Rupert Murdoch at the Leveson Inquiry: Calm, cool and chatty – and no pies

Rupert Murdoch gave the performance of an elderly statesman as he spoke candidly about his dealings with Britain’s most senior politicians for more than three decades.

In soft tones, he talked in detail about his close relationship with Baroness Thatcher, his cautious embrace of Tony Blair and hinted at his contempt for Sir John Major.

Throughout three hours of evidence, Mr Murdoch remained calm and collected and only raised his voice once.

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As the oldest person to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards, the 81-year-old was also the first to use a legal aide to help him find his way through various evidence folders and witness testimonies.

Compared to his stern interrogation of Mr Murdoch’s son James on Tuesday, the questions from Robert Jay QC seemed more like a topical chat.

Lord Justice Leveson even showed concern for Mr Murdoch’s age, sending him home after only three hours for fear he may have been getting tired. The News Corps chairman and chief executive was determined to show his vitality, jogging to the witness box after a break and asking Mr Jay to continue questioning.

Mr Murdoch attended with his wife Wendi Deng and son Lachlan. Ms Deng, who sprung to her husband’s aid when a protester threw a custard pie at him last year, bought some glamour to the proceedings as she strolled in emblazoned with jewellery, wearing a black jacket, grey trousers and leopard print heels.

However, she did not have to act as a security guard yesterday. Only a dozen people sat quietly in the public gallery as proceedings took place. Staff did rearrange the furniture in the courtroom so the public seats were as far away from the witness box as possible – presumably to prevent any similar pie-throwing incidents.