Ministerial Code (Culture Secretary)

Debate between Lord Foster of Bath and Chris Bryant

Wednesday 13th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Foster]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention, and I am sure that the Opposition will have an opportunity to respond to it. We are clear, however, that reforms are necessary.

[Chris Bryant]

rose—

[Mr Foster]

I shall of course give way to the hon. Gentleman, who has featured so prominently in this issue.

[Chris Bryant]

The right hon. Gentleman earlier praised the process that the Secretary of State adopted in taking forward the bid. Has he read the memo that the Culture Secretary sent to the Prime Minister before he was in charge of the bid which makes it absolutely clear that what he intended and hoped to achieve was, surprisingly, exactly the same as what he actually achieved—in other words, the best possible outcome, in law, for Sky?

[Mr Foster]

The hon. Gentleman has followed this issue assiduously, but on this occasion he has got his facts wrong. We must remember that there had been no discussion about mitigations in lieu or about reducing the BSkyB bid involvement of News Corporation—[Interruption.]