Rupert Murdoch’s £11.7 billion bid to take full control of Sky may be referred to the competition watchdog for a wider six-month investigation, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said yesterday.
The announcement followed a consultation, which attracted thousands of responses, on 21st Century Fox’s plan to acquire the 61 per cent of Sky that it does not already own.
Ms Bradley originally intended to refer the bid to the Competition Market Authority (CMA) solely over its effect on media plurality, after regulator Ofcom warned that it would risk giving the tycoon “increased influence” over Britain’s news agenda.
JOHN LANG recalls how Murdoch used scabbing electricians and even devised a fake newspaper to force a confrontation with printers – then sacked them all
Claims that digital media has rendered press power obsolete are a dangerous myth, argues DES FREEDMAN
Enduring myths blame print unions for their own destruction – but TONY BURKE argues that the Wapping dispute was a calculated assault by Murdoch on organised labour, which reshaped Britain’s media landscape and casts a long shadow over trade union rights today


