Nice to see Labour standing up for the little guy here.

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Vince Cable told undercover reporters he had "declared war on Rupert Murdoch" and planned to block his efforts to take full control of BSkyB, according to the BBC's Robert Peston. The business secretary's admission came in unpublished parts of a Daily Telegraph probe seen by the BBC. BSkyB said it was "shocked and dismayed" by the comments. Labour called for Mr Cable to be stripped of responsibility for the decision or even his seat in Cabinet. According to the transcript seen by the BBC's business editor, Mr Cable said: "I am picking my fights, some of which you may have seen, some of which you may haven't seen. "And I don't know if you have been following what has been happening with the Murdoch press, where I have declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we are going to win." 'Legal question' News Corporation, which is run by Rupert Murdoch, already owns 39% of BSkyB but wants to buy up the remaining 61% for £7.8bn. The group also owns News International - whose publications The Sun, News of the World, The Times and The Sunday Times account for a third of the UK's national newspaper circulation. Mr Cable ordered Ofcom to investigate the proposal over concerns about press freedom and consumer choice - but he will have the final say and has stressed the need to be politically impartial. Labour has called on Mr Cable to step aside immediately from any decision to do with BskyB. Shadow Business Secretary John Denham told the BBC it was "difficult" to see how Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg can continue to have confidence in him. A spokesman for News Corporation said: "News Corporation are shocked and dismayed by reports of Mr Cable's comments. They raise serious questions about fairness and due process." In the transcript, Mr Cable tells the undercover reporter: "Well I did not politicise it, because it is a legal question... but he (Mr Murdoch) is trying to take over BSkyB - you probably know that." The reporter says: "I know vaguely". Cable: "With considerably enhanced..." Reporter: "I always thought that he had BSkyB with Sky anyway?" Cable: "No, he has minority shares and he wants a majority - and a majority control would give them a massive stake. "I have blocked it using the powers that I have got and they are legal powers that I have got. I can't politicise it but from the people that know what is happening this is a big, big thing. "His whole empire is now under attack... So there are things like that we do in government, that we can't do... all we can do in opposition is protest." EU clearance Robert Peston said the transcript had been passed to him by a whistleblower upset that The Daily Telegraph had not published it in full. He said the Telegraph chose not to publish the "most explosive" part of its investigation, in which Mr Cable revealed his concerns about the coalition to reporters posing as constituents. But a spokesman for the newspaper said: "We have made clear both in the paper today and in interviews that we will be publishing further comments in the forthcoming days." Senior Cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister David Cameron, Chancellor George Osborne and Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg are in Downing Street deciding what action to take. It comes as News Corporation's bid for full control of BSkyB was cleared by the European Commission. Joaquin Almunia, EC vice-president and commissioner for competition, said: "I am confident this merger will not weaken competition in the UK. The effects on media plurality are a matter for the UK authorities." Ofcom must decide by 31 December whether to refer the bid to the Competition Commission - but the final decision on blocking it will rest with Mr Cable, who as business secretary has a quasi-judicial role in the process. Writing in his blog, Mr Peston said: "The Telegraph has been a leading opponent of News Corporation's attempt to acquire the whole of BSkyB. In October, the Telegraph's chief executive, Murdoch MacLennan, signed a letter - along with senior executives of the BBC, Channel 4, the Daily Mail and Trinity Mirror - asking Mr Cable to consider blocking the takeover. "The disclosure of Mr Cable's private views on Mr Murdoch and the proposed takeover of BSkyB makes it extremely difficult for him to fulfil his role as the ultimate arbiter of whether the deal should proceed under the 2002 Enterprise Act. "News Corporation is bound to challenge his impartiality." Media commentator Steve Hewlett said Mr Cable's words could have fatally undermined his position in government. "You can not really be a minister and behave like that," he told the BBC News channel. But Lib Dem peer Lord Razzell said Mr Cable was simply using a "rather hyperbolic" and "boastful" way of describing the referral of the takeover to Ofcom and it did not mean he should be sacked.

BBC News - Vince Cable criticises Murdoch takeover in secret tapes

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Teach the uppity little bugger what happens to people who critise Murdoch in this country...

