News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch, News Corp Europe chief James Murdoch and News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks will all attend a parliamentary select committee to take questions on the phone hacking scandal next week.
Rupert Murdoch and his son James had initially said Tuesday morning that they would not attend the hearing, but after pressure from Prime Minister David Cameron, Labour leader Ed Miliband and MPs from all parties they have both said they will attend.
A News Corporation spokesperson said: "We are in the process of writing to the select committee with the intention that Mr James Murdoch and Mr Rupert Murdoch will attend next Tuesday's meeting."
James Murdoch said in a letter to the committee: "I hope that it is clear that we are committed to ensuring that the issues that have affected the News of the World are fully investigated and dealt with appropriately and robustly.
"We have been advised that, in light of the fact that there are to be multiple reviews of the issues, this does carry the risk of prejudicing other judicial proceedings and in particular the ongoing police investigation and any potential subsequent prosecutions. I would therefore respectfully ask you to take the utmost care in ensuring that the Committee hearing does not run any risk of prejudicing that investigation and subsequent prosecutions."
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson is also expected to give evidence to the Commons Home Affairs Committee, which is investigating into the police phone hacking inquiry, on the same day that the Murdochs appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
Committee chairman John Whittingdale welcomed the news. "It will be the first time that Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch, and indeed, Rebekah Brooks will have answered questions about this," he told Sky News. "They will be appearing before a parliamentary committee so I would hope they would take it seriously and they will give us the answers that not just we want to hear but I think an awful lot of people will want to hear."
Earlier, James Murdoch had offered to appear on August 10 but the Commons Media Committee replied that the date was "not sufficient" and issued a summons for the Murdochs. In a statement the committee said it believed that "all three should appear to account for the behaviour of News International and for previous statements made to the Committee in Parliament, now acknowledged to be false."
Embattled News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks had already written to MPs to say that she would attend the hearing.
The development comes as Neil Wallis, former executive editor of News of the World, was arrested in connection to an investigation into allegations of phone hacking at News International.
Scotland Yard said the 60-year-old, who served as a deputy under former editor Andy Coulson, was taken for questioning at a local police station on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications.
He was held at his home by detectives from Operation Weeting, the Scotland Yard investigation into mobile interceptions by the Sunday tabloid, the Press Association reported.
Coulson, the former chief media adviser to David Cameron, was arrested last week over alleged phone hacking and illegal payments to police, and released on bail until October.
Rupert Murdoch bowed to public and political pressure on Wednesday over the scandal, giving up his £8.7bn bid for the remaining 61 per cent of BSkyB.