Phone Hacking and the Media

Duncan Hames Excerpts

Monday 11th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I believe that the Prime Minister is a man of honour and integrity, and when he says that he had no knowledge of that particular episode, I believe him.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

It is regrettable that undertakings that the Secretary of State had previously secured have been withdrawn today, but will he tell the House why, under the Competition Commission referral, it is possible for the “fit and proper person” test to be applied in the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?

[Mr 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.