Hunt backed BSkyB deal before he judged the bid
DAVID Cameron faced fresh questions over his judgment last night after it emerged he knew Jeremy Hunt was an enthusiastic backer of News Corp’s £8bn bid for BSkyB when he asked the culture secretary to decide on the deal.
The Prime Minister gave Hunt a quasi-judicial role in December 2010 after Vince Cable, the business secretary, was taped saying he had “declared war” on the Murdochs.
Hunt said Britain’s media “would suffer for years” if the deal was blocked, according to a memo read out at the Leveson inquiry yesterday.
Last night Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said Cameron “knew only too well” that Hunt was “actively” supporting the bid.
“The Prime Minister should never have given him the job,” she added.
Details of the memo, dated 19 November 2010, emerged on another dramatic day at the inquiry. In it Hunt said James Murdoch was “furious” about the behaviour of Cable.
“We must be very careful that any attempt to block it is done on genuine plurality grounds and not as a result of lobbying by competitors,” the memo said.
“I think it would be totally wrong to cave in to the (BBC chief) Mark Thompson, Channel 4, Guardian line that this represents a substantial change of control…. We all know Sky is controlled by News Corp anyway.”
Yesterday a Number 10 spokesman said Hunt’s note was consistent with public comments he made at the time.
“It also makes clear that ‘it would be totally wrong for the Government to get involved in a competition issue which has to be decided at arm’s length’. The PM has made clear throughout that he recused himself from decisions relating to BSkyB and did not seek to influence the process.”
The revelations came as Hunt’s former aide Adam Smith, who resigned after exchanging hundreds of texts, calls and emails with News Corp lobbyist Fred Michel, said his role involved “managing relationships”.
Smith said, however, he had no contacts with those who were against Murdoch’s bid and told the inquiry he did not believe this was a problem.
When asked about the issue yesterday Cameron’s spokesman repeatedly dodged questions on whether Hunt could have misled parliament during a statement he gave about his contacts with News Corp.