Row after David Cameron meets James Murdoch after Vince Cable BSkyB debacle
Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, will decide alone whether to refer News Corp's bid for BSkyB to the Competition Commission a Government spokesman said today.
The statement followed revelations in The Independent that James Murdoch, the chairman of News Corp Europe and Asia met prime minister David Cameron at the home of News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks over Christmas.
The Guardian originally reported that Cameron had attended dinner at Brook's house, but it has only emerged today that James Murdoch – the son of Rupert Murdoch – attended as well.
According to The Independent the dinner took place just days after Vince Cable was stripped of his responsibility in relation to the bid for claiming he had declared 'war' on the Murdoch empire.
Asked how the meeting with James Murdoch might now affect Jeremy Hunt's decision a Downing Street official told The Guardian: “It would have no bearing on that decision, which is a decision taken by Jeremy Hunt and Jeremy Hunt alone.”