Jeremy Hunt: Labour demands PM statement in Commons

RIMANEWS-Labour is demanding that David Cameron makes a Commons statement on the row surrounding the culture secretary.

There have been calls for Jeremy Hunt to resign after it was revealed his special adviser was in contact with News Corp during its bid for BSkyB.

The prime minister has resisted demands to order an inquiry into claims the ministerial code was broken.

A Labour source told the BBC Mr Cameron needed to explain on Monday why he was "ducking his responsibilities".

He has argued that he wants to hear Mr Hunt's evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on press standards first.

But the Labour source said: "David Cameron is still trying to hide behind the Leveson Inquiry.

"With Parliament breaking up on Tuesday, Mr Cameron must come to the Commons and explain to the British people why he is ducking his responsibilities to enforce the ministerial code."

Responsibility for ruling on the BSkyB takeover bid in a "quasi-judicial" manner was given to the culture secretary in 2010.

Last week the Leveson Inquiry published emails between Mr Hunt's special adviser, Adam Smith, and News Corporation's head of public affairs, Frederic Michel, about the company's efforts to take over the 61% of the broadcaster it did not already own.

Mr Hunt has denied Labour claims that the emails show the firm had a "back channel" of influence to his office but his adviser quit earlier this week, saying the extent of contact went too far and had not been authorised by Mr Hunt.

Labour says the culture secretary himself should go - because the ministerial code says ministers are responsible for their own actions and those of their special advisers.

They have also accused him of misleading Parliament about whether he had published all exchanges between his department and News Corporation, part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

It wants the independent adviser on ministerial interests, Sir Alex Allan, to look into the matter, a call backed by some Lib Dems and Conservative backbenchers.

Mr Hunt has promised to disclose private texts and emails between him and Mr Smith to the Leveson Inquiry.

Speaking to the BBC's The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Mr Cameron said all the details of the row would be "laid bare" by the Leveson Inquiry - to which Mr Hunt will give evidence next month.

He said the email contact had been "too close" but said as things stood, he did not believe Mr Hunt had broken the code. But he said he, as prime minister, was ultimately responsible for ensuring the ministerial code was upheld and the issue had to be properly investigated.

"If evidence comes out through this exhaustive inquiry [Leveson], where you're giving evidence under oath, if he did breach the ministerial code, then clearly that's a different issue and I would act," Mr Cameron said.

Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman told BBC One's Sunday Politics it was "already evident" that Mr Hunt had breached the code.

She added: "Even more seriously than that, when he was responsible for acting quasi-judicially on a hugely important takeover bid of £8bn, he did not act impartially."

The Sun newspaper, which is owned by another company in Rupert Murdoch's News Corps empire, switched its support from Labour to the Conservatives in September 2009.

But Mr Cameron said it was "not true" to suggest there had been a deal in which he would help the Murdochs' business interests or allow the BSkyB takeover to go through, in return for their support for his party.

"It would be absolutely wrong for there to be any sort of deal and there wasn't... There was no grand deal," he said.[ach/BBC]