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British ministers backed Murdoch takeover: inquiry
Source: Reuters
British ministers backed Murdoch takeover: inquiry
By Kate Holton and Philip Baillie
LONDON | Thu May 31, 2012 2:31pm EDT
(Reuters) - British cabinet ministers worked behind the scenes to support James Murdoch's bid to take over a pay-TV company, a public inquiry heard on Thursday, adding weight to opposition criticism of the government's ties to powerful media barons.
The Leveson inquiry into relations between politicians and the press has shone a spotlight on the government's handling of News Corp's bid for BSkyB and whether Rupert Murdoch's media empire was able to promote its interests by influencing ministers.
Charges of perjury laid against Andy Coulson, Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief from 2007 to 2011 and editor of the Murdoch-owned News of the World before that, have given added ammunition to critics of Cameron's judgment and ministers' links to media owners.
Text messages and emails put before the inquiry on Thursday showed how Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and finance minister George Osborne, close allies of Cameron, tried to reassure James Murdoch that they backed News Corp's $12 billion bid for the majority stake in BSkyB it did not already own.
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By Kate Holton and Philip Baillie
LONDON | Thu May 31, 2012 2:31pm EDT
(Reuters) - British cabinet ministers worked behind the scenes to support James Murdoch's bid to take over a pay-TV company, a public inquiry heard on Thursday, adding weight to opposition criticism of the government's ties to powerful media barons.
The Leveson inquiry into relations between politicians and the press has shone a spotlight on the government's handling of News Corp's bid for BSkyB and whether Rupert Murdoch's media empire was able to promote its interests by influencing ministers.
Charges of perjury laid against Andy Coulson, Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief from 2007 to 2011 and editor of the Murdoch-owned News of the World before that, have given added ammunition to critics of Cameron's judgment and ministers' links to media owners.
Text messages and emails put before the inquiry on Thursday showed how Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and finance minister George Osborne, close allies of Cameron, tried to reassure James Murdoch that they backed News Corp's $12 billion bid for the majority stake in BSkyB it did not already own.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/31/us-britain-hacking-hunt-idUSBRE84U0XN20120531
