UK Culture Secretary accused of being 'Murdoch cheerleader' in BskyB ownership bid

London, Apr 25 (ANI): The long-running British tabloid newspaper scandal that has rocked Rupert Murdoch's media empire has taken a new turn with the New Corporation reveling that a senior cabinet minister worked covertly with them to help win approval for takeover of the BSkyB network.

UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is now facing calls to resign after the Murdoch empire disclosed emails showing how he 'shared their objectives' to take full control of BSkyB.

The sensational cache showed Hunt's aides engaged in an extraordinary pact with News Corporation to push the deal through despite grave concerns from media watchdogs.

Emails, which revealed 'absolutely illegal' information being freely exchanged between government and big business, was published by the Leveson Inquiry into Press standards on the eve of Rupert Murdoch's testimony to the hearings, The Daily Mail reports.

According to the paper, Hunt had a legal obligation to be impartial over the bid as since December 2010 he was acting in a 'quasi- judicial' capacity, effectively as a judge rather than a politician, by overseeing representations.ut he was accused of being a ' Murdoch cheerleader' emails revealed that his office handed over information that even News Corp said was 'absolutely illegal'.

One of his advisers even told the Murdochs it was a 'game over' for the opponents of the eight billion dollar takeover.

News Corp announced plans to buy the 61 percent of shares it did not yet own in BskyB in early 2010.

It dropped the bid last July when it emerged that News of the World had hacked the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. (ANI)