Tag Archives: jeremy hunt

Jeremy Hunt to NewsCorp lobbyist: “Merci, large drink tonight”

1:01pm Thu May 24th

With text messages now released, the following communication from Jeremy Hunt to a NewsCorp lobbyist threatens to skewer the culture secretary:

Fred Michel: “You were great at commons today”.

Hunt: “Merci, large drink tonight”

We can also see that Fred Michel refers to NewsCorp and the Jeremy Hunt office collectively as “we”. Adam Smith agrees that they are “in a good place”.

FM: “Today went well Look at the coalition campaign’s statement: so weak!”

FM: “I think we re in a good place tonight no?”

Adam Smith: “I agree. Coverage looks ok. Let’s look again in the morning though!”

Adam Smith advises NewsCorp not to mention certain documents to the Office of Fair Trading:

FM: “Are you able to send me the Enders and Slaughter docs? Wd help me prepare for the public debate. Enjoy golf”

AS: “I haven’t actually got them at the moment. Officials just told me about them. Don’t mention them to anyone like oft etc. if we need them rll show you.”

How much longer can Hunt cling on?

More than 1,000 texts between NewsCorp and Jeremy Hunt office

12:32pm Thu May 24th

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With former News Corporation lobbyist Fred Michel on the stand at Leveson Inquiry, evidence reveals more than 1,000 text messages between Michel, Jeremy Hunt and his office. The exchanges comprise around 800 texts from Michel and 257 from Smith.

With Robert Jay QC calmly stalking his evasive witness, here is what we have learned:

Hunt told Michel to liaise through “official channels” — after which Adam Smith handled communication
Michel admits that Jeremy Hunt supported the bid for BSkyB
NewsCorp briefed Hunt’s office with “helpful arguments”
Smith was using a personal email account for government business

Smith is in the room watching proceedings in person.

Will he blab? Jeremy Hunt adviser at Leveson Inquiry next Thursday

11:30am Fri May 18th

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News this morning that Adam Smith, the special advisor at the centre of Huntgate (watch your spoonerisms there), will be appearing at the Leveson Inquiry next Thursday afternoon. He will take the stand immediately after News Corporation Europe’s former public affairs boss Frederic Michel, whose communications with Jeremy Hunt’s office hold the key to the cabinet minister’s future.

The week promises to provide legion column inches, with Peter Mandelson (Monday), Tom Watson (Tuesday) and Jeremy Paxman (Wednesday) also appearing.

The Leveson Inquiry was set up pursuant to the Inquiries Act 2005. Falling on a sword to save your minister is one thing — perjury under oath is quite another.

Will Jeremy Hunt go to the ball?

3:03pm Tue May 15th

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Scrapbook was amused to discover that the All-Parliamentary Media Group are operating under the delusion that one Jeremy Hunt will be speaking at their annual reception on 25 June. Events at the Leveson Inquiry this afternoon have heaped yet more doubt on whether the culture secretary will have a job by that point.

After protestations led by Harriet Harman yesterday, Leveson announced that he would not adjudicate on whether Hunt had misled Parliament over his handling of the BSkyB bid – leaving MPs free to pile on the pressure in SW1A.

And in even worse news, it has emerged that his former special adviser – on whom Hunt and the government have attempted to lay the blame – will be called to testify. This will be under oath.

Unsurprisingly, Jeremy’s odds with the bookies don’t look great.

Speaker orders Jeremy Hunt to face Parliament over BSkyB fiasco

3:43pm Mon May 14th

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John Bercow has effectively skewered Jeremy Hunt’s weak delaying tactics over his BSkyB bid fiasco — in which he has attempted to use the Leveson Inquiry as a ruse to dodge awkward questions from MPs.

Harriet Harman raised the following point of order in the Commons moments ago:

“it is in order for the Secretary of State to say that he won’t answer questions from Honourable Members because he’s going to tell Leveson”

“whether it is in order for the Secretary of State to say he won’t place documents in the Library because he’s giving them to Leveson.”

The Speaker has spoken: Jeremy Hunt is accountable to Parliament and not Leveson.

More: Clegg backed delaying tactics this morning »

Scotland the brave? Salmond quits Question Time over NewsCorp

3:18pm Wed April 25th

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Following two days of startling Leveson revelations, the usually indefatigable Scottish first minister Alex Salmond seems to be running scared. Scheduled to appear tomorrow night on BBC’s Question Time, Wee Eck has now pulled out and won’t be appearing after all.

Yesterday, testimony to the Leveson Inquiry by James Murdoch revealed that the First Minister had been acting as News Corporation’s cheerleader over the BSkyB bid, offering to call Jeremy Hunt over the issue on the Murdochs’ behalf.

In his testimony today, Murdoch Senior described Salmond as “an attractive person”, which won’t have helped alleviate the pressure on Scotland’s foremost separatist.

Big Eck is also rumoured to have turned down appearances on Newsnight Scotland and Scotland Tonight.

Jeremy Hunt throws his special adviser under a bus

11:25am Wed April 25th

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There is now blood on the floor of the Leveson Inquiry, with Jeremy Hunt’s SpAd quitting over his communications with News Corporation. As we blogged earlier, however, the Ministerial Code still makes Hunt responsible.

Here is the full statement from (now former) SpAd Adam Smith:

While it was part of my role to keep News Corporation informed throughout the BskyB bid process, the content and extent of my contact was done without authorisation from the Secretary of State. I do not recognise all of what Fred Michel said, but nonetheless I appreciate that my activities at times went too far and have, taken together, created the perception that News Corporation had too close a relationship with the department, contrary to the clear requirements set out by Jeremy Hunt and the permanent secretary that this needed to be a fair and scrupulous process. Whilst I firmly believe that the process was in fact conducted scrupulously fairly, as a result of my activities it is only right for me to step down as special adviser to Jeremy Hunt.

Ministerial Code: The ‘Adam Werritty defence’ won’t help Jeremy Hunt

10:01am Wed April 25th

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With Leveson evidence revealing communications between Jeremy Hunt’s special adviser and Murdoch’s lobbyist, the email exchange perhaps offered one chink of light for the culture secretary: the claim that his SpAd, Adam Smith, had acted beyond his capacities and without Hunt’s knowledge. This is basically the same excuse offered by, erm, Liam Fox during the Adam Werritty scandal.

In contrast with Werritty’s unofficial jet-setting, however, we have the clarity of the Ministerial Code. And it doesn’t help him very much:

“The responsibility for the management and conduct of special advisers, including discipline, rests with the Minister who made the appointment.”

Would Hunt have us believe he’s the only minister in Whitehall who doesn’t know precisely what his SpAd is doing?

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