result this may prevent me from discussing these matters in detail,' she wrote.

In dramatic scenes in the Commons yesterday, Gordon Brown turned on Rupert Murdoch's News International and mounted an all-out assault on what he called the 'criminal-media nexus’.

The former Prime Minister said News International was guilty of 'law-breaking on an industrial scale’.

He insisted that he wanted to hold an inquiry into phone hacking in 2009 but was dissuaded from doing so by the civil service.

As Mr Brown tried to distance himself from News International, deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg hit back and said the ex-Labour leader was the first to pick up the phone and commiserate with Andy Coulson when he resigned as News of the World editor.

In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Mr Clegg was reminded that he had previously told the Commons 'when Coulson resigned as editor of the News of the World the first person to call him and commiserate was Gordon Brown'.

The Liberal Democrat leader replied: 'Yes, that is what I was told.'

At a press conference later, the Deputy Prime Minister said he had an 'enormous amount of sympathy' for Gordon and Sarah Brown on a personal level.

But he went on: 'I sense the whiff of rewriting history, to be honest. He was Prime Minister, he was a very powerful chancellor for many years before that, he was at the very apex of politics for 13 years.

'Are we really supposed to believe that for 13 years he was hamstrung by dastardly officials who stopped him doing that? Clearly there were many other things he wanted to do where he was happy to bulldoze opposition but didn't seek to do so on this particular issue.'

Mr Clegg said the problems stem from a 'fundamentally corrupted relationship between politics, the media, and the police'.

He said it was vital to 'preserve the best qualities' of investigative journalism but also mitigate the 'worst excesses of an unfettered press too'.

'Pillars of the British establishment have been put under the spotlight - the media, politicians, the police - with public confidence in each crumbling before us,' he added.

As the Metropolitan Police continue to probe the phone hacking allegations, former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis was being questioned by police on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications.

A blonde woman - believed to be his wife Gaye - made no comment to reporters as she left the his semi-detached 1930s home.

He has been working in PR since leaving his position as executive editor on the paper in 2009.

He started working for News International in 1986 for 12 years where he held senior positions before taking the job of News Editor at The Sun.

In 1998 he became editor of the People, a job he held for five years before returning to become deputy editor of the News of the World in 2003 working under Andy Coulson.

Mr Coulson was grilled for 10 hours by police last week as they also arrested former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman, 53, and an unnamed 63-year-old man in connection with allegations of corruption

All three men were released on bail until October.

The Hacked Off campaign is consulting its lawyers over whether some witnesses called before the inquiry should be granted immunity from prosecution to speed up proceedings. It will submit a recommendation to inquiry judge Lord Justice Leveson.

Yesterday Rupert Murdoch’s grand plan for a huge expansion of his media empire was in tatters as the 'firestorm’ over phone hacking forced him to withdraw his bid to take over BSkyB.

The tycoon shelved his £10billion offer for the satellite broadcaster as it became clear that David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband were joining forces in a Commons vote urging him to back off.

By pulling out of the deal News Corp will now have to pay a £38.5million break fee.

The probe will be headed by Lord Justice Leveson, who prosecuted Britain’s worst female serial killer, Rose West.

Yesterday the scandal spread to the U.S. as family members of victims of the 9/11 attacks called for an investigation of claims their phones were hacked.

MI6 and MI5 were dragged into the row as News International was accused in Parliament of having close dealings with 'rogue’ members of the intelligence services.

It was also revealed by one of Mr Murdoch's own newspapers that he was considering selling his remaining British newspapers, The Times, Sunday Times and The Sun.