Jeremy Hunt to give statement in Commons over phone hacking
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is to give a statement in the House of Commons this afternoon about phone hacking and the media, parliamentary authorities have said.
As culture secretary, Hunt (pictured) is also the person tasked with deciding if News Corp will be allowed to take over the remaining 61% of BSkyB.
It has been suggested that Labour leader Ed Miliband will respond to Hunt’s statement, instead of shadow culture minister Ivan Lewis.
Labour sources have said that this will happen because they believe that David Cameron should be making the speech in the Commons, not Hunt.
One source told the Press Association: “Jeremy Hunt is not responsible for appointing judge-led inquiries. Jeremy Hunt is not responsible for the employment of Andy Coulson.
“The Prime Minister gave a press conference on Friday. He should be prepared to come to the House of Commons.”
Miliband is against the BSkyB takeover, and said at the weekend that he wanted a Commons vote on whether the News Corp bid should go ahead after the News of the World scandal of last week.
Liberal Democrat party president Tim Farron told BBC Radio 4 Today that Lib Dem MPs could back this motion. He said: “It is no secret that Lib Dems as a body have always opposed the lack of plurality in our media, and in particular have felt that Rupert Murdoch's influence on British politics through the media has been nefarious. We have thought that for decades.”
Nick Clegg has also urged Murdoch to reconsider his bid for BSkyB.