One of Rupert Murdoch’s sons has lashed out at the coverage of Australia’s wildfires in news outlets owned by his father’s companies.

In an extraordinary statement hitting out at climate change denialism, James Murdoch and his wife Kathryn criticised both News Corp and Fox News.

“Kathryn and James’ views on climate are well established, and their frustration with some of the News Corp and Fox coverage of the topic is also well known,” the couple’s spokesperson told The Daily Beast.

“They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary.”

Rupert Murdoch and his elder son Lachlan chair both News Corp and Fox Corporation. Lachlan is also chief executive of the latter, parent to the right-leaning Fox News Channel beloved by Donald Trump.

Animals rescued during Australia fires Show all 25 1 /25 Animals rescued during Australia fires Animals rescued during Australia fires Wildlife rescuer Simon Adamczyk is seen with a koala rescued at a burning forest near Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide AAP Image/Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Rural Fire Service volunteer firefighter Pat Smith pouring water onto a possum's feet with burns from fires on the outskirts of the town of Tumbarumba in New South Wales Greenpeace Australia-Pacific/AFP Animals rescued during Australia fires Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education volunteer and carer Tracy Dodd holds a kangaroo with burnt feet pads after being rescued from bushfires in Australia's Blue Mountains area Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Grey-headed Flying Fox bats prepared for a feeding at the Uralla, Australia, home of Jackie Maisey, a volunteer with Northern Tableands Wildlife Carers. The bats are swaddled in flannel wraps similar to those being made by thousands of crafters worldwide who are using their sewing, knitting and crocheting skills to make items for wildlife injured in the Australian brush fires Jackie Maisey/AP Animals rescued during Australia fires Sara Tilling takes care of a young injured Kangaroo which she and her partner Gary Henderson are nursing back to health in Cobargo EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan holds a baby Koala she just rescued on Kangaroo Island AFP via Getty Images Animals rescued during Australia fires Tracy Burgess holds a severely burnt brushtail possum Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Fire-impacted, orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joeys are seen at the property of WIRES Carers Kevin and Lorita Clapson in East Lynne, South of Sydney EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A koala receives water from a cyclist during a severe heatwave that hit the region, in Adelaide Instagram/BIKEBUG2019 via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires An orphaned Flying-Fox is fed at the property of WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator, Janet Jones, in Tuross Head EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan checks an injured Koala she had just rescued on Kangaroo Island AFP via Getty Animals rescued during Australia fires A wallabie eating a carrot dropped by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife services over the bushfire affected areas along the South Coast for wallabies NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services Animals rescued during Australia fires A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital AFP via Getty Animals rescued during Australia fires Gary Henderson holds the young injured kangaroo he and his partner are nursing back to health EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A koala drinks water offered from a bottle by a firefighter during bushfires in Cudlee Creek, south Australia Oakbank Balhannah CFS via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires WIRES Mid South Coast wombat coordinator Tony De La Fosse with two orphaned pouch-rescued Wombats at his property in Malua Bay EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Qantas, an orphaned Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey whose feet were burned in recent bushfires, is held by WIRES Carer Kevin Clapson at his property in East Lynne EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Various completed animal pouches for animals affected by Australia bushfires hang on clothing racks in Regents Park, Queensland Kim Simeon via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires An orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey hangs in a makeshift pouch at the property of WIRES EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A rescued koala injured in a bushfire in Kangaroo Island, South Australia Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park/AP Animals rescued during Australia fires WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator Janet Jones weighs a rescued Grey-Headed Flying-Fox at her home in Tuross Head EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A weary kangaroo shelters on a patch of green grass surrounded by burnt bushland along the Princes Highway near in Milton Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Various animal wraps for bats affected by bushfires Simone Watts via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires A staff member moving a rescued koala to a temporary shelter at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney Taronga Zoo/AFP via Getty Animals rescued during Australia fires A kangaroo jumps in a field amidst smoke from a bushfire in Snowy Valley AFP via Getty Images

The climate comments come just days after a News Corp employee quit over the firm’s coverage of climate change and the devastating wildfires, writing in an all-staff email that it had instituted a “misinformation campaign”.

The company’s outlets had “tried to divert attention away from the real issue which is climate change to rather focus on arson”, finance manager Emily Townsend claimed, as she urged bosses to reconsider how information was published in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun.

News Corp’s executive chair, Michael Miller, said he stood by its coverage of the bush blazes that have killed 28 people and hundreds of millions of animals.

Humane Society International workers have told of “animal bodies everywhere” in the wake of the fires. “I can barely describe it,” said one. “In some places, you can’t walk 10 metres without coming across another carcass.”

The effects are so severe that Nasa said it believed smoke created by the fires could eventually pass all the way around the planet, coming back to blight Australia once again. The detritus being pumped into the atmosphere has caused breathing problems for players at the Australian Open qualifying event, leading one to retire after collapsing during a coughing fit.

On Tuesday, the UK’s Met Office warned that the situation in Australia could become the world’s new normal if global temperatures continue to rise.

A review of 57 scientific studies published in the last seven years found that climate change had led to an increase in the frequency and severity of so-called “fire weather” – periods with a high risk of fire owing to a combination of hotter temperatures, low humidity, low rainfall and strong winds.

The World Meteorological Organisation warned that warming is set to reach between 3C and 5C above pre-industrial levels this century.