Cameron resists bid to fire minister
PRIME Minister David Cameron was last night resisting demands to fire one of his ministers following evidence from James Murdoch about leaks from the Government during News Corp's controversial bid to take over British satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
Opposition leader Ed Miliband said the evidence showed that Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who was the final arbiter of whether the takeover should be allowed, had given "advice, guidance and privileged access to the News Corporation" and acted "as a back channel for the Murdochs".
In more than six hours of intense cross-examination before the Leveson inquiry into the media, Mr Murdoch strongly defended his company's right to approach politicians to push its agenda.
He said he saw nothing wrong with frequent behind-the-scenes information his company had allegedly received from Mr Hunt's office.
Mr Hunt was acting in a quasi-judicial role as the minister who would decide whether the bid for BSkyB was appropriate in terms of media plurality.
Read more at Brisbane Times
