London ( CNN ) -- British lawmakers investigating a phone hacking scandal Tuesday asked media baron Rupert Murdoch , his son James and former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks to testify before them , hours after former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused their newspaper group of illegally obtaining private information about him . Parliament 's Culture , Media and Sport Committee asked the three to appear in a week , on July 19 , a representative told CNN . `` Senior executives '' of Murdoch 's British newspaper company `` will cooperate , '' News International said in a statement , without specifying who . If the Murdochs and Brooks do not answer the summons , Parliament can compel them to do so , Labour lawmaker Chris Bryant said on Twitter . He added that he believes he too is a hacking victim . The chairman of the committee , John Whittingdale , told CNN that he has plenty of questions to ask . `` The first thing is that James Murdoch has said he has discovered that Parliament , and that means my committee , was misled by some of the executives who have given us evidence in the past , '' he said . `` So we will obviously want to know who has misled Parliament and what it was they said which was untrue . '' Meanwhile , a Downing Street source told CNN the British coalition government will vote in favor of a parliamentary motion by the Labour opposition calling on News Corp. to withdraw its bid for satellite broadcaster BSkyB . Whittingdale predicted any vote would be lopsided , if not unanimous , against the elder Murdoch . `` I would have thought that , if Parliament sends a signal as strong as is likely , he would be very foolish to ignore it . '' Officials must first establish who authorized the `` very serious criminal activities '' under scrutiny , Whittingdale said . `` Anybody who was complicit in that , who knew about them , potentially is vulnerable . '' The news represents a further threat to Rupert Murdoch 's plans to create Britain 's largest media company by acquiring the satellite broadcaster . News Corp. has been seeking to buy the 60.9 % of the BSkyB shares it does not already own . Labour leader Ed Miliband and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg are among lawmakers who have already urged Murdoch to reconsider the bid . Brown , speaking Tuesday to the BBC about allegations that The Sunday Times illegally obtained private information about him , accused Murdoch 's newspapers of having `` links with criminals . '' Brown said the paper appeared to have gotten access to his legal files . He said he was `` genuinely shocked '' by its methods . The Sunday Times denied Brown 's allegations and said it pursued the story about him in the public interest . `` We were told that Mr. Brown had bought a flat cheaper than any normal valuation and that he obtained it through a company in which Geoffrey Robinson , a close ally , had been a director , '' it said Tuesday in a statement . `` We had reasonable grounds to investigate this matter ... We believe no law was broken in the process of this investigation , and contrary to Mr. Brown 's assertion , no criminal was used and the story was published giving all sides a fair hearing . '' Brown 's allegations , however , widen the scandal that brought down Britain 's best-selling newspaper , News of the World , to other newspapers also owned by Murdoch 's News International media group . Suspicions that News International would fill the Sunday tabloid gap by publishing its six-day-a-week tabloid The Sun on Sundays were reinforced by the company 's acquisition on Monday of the domain name thesunonsunday.co.uk . News International 's parent company , News Corporation , announced Tuesday it would buy back $ 5 billion of its own shares over the coming year , after a fall in its share price since the phone hacking scandal exploded last week . Top Metropolitan Police officers testified before lawmakers Tuesday about their investigation into illegal breaches of privacy by News of the World , following accusations police did not probe deeply enough when they first looked into matter . Assistant Commissioner John Yates , who concluded in 2009 that there was not enough evidence to pursue an investigation , admitted to the Home Affairs Select Committee that his decision was `` crap . '' And he said he believed his own phone had been hacked `` in the period 2005-2006 . '' He blamed News International for not handing over all the documents they had . But lawmakers hammered his decision . `` Why did you not look at the information that was sitting in bags at Scotland Yard ? '' demanded conservative lawmaker Michael Ellis . Yates insisted he had `` never , ever , ever '' received a payment from a journalist , but said it was `` highly probable '' that there were some corrupt officers among the 50,000 in the Metropolitan Police . News International is accused of attempting to bribe police officers for information -- including personal contact details for members of the royal family -- in addition to the violation of privacy allegations . Yates said he did not see Gordon Brown 's name on a list of potential hacking victims when he examined the evidence police had in 2009 . The accusations that journalists working for News International papers went after Brown were published Monday by rival outlet the Guardian . The Guardian said the tabloid The Sun -- the country 's best-selling daily newspaper -- obtained details about Brown 's son 's health and published a story about him , while people working for the broadsheet Sunday Times tricked the former Labour Party leader 's accountants into handing over financial details . Both papers are part of the News International stable . The company denied that The Sun illegally obtained information about Brown 's son . `` We are able to assure the Brown family that we did not access the medical records of their son , nor did we commission anyone to do so , '' News International said in a statement . It said its story about Brown 's son `` originated from a member of the public whose family has also experienced cystic fibrosis '' and wanted to highlight the plight of those afflicted with the disease . `` The individual has provided a written affidavit this afternoon to a lawyer confirming this , '' the statement said . The efforts to obtain information about Brown and his family dated back some 10 years , and include periods when Brown was prime minister and chancellor of the exchequer , according to the Guardian . Brown declined several CNN requests for an interview about the allegations . The latest allegations follow Sunday 's closure of the News of the World over other allegations of illegal breach of privacy . The decision to pull the plug on the 168-year-old paper came amid accusations that its reporters illegally eavesdropped on the phone messages of murder and terrorist victims , politicians and celebrities , as well as claims it may have bribed police officers . Police said Thursday they had identified almost 4,000 potential targets of phone-hacking . London 's Metropolitan Police Monday angrily blasted leaks from its investigation into illegal eavesdropping by News of the World , shortly after British media reported that the paper tried to bribe royal protection officers to get private phone numbers for members of the royal family . Police said News International had shared information about alleged efforts by reporters to bribe police , and that both sides had agreed to keep the information confidential . Police said they were `` extremely concerned and disappointed '' at the leaks , which they said `` could have a significant impact on the corruption investigation . '' Police , the royal family and News International all refused to answer CNN questions about allegations that a reporter sought company money to pay a royal protection officer for the confidential details about the royal family . The controversy over phone hacking has continued despite the shuttering of News of the World . Murdoch has not apologized to the family of a murdered British teenage girl whose phone messages were illegally intercepted , a lawyer for 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler 's family said Monday . Brooks has been promoted to chief executive of News International , and Murdoch has stood by her . Murdoch flew Sunday to London , hours after the final edition of News of the World hit the stands . The publication was the first British national paper Murdoch bought , in 1969 , as he began to propel himself from Australian newspaper proprietor to international media magnate . With its closure , News International now owns the Sun , The Times and The Sunday Times in Britain . Murdoch 's News Corporation also encompasses Fox News , The Wall Street Journal , the New York Post and Harper Collins publishers . CNN 's Jim Boulden , Andy Carey and Dan Rivers contributed to this report .
NEW : ` ` Anybody who was complicit ... potentially is vulnerable , '' panel head says . Ex - editor for News of the World , Murdoch son also to Murdoch . The BBC will back a call for Murdoch to drop his bid for BSkyB , a source says . The Sunday Times says it pursued stories about Gordon Brown in the public interest .