Jeremy Hunt, News International and the BSkyB bid timeline
The culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is appearing at the Leveson Inquiry into media standards today and will be expected to face a series of difficult questions concerning his handling of News Corporation’s bid for full control of the broadcaster BSkyB and his closeness to the media giant.
Hunt has faced calls for his resignation after a series of emails submitted to the inquiry by Rupert Murdoch last month which showed regular contact between his office and a News Corp lobbyist during the bid process.
21 December 2010 – Business secretary Vince Cable is removed from his role in assessing News Corporation’s bid for control of BSkyB after being recorded by the Daily Telegraph saying he had “declared war” on Rupert Murdoch.
21 December 29010 –Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, is installed as his replacement to lead the decision on whether to allow the takeover to go through.
22 December 2010 – Labour’s shadow business secretary John Denham complains that the culture secretary is not a “fit and proper person” to assess the bid based on previous remarks made by Hunt in the Financial Times. Sir Gus O’Donnell, then cabinet secretary, rejects the complaint insisting that Hunt will be able to rule fairly on the bid.
11 July 2011 – News Corp’s £8bn bid for full control of BSkyB is referred to the Competition Commission.
13 July 2011 –Rupert Murdoch withdraws News Corp’s bid for control of BSkyB in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at The News of The World and the revelation that journalists at the newspaper had been involved in the interception of the voicemails of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
24 April 2012 – A cache of emails submitted to the Leveson Inquiry by Rupert Murdoch reveal regular contact between Hunt’s office and a News Corp lobbyist, Frédéric Michel. Hunt is accused of being a “cheerleader” for News Corp in its efforts to takeover BSkyB and faces call from Labour to resign.
24 April 2012 – Ed Milliband escalates calls for Hunt’s resignation by suggesting his alleged closeness to News Corp during the bid process constitutes a breach of the ministerial code. Hunt is scheduled to appear at the Leveson Inquiry at the end of May but Lord Justice Leveson insists he has no mandate to rule on whether the culture secretary’s actions breached the code.
25 April 2012 – Hunt’s special advisor Adam Smith quits following allegations that his department was too close to News Corp during the bid process. Smith says he acted without the authority of Hunt in exchanging hundreds of texts and emails regarding the bid with Michel.
25 May 2012 – The Leveson Inquiry publishes a memo drafted by Hunt to David Cameron in November 2010, prior to the culture secretary being awarded responsibility for the BSkyB bid, in which he expresses support for News Corp. Hunt argues that a failure to back the takeover could see the government in the “wrong place politically”.
25 May 2012 – David Cameron responds to the publication of the memo by strongly defending Hunt’s handling of the BSkyB bid, arguing that the culture secretary had already made public comments in support of News Corp's takeover that were "more powerful" than the arguments expressed in the letter revealed by Leveson.
31 May 2012 – Hunt appears at the Leveson Inquiry into media standards to face questions surrounding his handling of the BSkyB bid and his office’s closeness to News Corp.