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Literary agent Andrew Wylie has moved to defuse the row between him and HarperCollins, denying reports he is calling for an investigation of the publisher in the wake of wider controversy surrounding its parent NewsCorp.
Wylie gave an interview to BBC Radio 4's "World at One" on Monday, in which he accused HarperCollins of acting in an "unusually shrill and punitive" way towards authors.
The interview was then picked up by the Daily Telegraph, which reported Wylie was calling for an investigation into the publisher, something the agent denied. Speaking to The Bookseller, Wylie said: "I did not 'call for an investigation' into HarperCollins."
In the BBC interview, Wylie was asked if he felt the scandal could lead to other NewsCorp companies being examined, including HarperCollins, Wylie said: "Yes, it will focus attention on all parts of the business and people will perhaps turn on some lights in rooms that have been left dark previously and look more closely at what is profitable and what is not and what is proper behaviour and what isn't."
Speaking yesterday, Wylie said: "In the context of current events, this misrepresentation of what I said is regrettable. I want to correct the record."