Rupert Murdoch never asked for anything, he tells inquiry
News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch and wife Wendi Deng leave their London home to give evidence at the Leveson inquiry on April 25, 2012.
As Rupert Murdoch denied currying favor with politicians at a media ethics inquiry in London today, a senior government official resigned over dealings with the media baron’s News Corp, BBC reported.
At the Leveson inquiry, Murdoch said he “never asked a prime minister for anything,” and rejected claims he received preferential treatment for his media empire.
When asked about meeting former PM Margaret Thatcher before purchasing The Times newspaper in 1981, Murdoch said she deserved to know the potential upheaval it was going to cause among powerful labor unions.
“This was the movement of a great institution, under threat of closure, and I thought it was perfectly right she should know what was at stake,” he said, according to BBC.
His testimony is at the heart of the Leveson inquiry, called after a widespread phone hacking scandal struck English media.
Reporters at Murdoch’s News of the World hacked voicemail of royalty, celebrities, athletes and other popular figures in England.
Resulting lawsuits and police investigations forced Murdoch to shut down the 168-year-old tabloid last year.
The inquiry is investigating media privilege and its relationship with politics.
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Murdoch’s testimony, which is to continue Thursday, comes after his son revealed a government official spoke with News Corp about a takeover of satellite provider BSkyB, Reuters reported.
Adam Smith, an adviser to Culture Secretary James Hunt, resigned today.
Prime Minister David Cameron rebuffed opposition calls for Hunt’s head, too.
“I think on all sides of the House there’s a bit of a need for a hand on heart,” he said in Parliament, according to Reuters. “We all did too much cozying up to Rupert Murdoch.”
Murdoch spent much of the inquiry today parrying lawyer Robert Jay’s pointed questions about his influence over prime ministers from Thatcher to Cameron, The Associated Press said.
The 81-year-old Murdoch remained composed for much of his four hours on the stand, the AP said.
He said his influence over England’s leaders is “complete myth. One I want to put to bed once and for all.”
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