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Vince Cable keeps job but will not decide on News Corp's BSkyB bidJeremy Hunt will take over Cable's responsibilities for media and telecoms as Lib Dem minister apologises for comments made to undercover reporters Share36 Comments (78) Hélène Mulholland, Josh Halliday and James Robinson guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 21 December 2010 18.38 GMT Article history Vince Cable, the second most senior Lib Dem figure in the coalition government, hung on to his cabinet seat. Photograph: Andrew Winning/Vince Cable Vince Cable will remain as business secretary but has been stripped of his responsibilities for media and telecoms after being slapped down by David Cameron for telling undercover reporters he had "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch. Cable, the second most senior Lib Dem figure in the coalition government, hung on to his cabinet seat despite the comments which referred to his intervention on public interest grounds in News Corporation's bid for full control of BSkyB. Cable was called to Downing Street to be told that he will play no further part in the BSkyB decision. He has also lost all responsibility for competition and policy issues relating to media, broadcasting, digital and telecoms which will be transferred immediately to Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). A Downing Street statement made clear Cameron's anger over the secretly recorded comments by the Daily Telegraph. "The prime minister is clear that Mr Cable's comments were totally unacceptable and inappropriate." In a statement later Cable said: "I fully accept the decision of the prime minister and deputy prime minister. I deeply regret the comments I made and apologise for the embarrassment that I have caused the government." Cable's Labour shadow John Denham, who had called on him to step aside from the BSkyB decision and questioned how he could remain in the cabinet, said: "David Cameron has decided to hang on to a lame duck business secretary who has no credibility. Vince Cable has been removed from one of the most important decisions in the department. He has revealed how the government is paralysed by infighting. The only reason for holding on to him is to keep the sagging tent of this Tory-led government upright but at the expense of British business." The prime minister took action after Cable told two undercover reporters from the Daily Telegraph posing as mothers concerned about benefit changes: "I am picking my fights, some of which you may have seen, some of which you may haven't seen [sic]. "And I don't know if you have been following what has been happening with the Murdoch press, where I have declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we are going to win." The outburst was held back from the Telegraph's front-page story today, which focused on his claims that he could "bring the government down" by walking out of the coalition if "pushed too far" in negotiations with Tory ministers. He confided that being in the coalition was "like fighting a war" and that he could use the "nuclear option" of quitting. Cameron appeared relaxed about Cable's views on the coalition government, saying only that Cable had "every reason to be embarrassed" by his comments on working in coalition with the Conservatives. But it turned out to be his unpublished comments, which were revealed by the BBC's Robert Peston just minutes after Cameron and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg held an "end of term" press conference, which proved to be the senior Lib Dem minister's undoing after appearing to prejudge the outcome of Ofcom's investigation into whether the News Corp bid should be investigated on media plurality grounds, which was ordered by Cable. Ofcom is due to report by the end of the year. Peston, a former city editor of the Sunday Telegraph, who said he was passed the transcript by a whistleblower "upset that the Telegraph chose to omit these remarks" revealed that Cable told the two reporters: "I have blocked it using the powers that I have got and they are legal powers that I have got. I can't politicise it but from the people that know what is happening this is a big, big thing. His whole empire is now under attack ... So there are things like that we do in government, that we can't do ... all we can do in opposition is protest." News Corp was quick to condemn Cable's remarks. A spokeswoman said: "News Corp is shocked and dismayed by reports of Mr Cable's comments. They raise serious questions about fairness and due process." The company is believed to have been encouraged earlier today by the European Commission's decision to clear the bid on competition grounds. Peston told the BBC News channel: "It's extremely clear that News Corp will say categorically that he [Cable] cannot now make the decision on this takeover. If he can't, either they have to find a mechanism for someone else to make the decision or he has to resign. Those are the only options for Mr Cable. He has to do quite a lot of explaining quite quickly." Cable, the highest-ranking Lib Dem member of the coalition after Clegg, the deputy prime minister, said last night he was "embarrassed" by his remarks about the coalition government, but had no intention of resigning over the comments. Asked at the press conference whether he was personally embarrassed at Cable's behaviour, Clegg said: "He himself has said he was embarrassed by the comments he was reported as saying and I can totally understand why he was. End of story." Telegraph Media Group is part of an alliance of rival media organisations, with the publishers of the Guardian, Daily Mail and Daily Mirror, opposed to News Corp acquiring the 61% of Sky it does not already own.

