Jon Gaunt, one-time Sun columnist and erstwhile Sun online radio presenter, has put his finger on the story inside a story about News International.

Rebekah Brooks won't resign as News Int's chief executive, he said, because if she goes the spotlight will fall on to Rupert Murdoch's son, James.

Not enough attention has been paid to the fact that the silent man in this whole saga has been Rupert's supposed heir apparent. He has been sheltered from the storm.

James, who has the grandiose title of News Corporation chief executive for Europe and Asia, is based at Wapping.

Why, you might reasonably ask, is he not the one tasked with pursuing the company's internal inquiry?

He out-ranks Brooks. He presumably has the confidence of his father. He would not be as compromised as Brooks given that she was editor of the News of the World when hacking took place.

Of course, it's feasible that he was involved in sorting out some post-hacking details. Did he, for example, sign off on payments to royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire after they were released from their jail terms in 2007?

He certainly signed off on the cheques in 2009 to prevent the truth emerging, though Nick Davies told the story anyway.

Even so, it is remarkable that, rather than involve James, Murdoch has called instead on two other News Corp directors - Joel Klein and Viet Dinh - to act as his eyes and ears at Wapping.

There must be a suspicion that James is being protected in order to preserve the Murdoch legacy at News Corp. Given the strict US corporate governance rules, his chance of stepping into Rupert's shoes might be jeopardised should he be dragged into the hacking mire.

So Brooks is, in a sense, James's human shield. Perhaps that makes her safe - for the moment.

So what is James doing while keeping his head down? Well, he's probably nursing his dream of News Corp acquiring total ownership of BSkyB.

He has said nothing in public about the hacking scandal as the pressure on Brooks to resign escalates.

Can she survive the political calls that she should go, the growing advertising boycott and the depth of public anger?

Rupert Murdoch is old and stubborn. He also regards Brooks as family, so he is doing all he can to hold on to her. And, for the reasons above, she her uses to protect James.

But what does James think of her? Does he share his father's faith in Brooks? Is he happy about what has happened? I wonder.

Source (of Gaunt quote): Press Gazette