By Kevin McCauley
British Prime Minister David Cameron today denied showing any favoritism towards Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., saying that it was in his political interest to curry favor with the entire media after he become chief of the Conservative Party in 2005.
Cameron told the Leveson inquiry that he met with media people 1,400 times, including 19 sessions with Rebekah Brooks (former editor of News of the World), 15 times with James Murdoch (ex-News International chief) and 10 times with Rupert.
He dismissed as nonsense talk of the existence of either a “covert or overt deal” with Murdoch’s properties.
Cameron took issue with earlier testimony of predecessor PM Gordon Brown of the Labour Party, who said the Conservatives were in Murdoch’s pocket.
Brown testified June 11 that the Conservatives adopted every one of the policies put forward by the Murdoch empire including reducing press regulation and cutting funding for the BBC.
Cameron said of Brown’s testimony: "He has cooked up an entirely specious and unjustified conspiracy theory."
The current PM said he would have fired former spokesman and of News of the World editor Andy Coulson had he had any inside information about the phone hacking scandal.
The Leveson panel demanded that News International release more of the communications between Brooks and Cameron.
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