Murdoch appeared stunned but unharmed.
In a report from CNN;
Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, who was seated behind him, leapt to her feet and smashed the attacker's hand with her own.
A police officer arrested the protester, identified by the British Press Association as a man known as "Jonnie Marbles" on the social networking service Twitter. CNN wasn't able to independently verify the man's identity.
The incident forced an abrupt recess in the Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing, called to gather Murdoch's testimony on the phone-hacking scandal involving journalists who worked for the British subsidiary of News Corp., which Murdoch controls.