BSkyB bid: Government refuses to delay in wake of phone hacking

• Jeremy Hunt satisfied about safeguards, Lords told • Volume of submissions means quick decision unlikely The government has refused to suspend consideration of News Corporation’s takeover bid for BSkyB amid the phone-hacking scandal, but the volume of submissions it has received relating to the deal means it is unlikely any final decision will be made before the end of the summer. In a question in the House of Lords, the shadow leader of the house, Lady Royall, called for a delay “in the light of the loss of public and commercial confidence in News International”, News of the World’s parent company. But the Conservative peer, Lady Rawlings, said the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, was satisfied there were “sufficient safeguards” in place to make such a delay unnecessary. The BBC reported that more than 100,000 submissions relating to the BSkyB deal had been received by Hunt in less than a week, most opposed to the takeover, and the volume meant no decision would be taken until September. Rawlings alluded to a possible delay when she said no date had been set for the decision. “The secretary of state will not be rushed, he will be fair,” she said, adding that the decision would be made purely on the issue of media plurality. Royall’s question in the Lords followed a demand on Thursday morning by the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, that the decision be suspended. He accused David Cameron of not showing leadership and being “two steps behind public opinion”. The scrutiny of the BSkyB deal came as the backlash against the News of the World intensified with the Royal British Legion dropping the newspaper as its campaigning partner over allegations that the phones of families of members of the armed forces killed in action had been hacked. Advertisers are continuing to desert the paper. The chair of the Press Complaints Commission, Lady Buscombe, described the decision to appoint the former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks to run an internal inquiry as “extraordinary”. The legion has worked with the paper to call for the military covenant, which promises fair treatment for those who fight for their country, to be enshrined in law. It said it had now suspended all relations with the News of the World and was reviewing its advertising budget with News International, which also publishes the Sun and the Times. The charity said it was “shocked to the core” by the allegations. Families of members of the armed forces killed in Afghanistan and Iraq expressed disgust that they were possibly targeted by Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator who worked for the News of the World. Jim Gill, stepfather of Second Lieutenant Richard Shearer of the 1st Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment, who was killed in Iraq in July 2005 by a roadside bomb, said his family suspected their phone had been hacked but had not yet been contacted by police. He told BBC Breakfast he was unsurprised by the revelations but they were “very distressing”. The defence secretary, Liam Fox, said the latest allegations, if true, would represent an “outrageous breach of trust”, while Miliband described them as “grotesque”. Sainsbury’s and npower joined a host of other advertisers who have deserted the News of the World, at least temporarily, amid the scandal. Citing the “rising concerns of our customers”, Sainsbury’s said it was suspending advertising until the outcome of the investigation into phone hacking. Npower said it was suspending advertising and would review its future strategy. The two companies join Britain’s biggest advertiser, Proctor &Gamble, O2, Butlins, Virgin Holidays, Halifax bank, the Co-operative Group, Vauxhall and Mitsubishi in suspending deals with the newspaper. Buscombe said executives at News International needed to examine their consciences. “I think it’s extraordinary that Rupert Murdoch has asked Rebekah Brooks to lead their own internal inquiry into this,” she said. “In any other business that would not be allowed to happen. “I don’t know now whether she lied to me. All I’m saying is there are allegations out there and we have to be really careful about how we respond. And I think it’s important that all the executives at News International actually look to their own conscience. They need to give us the facts. We need to find out the facts.” Phone hacking News of the World Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers News International BSkyB Television industry News Corporation Media business Military House of Lords Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 7, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.