News Corp No Stranger to Number 10

Executives from News Corp, publishers of The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times, have visited Downing Street more times than any other company in the UK in recent years according to a recent report by The Media Reform Coalition (MRC).

The MRC is a campaigning group which objects to the concentration of News Corp and its proprietor Rupert Murdoch’s media powers.
According to The MRC, between April 2015 and September 2016, senior News Corp executives met with senior government ministers or their special advisers on 22 separate occasions. 18 of these meetings involved the Prime Minister, the Chancellor or the Culture Secretary and Murdoch was present on at least eight occasions.

The MRC reports there have also been several meetings between seniors members of the government and Sky and 21st Century Fox, companies owned by Rupert Murdoch’s son James.

During the same period, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor had meetings with senior management from The BBC on only six occasions while Evgeny Lebedev, owner of the Independent and The Evening Standard was granted only four visits.

The MRC is quick to highlight, despite the conviction and imprisonment of Andy Coulson, former editor or The News of the World (a former News Corp title) and former Number 10 head of communications under David Cameron, the close relationship between the news organisation and government ministers appears to remain strong.

In a statement issued on The MRC website, Justin Schlosberg, chair of The MRC said: “Decades of rampant criminality and corruption within the Murdoch newsrooms does not appear to be of concern to the present government, as senior ministers continue to sit down with News Corp bosses at a rate that dwarfs other companies and organisations. It’s as if it’s part of their job description.”