Rebekah Brooks, Murdochs to face MPs today

Rebekah Brooks, Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch are due to appear before MPs this afternoon to face uncomfortable questions about phone hacking.

Former News International boss Brooks will sit before the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee to discuss the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World, alongside News Corporation chief executive Rupert Murdoch and News International chairman James Murdoch.

The three powerful media figures are to be quizzed on how much they knew of, approved or subsequently covered up widespread criminal activity at News International.

As part of a collaboration agreement with technology firm Rightster, ITN Productions will stream live video from the culture committee hearing this afternoon at 2.30pm UK time.

The live video will be distributed to the websites of The Guardian, the Daily Mail and ITN, along with ITN's page on social network Facebook. This marks the first time a parliamentary hearing has been live streamed to so many websites, but ITN is expecting a big audience both in the UK and abroad due to the significance of the phone hacking scandal.

Brooks and the Murdochs are expected to face three hours of questioning from MPs in an unprecedented sitting of a select committee since the system was established in 1979.

Yesterday, Brooks's lawyers confirmed that she will attend the hearing, despite being arrested on Sunday as part of the police investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World.

James Murdoch, whose chairmanship of Sky is being challenged, is expected to use the session to attempt to salvage his reputation, and clear up why he authorised payments to cover up illegal activity at the defunct Sunday tabloid.

It is expected that 80-year-old Rupert Murdoch will again apologise for the way in which families of murder victims such as Milly Dowler have had to endure the phone hacking revelations.

Last weekend, Murdoch personally apologised to the nation for the phone hacking scandal in adverts published in various national newspapers.

However, his US paper The Wall Street Journal took a more combative tone, accusing The Guardian and the BBC of pursuing the phone hacking story for "commercial and ideological motives".

Digital Spy will be following all the select committee goings-on in a live blog from 2.30pm UK time.