Government delays BSkyB competition decision

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the merger may operate against the public interest in media plurality, but added that he would first consider undertakings from News Corp before confirming the reference to the Competition Commission.

A report by media watchdog Ofcom recommended that the proposed deal should be investigated further by the Commission. It also called on the government to review the law on media ownership generally.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp – which also owns a clutch of newspapers including The Sun and The Times – made an approach in June to buy the 61 per cent of BSkyB it does not already own, but Business Secretary Vince Cable stepped in to refer the deal to Ofcom on public interest grounds.

A group of major media companies, including Guardian Media Group, Trinity Mirror and Channel 4, wrote to the Government in October stating that, if the deal progressed, it “could have serious and far-reaching consequences for media plurality”.

A spokesman for the media alliance told Channel 4 News: “We are looking at the documents closely and talking to our lawyers.”

News Corp has told Mr Hunt it wishes him to consider special “undertakings in lieu”, which it hopes will allay his fears and prevent him from referring the matter to the Commission.

Last week Channel 4 News reported that News Corp has told the Government it might be prepared to make concessions to avoid a lengthy consultation, with separating Sky News from BSkyB one option said to be under review.

“News Corporation says that it wishes me to consider undertakings in lieu which it contends could sufficiently alleviate the concerns I have such that I should accept the undertakings instead of making a reference,” Mr Hunt said today.

The Culture Secretary has requested that the Office of Fair Trading is involved in the process.

If the undertakings are accepted, a 15- day consultation period will commence when parties will be able to express their views.

Business Secretary Vince Cable, who was stripped of media regulatory powers after telling undercover reporters he was “at war” with Mr Murdoch, said he was confident Mr Hunt would follow due process.

But the Labour Party Shadow Culture Secretary Ivan Lewis said: “Jeremy Hunt has real questions to answer about whether he is being even-handed. All of this risks undermining public confidence in what should be a quasi-judicial process.

“Jeremy Hunt has received a clear recommendation from Ofcom and by his own admission has been unable to agree remedies with News Corp which would address public interest concerns. Therefore the right thing to do is to refer the bid to the Competition Commission for a thorough and transparent investigation. Instead Mr Hunt has chosen an unprecedented course of action which raises further doubts about the integrity of the process.

“It is also unclear what role David Cameron has played. We are still waiting for answers to our questions about the Prime Minister’s recent dinner with James Murdoch.”

Impartiality questions over BSkyB deal

The news comes after questions were raised over impartiality after it emerged Prime Minister David Cameron had a private dinner with News Corp executives.

Labour MP Tom Watson, demanded to know whether the Prime Minister would be holding any meetings with Rupert Murdoch, the head of News Corporation, on his visit to the UK over the next few days.

Mr Watson told Channel 4 News that “deep questions” over impartiality had been raised by the news revealed in the Independent newspaper, that Mr Cameron and his wife dined privately with Mr Murdoch’s son and chairman of News Corp in Europe and Asia, James Murdoch, as well as News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks and her husband, over Christmas.

A spokesman for Number 10 declined to comment on what meetings Mr Cameron would be having in the following days, and also declined to comment on his attendance at the dinner – adding that any such meeting would have “no bearing” on the Government’s handling of the News Corp bid for full control of BSkyB.