Hughes, Hames, Foster and Swinson quiz Hunt

• [Jul 11] Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark, Liberal Democrat): WILL the Secretary of State, whose behaviour so far on this matter has been beyond reproach, pass on to the Government and the leader of the Conservative party the request that they join my party in asking Rupert Murdoch to withdraw his bid, and will he confirm that it is entirely appropriate for the regulator, Ofcom, to consider illegality by any of the people employed by any title owned by News Corporation, meaning all its newspapers and not just the News of the World?

44)

Jeremy Hunt (Secretary of State, Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport; South West Surrey, Conservative): My right hon. Friend has asked a question that I cannot answer, because every Member of the House can have a view on whether the take-over should go ahead or be withdrawn except me, as I have a quasi-judicial role and so I am unable to prejudge the decision by making a comment. With regard to illegality and the requirement under the Broadcasting Act 1990 that all people holding broadcasting licences be fit and proper, I wrote to Ofcom this morning to ask whether it stood by its original advice that the deal could go ahead, in view of the matters that came to light last week and had News Corporation not withdrawn its undertakings today. I am pleased to say that, with this referral to the Competition Commission, all those issues will be considered properly and fully.

• Duncan Hames (Chippenham, Liberal Democrat): It is regrettable that undertakings that the Secretary of State had previously secured have been withdrawn today, but will he tell the House why, under the Competition Commission referral, it is possible for the "fit and proper person" test to be applied in the decision?

45)

Jeremy Hunt: I will tell my hon. Friend why that is the case. Typically, when there is a referral to the Competition Commission, it could decide to block the deal entirely or it could negotiate undertakings, circumstances and conditions under which it would consider it acceptable for the merger to go ahead. The Competition Commission is considering media plurality, just as I did. It is not considering broader competition issues, but if as part of that consideration it decided to accept any undertakings, it would want to be sure that they were credible, which is why compliance with the "fit and proper person" requirements of the Broadcasting Act 1990 will be extremely important.

47)

• Don Foster (Bath, Liberal Democrat): The House will have noted in the Labour leader's contribution the complete absence of any reference to the repeated failure by the Labour Government, despite repeated warnings to act in this area. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that, notwithstanding what has been announced today, which is frankly little more than another ruse by the Murdoch empire, there is nothing to prevent Ofcom from now investigating whether the Murdoch empire is fit and proper to own the 40% of BSkyB shares that it owns?

Jeremy Hunt (Secretary of State, Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport; South West Surrey, Conservative): Ofcom is at liberty to investigate the "fit and proper" issue in the Broadcasting Act 1990 at any time. It will have to investigate that issue to see whether it is relevant to the potential acceptance of any undertakings subsequent to a Competition Commission inquiry. Those issues will therefore be looked at thoroughly and carefully.

• Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire, Liberal Democrat): The Secretary of State understands the huge public concern not just about the plurality issues of the BSkyB takeover but about the criminal and unethical behaviour of Murdoch's News International. I welcome the Secretary of State's assurance that the "fit and proper person" test can be taken into account by the Competition Commission, but as he has said, it is Ofcom's responsibility. In a letter on Friday, it seemed to say that it was reluctant to act while police investigations were ongoing, for fear of prejudicing them. Can the Secretary of State confirm that if the "fit and proper person" test cannot be resolved while the police are still investigating, he will make no decision until the criminal investigations are complete?

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Jeremy Hunt (Secretary of State, Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport; South West Surrey, Conservative): I have to inform my hon. Friend that I am not legally allowed to put a pause in the process until any criminal proceedings have come to a conclusion. However, I will take as much time as I need. I am very well aware of public concern on this issue. The Competition Commission will report in six months' time, and there will then be a subsequent period of intensive discussions. During that period I am very hopeful that we will properly resolve the "fit and proper person" issue, because I am aware of how important it is to Members of all parties.

• Full Debate in Parliament