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MPs vote against Labour's Jeremy Hunt inquiry call Jeremy Hunt denies Labour's claim he lied to Parliament
(40 minutes later)
  
MPs have rejected a Labour call for an inquiry into whether Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt broke ministerial rules in dealing with News Corp's proposed takeover of the broadcaster BSkyB. Jeremy Hunt has denied Labour claims that he lied to Parliament over his handling News Corp's proposed takeover of BSkyB, amid furious scenes in the House of Commons.
The motion was defeated by 290 to 252, with Lib Dem MPs ordered to abstain. MPs also rejected a call for an inquiry into whether the culture secretary broke ministerial rules.
There were angry scenes in the Commons as Labour's Chris Bryant accused Mr Hunt of lying to Parliament over his relationship with News Corp. Labour's Chris Bryant said Mr Hunt had deliberately misled MPs over his contacts with News Corp.
Mr Hunt denied the accusation and said all the evidence "vindicated" him. But Mr Hunt rejected the claim, saying the evidence had "vindicated" him.
Labour's motion - beaten by 290 votes to 252 - called for the culture secretary to be referred to Sir Alex Allan, the prime minister's adviser on the ministerial code, to find out whether he had broke the rules. Labour's motion, calling for the culture secretary to be referred to an inquiry by Sir Alex Allan, the prime minister's adviser on the ministerial code, was defeated by 290 to 252 votes.
This was despite Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg ordering his Liberal Democrat MPs to abstain.
'Calculated''Calculated'
Mr Hunt said in March 2011 that all correspondence relating to the BSkyB bid had been made public, but Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said information published a year later by the Leveson Inquiry into media standards had proved this to be wrong. David Cameron has refused to refer Mr Hunt to his adviser, saying there is no evidence that he acted improperly in his handling of the BSkyB bid.
She said there were two issues "at stake" - whether Mr Hunt had misled Parliament and whether he should have taken responsibility for his special adviser, Adam Smith, who resigned over his conduct. In March 2011, Mr Hunt said all correspondence relating to the BSkyB bid had been made public.
On both, there was evidence he had broken the rules, she said. But, during the debate, Labour claimed this had been proven wrong by the subsequent release of emails and text messages by the Leveson Inquiry into media standards.
Labour says dozens of emails and texts released by the Leveson Inquiry into media standards prove beyond doubt that Mr Hunt had failed to act in the "quasi-judicial" way demanded of him when he was given responsibility for the takeover bid for BSkyB, and that should resign. Mr Bryant, the shadow immigration minister, accused Mr Hunt of lying to Parliament by failing to disclose a memo which he had sent to the prime minister days before being given responsibility for the BSkyB bid, in which he argued the case for News Corp to be allowed to buy up the 61% of the satellite broadcaster which it did not already own.
Mr Bryant, the shadow immigration minister, listed examples when he said Mr Hunt could have corrected the official record after his March 2011 statement but had chosen not to, proving he had "deliberately" misled MPs. Mr Bryant listed examples when he said Mr Hunt could have corrected the official record but had chosen not to, arguing this meant he had "deliberately" misled MPs.
He had "calculated to deceive for political advantage", he added, suggesting Mr Hunt could be investigated by the Financial Services Authority for giving BSkyB advance notice of a Commons statement. He said: "How much would it have cost you to remember that you sent a memo to the prime minister on the matter, or, for that matter, to have checked your own mobile phone for the text messages that you sent to James Murdoch? You have lied to Parliament."
But Mr Hunt said it was "standard practice" to let companies know in advance if there was a statement being made in Parliament about them - and he firmly rejected any suggestion he had deliberately misled MPs. Labour argues that Mr Hunt was not objective in his handling of the takeover, but an active supporter of the News Corp bid for BSkyB and should therefore resign.
He added: "If, as he said, I had a plan, a grand scheme, that was going to deliver BSkyB to News Corp, why would I say that I am going to ask independent regulators, whose advice I have absolutely no control over... for their opinion and I was going to publish that at the same I time I was going to publish my decision? But Mr Hunt told MPs he had corrected the record last September over his March 2011 statement, saying: "I have made huge efforts to be transparent and you know that perfectly well."
He said: "If, as he [Mr Bryant] said, I had a plan, a grand scheme, that was going to deliver BSkyB to News Corp, why would I say that I am going to ask independent regulators, whose advice I have absolutely no control over... for their opinion and I was going to publish that at the same I time I was going to publish my decision?
"The reason I did that is that I was setting aside the views I had prior to the bid taking place and that has been vindicated by every page of his evidence.""The reason I did that is that I was setting aside the views I had prior to the bid taking place and that has been vindicated by every page of his evidence."
He called Mr Bryant's statement that he had lied a "disgraceful allegation".
Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg ordered his MPs to abstain in the vote on Mr Hunt.Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg ordered his MPs to abstain in the vote on Mr Hunt.