Post date: Apr 27, 2012 1:5:44 PM
LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (APRIL 27, 2012) (UK POOL) - UK Media and Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Friday (April 27) he will hand over his private emails and phone texts to the Leveson Inquiry, a judicial inquiry into press ethics, following accusations of collusion with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
UK Culture and Media Secretary Jeremy Hunt says he will hand over his private emails and texts to the Leveson Inquiry following accusations of collusion with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
The minister has been accused of helping News Corp in its attempt to secure a $12 billion takeover of satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
"I will be handing over all my private text and emails and texts to my special advisor to the Leveson Inquiry and I am confident they will vindicate the position that I handled the BSkyB merger process with total integrity," Hunt told reporters waiting outside his West London residence.
Explosive emails suggesting Hunt had sought to help Murdoch in his business dealings - revealed during questioning of Murdoch's son James on Tuesday (April 24) - go to the heart of the accusations that Murdoch wields too much influence, creating a company culture that rode roughshod over rules.
The emails appear to show that Hunt briefed News Corp on the thinking of regulators and leaked confidential information, while at the same time acting for the government in deciding whether to approve the takeover.
U.S.-based News Corp, owner of Fox Television and the Wall Street Journal, eventually pulled its bid to buy the 61 percent of BSkyB that it did not already own after intense political and public pressure because of the wrongdoing at its newspapers.