Vince Cable keeps job but will not decide on News Corp's BSkyB bid | Media | guardian.co.uk

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Though, to be fair, it is true that Murdoch's empire is yesteryear strategy with its control of traditional TV, newspapers etc.

According to some, admitedly, tech geeks I've been reading, those mediums are losing eyesballs so fast they will quickly decay and die... Just like the CD music scene has been meaningfully transformed by the net...

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Conservative links to Murdoch under scrutiny as private meeting revealed | Politics | The Guardian

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Rupert Murdoch's close links to the Conservative party were thrown into the spotlight today after it emerged that the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, held a private meeting with the tycoon's son, James, at which no civil servants were present. The meeting took place on 28 June, shortly after News Corp said it had made an offer to buy the 61% of BSkyB it does not already own. James Murdoch is chairman of BSkyB and chief executive of News Corp in Europe and Asia. Hunt's relations with the Murdochs are now under fresh scrutiny since he was handed official responsibility for ruling on News Corp's bid to take full control of BSkyB. The business secretary, Vince Cable, was forced to relinquish control of the decision after he was recorded boasting that he was "at war" with Rupert Murdoch. A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "I can confirm that this was an informal first meeting between Jeremy Hunt as secretary of state and James Murdoch, and there was no written agenda or briefing. Officials did not sit in on the meeting." Hunt has previously said publicly that he does not object to the takeover. Referring to Hunt's meeting with James Murdoch, the Labour MP Tom Watson said: "It seems unprecedented that such a high level and legally significant meeting would not have civil servants present taking notes. I will be asking the chairman of the culture, media and sport select committee to ask Jeremy Hunt to explain himself to us as soon as possible". Civil servants normally record details of meetings between ministers and commercial interests to keep colleagues up to speed with discussions that are taking place across government. It has also emerged that civil servants took no minutes of a second meeting between Hunt and BSkyB's chief executive, Jeremy Darroch. According to documents released after a Freedom of Information request from the Guardian, an unnamed civil servant told Hunt before the meeting on 21 July that Darroch was likely to ask about changes to media regulation. "Key things which they [BSkyB] would like from government" included "reform of communications act competition framework (as part of our proposed communications act review)", wrote the official. The government is planning a new communications act later this parliament, which could sweep away strict rules on media ownership that prevent companies creating local monopolies. It is not unusual for cabinet ministers to hold routine meetings with companies that are affected by their policies. The meeting between Darroch and Hunt was held at a sensitive time, however, as News Corp had tabled an £8bn bid for BSkyB on 10 June. Hunt also attended a dinner hosted by News Corp on 20 May, within weeks of coming into office, with his aide Adam Smith. That followed a speech James Murdoch made at University College London arguing for robust legislation to protect copyright. Hunt is due to receive a report by the regulator Ofcom on whether News Corp's proposed takeover of BSkyB threatens "media plurality" by 31 December. It was ordered by Cable in November after he decided to intervene on public interest grounds. Hunt will now consider Ofcom's findings before announcing whether to refer the bid to the Competition Commission for further investigation next month after parliament returns from its Christmas break. Rupert Murdoch was one of the first visitors to Downing Street after David Cameron became prime minister in May this year. On 12 July the communications minister, Ed Vaizey, had lunch with Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, at its Wapping headquarters. An official from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport wrote beforehand: "News International will argue that government has no role in trying to compete with commercial enterprises." Brooks was likely to argue that "the BBC's free news web pages deny commercial media in the UK from making money from online media". News International executives have complained publicly that the BBC's news website undermines their drive to force consumers to pay for access to their own news websites. The official added that Brooks might raise "the British Library's stated intention to provide free public access to the news archive". Sources close to News Corp say it had far more contact with officials and ministers in the Labour government than it does with the current administration. It is understood that News Corp executives found it difficult to secure a meeting with Cable, who rebuffed repeated requests to meet the company. Official records show that other media companies have regular contact with government ministers. Rupert Murdoch has proved adept at using the political power wielded by his British newspapers, which include the Times, Sun and the News of the World, to extract concessions from governments.

Recasting the old anarchist joke - whoever you vote for the Murdochs always get in...

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(My bold.)

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