Rupert Murdoch investigated by police over secret recording in which he suggests he knew about corrupt payments to public officials Met suspects tape "may contain evidence of conspiring to commit misconduct in public office" Detectives trying to get access to recording to 'assess the full contents' Media mogul also recorded telling staff police were 'totally incompetent' By Hugo Gye, Chris Greenwood and Gerri Peev Rupert Murdoch is being investigated by police over comments he made in a secretly recorded conversation in which he suggests he knew about payments to public officials Detectives are investigating Rupert Murdoch over comments he made in a secretly recorded conversation in which he suggests he knew about payments to police. The Metropolitan Police is trying to access the tape as part of the Operation Elveden Inquiry into corrupt payments to public officials. Senior officers suspect that the recording "may contain evidence of conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office." Yesterday, Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who has responsibility for inquiries sparked by the phone-hacking scandal, told the Home Affairs Committee that officers are trying to get a copy of the recording and would "assess the full contents of that tape." The dramatic development came as the Commons media, culture and sport committee revealed it intended to summon the 82-year-old press baron for a second time in the autumn over the comments. In the tapes, Murdoch expresses his fury at "incompetent police" as he tries to placate staff furious at dawn raids at their homes, arrests and criminal charges. In one exchange, the News Corp boss is told that dubious "working practices" at News International went back many years. He says: "We're talking about payments for news tips from cops. That's been going on a hundred years, absolutely. You didn't instigate it. Critics say the tape shows Murdoch's real attitude to the crisis, in contrast to the apparent contrition he displayed when giving evidence to MPs two years ago. Commander Neil Basu, who is directly responsible for Operation Weeting, which is investigating the hacking scandal, said he was not surprised by the tape. "It would be wrong to say I am surprised to hear the chairman of News International making those comments," he said. It emerged that Scotland Yard is resorting to court orders to obtain material from News International after an agreement broke down. An internal committee set up by the publisher had already handed over millions of emails. The secret recording, broadcast by Channel 4 News, was made during a meeting with journalists from The Sun at their Wapping HQ in March. Murdoch is heard railing at the way the police behaved. It's a disgrace. Here we are, two years later, and the cops are totally incompetent," he said. And now they're arresting their own, who never even took money ... They're going to put all newspapers out of business. When asked why so much material had been given to police, Murdoch branded it a "mistake" but said a new lawyer had ended the deal, adding: "[He] has said "No, no, no - get a court order. Murdoch went on to reveal how the News of the World kept cash in a safe because: "Sometimes the editor needs some on a Saturday night for powerful friends." The police inquiry into illegal payments, Operation Elveden, has led to the arrest of 70 people for allegedly making payments to officials. Responding to the Murdoch tapes, a News Corp spokesman said: "No other company has done as much to identify what went wrong, compensate the victims, and ensure the same mistakes do not happen again. Rupert Murdoch has shown understandable empathy with staff and families affected and will assume they are innocent until and unless proven guilty. The spokesman added: 'Mr Murdoch welcomes the opportunity to return to the Select Committee and answer their questions. He looks forward to clearing up any misconceptions as soon as possible.