George Osborne: ‘I asked for assurances from Andy Coulson on phone-hacking claims’

CHANCELLOR George Osborne insisted that he sought private assurances from former News of the World editor Andy Coulson over phone-hacking allegations when he recommended him for the job of Conservative director of communications.

Giving evidence yesterday at the Leveson inquiry, Mr Osborne also said he had asked Mr Coulson’s former boss, ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks.

He insisted that Mr Coulson, who has been charged in the phone-hacking inquiry, remains a friend, although the two have “not spoken for a year”.

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The issue of the appointment of Mr Coulson before the 2010 election and Mr Osborne’s role in it has led to allegations that it was part of a wider deal with the Murdoch empire.

But the Chancellor, who ran the 2010 election campaign, insisted the appointment was simply because Mr Coulson was “the best man for the job”.

He said he approached Mr Coulson within two months of his resignation in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal, but this was because he was a “very strong candidate” with an “enormous amount of professional experience”.

“I thought Andy Coulson had that experience of someone who had run a large newsroom, was used to the pressure of dealing with fast-changing stories,” he said.

“He struck me as someone who had Conservative views, shared my Conservative values.”

Mr Coulson’s associations and contacts with News International, which published the now-defunct Sunday tabloid, were “not relevant”, the Chancellor insisted.

“If he had been editing the Mail on Sunday, I would have also hired him,” he said.

Mr Osborne also came under close scrutiny about his involvement in the BSkyB bid, but denied he had supported Rupert Murdoch’s efforts to take full ownership of the company.

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He said his view was that the Tories would lose either way on the Sky bid, because a decision either way would annoy powerful supporters in the press.

He added that the BSkyB bid was “a political inconvenience”.

Mr Osborne also claimed he did not know the views of Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable, Prime Minister David Cameron or Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt on the Sky bid.

The Chancellor went into detail on the crisis that hit the government when Mr Cable, who was responsible for deciding on the Sky bid, was caught in a sting by the Telegraph saying he wanted “war” with Murdoch.

He said that the meeting he attended, chaired by David Cameron, shortly after the details were revealed focused on ways of keeping Mr Cable in the government and his job to avoid “destabilising the coalition” or having a major reshuffle.

He said it was the idea of the Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood for Mr Hunt to take over Sky bid from Mr Cable, which was agreed even though Mr Hunt had previously expressed his support for Mr Murdoch. Since then, Mr Hunt has come under pressure to resign over suggestions that he attempted to help the Murdochs.

Mr Osborne also defended his special adviser, Rupert Harrison, over discussions with News Corporation lobbyist Frederic Michel in November 2010.

Mr Michel had texted asking if Mr Osborne might write to Mr Cable regarding the “Sky merger”. Mr Harrison had replied: “We will have to discuss it with g when he is back from China.”

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Lord Justice Leveson suggested that Mr Harrison might have replied by saying: “This is a judicial process. We are not interfering. Be off with you.”

Mr Osborne told the judge: “He was being diplomatic.”

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