Leveson Inquiry: James Murdoch details meetings with David Cameron

JAMES Murdoch met the Prime Minister 12 times while he was leader of the opposition, including four meetings also attended by Rebekah Brooks, the Leveson Inquiry heard today.

Key points from Murdoch evidence

• Reveals numerous meetings with David Cameron, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown

• Maintains he was not told of evidence of widespread phone hacking at the News of the World

• Admits News of the World should not have run Max Mosley ‘orgy’ story

• Admits controls at News International failed

The media mogul briefly talked to David Cameron at a dinner about the removal of Business Secretary Vince Cable’s powers to oversee News Corporation’s bid to take over broadcaster BSkyB.

Mr Murdoch had drinks with the Tory leader in September 2009 to discuss The Sun’s plans to endorse the Conservative Party at the following year’s general election, the press standards inquiry was told.

He also met Chancellor George Osborne and Foreign Secretary William Hague during the Tories’ time in opposition.

Between June 2006 and January 2010, Mr Murdoch met Mr Cameron eight times for dinner, twice for breakfast, once for lunch and once for drinks.

The inquiry heard that Mrs Brooks attended meetings between the media boss and the Conservative leader on May 5 2009, November 2 2009, November 19 2009 and January 21 2010.

After Mr Cameron entered Number 10 in May 2010, Mr Murdoch and his family had lunch with him at the Prime Minister’s country retreat, Chequers in Buckinghamshire, in November 2010.

Mrs Brooks and her husband, Charlie, hosted a dinner attended by the media mogul and Mr Cameron on December 23 2010.

This was two days after Mr Cable was stripped of his responsibilities for regulating the media after he was caught on tape by undercover reporters claiming to have “declared war” on Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp empire.

Mr Murdoch told the Leveson Inquiry that he and Mr Cameron mentioned what had happened.

“He reiterated what he had said publicly, which is that the behaviour had been unacceptable, and I imagine I expressed the hope that things would be dealt with in a way that was appropriate and judicial,” he said.

“It was a tiny conversation ahead of a dinner where all these people were there, so it wasn’t really a discussion.”

It also emerged that Mr Murdoch had lunch at Chequers with Tony Blair when he was prime minister in July 2004.

He held a conference call with Mr Blair in October 2005 during which he may have discussed European Commission proposals for regulating broadcasting rights for English Premier League football.

Mr Murdoch said: “It was a normal and appropriate or legitimate bit of business advocacy...

“The purpose would be hopefully for senior policy-makers, the prime minister in this case, to understand that some of these policies might have adverse consequences for English football.”

Mr Murdoch had two meetings at 10 Downing Street with then-prime minister Gordon Brown in March and December 2008.

He said he could not remember exactly what was discussed, adding: “He would have told me lots of things about the economy and the like.”