approached bskyb regarding its interest in acquiring the shares of bskyb in june 2010, is that correct? >> that's right. >> which is one month, thereabouts, after the election. wasn't part of the news corp strategy to at least wait until the outcome of the election? >> i think it was to wait until the election was completed regardless of the outcome, such that a transaction of this size, some $12 million, didn't become a political football. that was the goal. but the primary driver for the timing was really the affordability of they being able to do it. we've taken some time to really husband our resources carefully. it was contemplated it would be an all cash offer and i took a little while to say that, if you will. after over a number of years but also there was a gap because in 2009, recall, that the financial crisis, with the uncertainty about the environment, you know, large-scale mergers and acquisitions activity was a hard thing to get your head around. and furthermore in 2009, and forgiving, mr. jay, but it's important as i think i know where you're going, but every some of the

the inquiry is very interested about the murdoch bid for bskyb. this was a multimillion dollar, $12 billion billion, in fact, for the bid for the bskyb. basically they're trying to probe to see whether the cabinet minister involved, jeremy hunt, got too close to news corporation in the course of that bid when he should have been keeping them at arm's length. and the inquiry has unearthed all this email traffic, text messages from mr. hunt's advisor to a lobbyist at news corporation. now, at the moment, mr. hunt is just saying, well, i didn't know about that, that was my advisor, and i wasn't responsible at the time. obviously they're probing to see if he knows morn he's let on. >> he's under lots of pressure to resign. he was very keen to get in earlier, wasn't he, to clear his name. that's not as easy as it might seem. i guess for david cameron, for the prime minister, he's going to have to do some weighing up as to whether this is a casualty he can perhaps sort of afford to lose. >> that's right. david cameron was forced to call this inquiry a y

why is bskyb so important?f you look about the money the murdochs get from bskyb, it's money, money, money. and the money then keeps on funding papers that don't make money, but papers bring him influence more than television does. ask yourself, does that sound to be a good business model? whether it's good or not, it's certainly a business model. >> bergman: bskyb would become the most profitable network in europe. and by 2010, murdoch wanted to own all of it. a $12 billion takeover was in the offing when david cameron took office in may. >> morning, prime minister. looking forward to it. >> bergman: once again, murdoch would need a prime minister's support. he and his executives had every reason to feel confident that the troublesome threat of a phone-hacking scandal was well behind them. james murdoch and rebekah brooks were friends of cameron. and they had another friend inside number ten. after he resigned from the news of the world, andy coulson had been hired by david cameron as his communications direct

without the political capital, murdoch withdrew his bid for bskyb. the past had caught up with him. >> mr. murdoch, did you read our last report into the matter, where we referred to the collective amnesia of your executives who gave evidence to our commite? >> i haven't heard that. >> parliamentary inquiry found

. >> do you know bskyb is still a client of freud communication? >> i don't. i'm sure, i mean freud communication is a huge country. i don't know the full client list. i'm pretty sure they have a represented bskyb on a corporate level, but i'm sure they would have represented lots of other areas of sky. i do know currently, but probably. >> just ask you some general questions about -- when we are made aware that the bid would be made? >> i think before, before the public announcement, and shortly before the public announcement. >> before the general election or after? >> i think it was before. yeah, before. i just can't remember when the public announcement was. it was a shortly before. >> this is obviously a big moment for news corp. i appreciate you are -- that distinction is understood. werther not discussions by either of the murdochs about the timing of the bid? >> i played no formal role in the bskyb transaction come and certainly not the strategy of timing and all that kind of thing. i was made aware that it was on the cards, thursday, before the public

i mean, literally my main focus, my main involvement in the bskyb did -- the bskyb bid if you like, nothing to do with the transaction but generally in response to the huge amount of opposition and lobbying that was going on by the anti-sky of li life. >> was the dinner must have a compass, this was a discussion about the issues letter because the e-mail makes that clear, would you agree? >> i a tree with you. that's exactly what the e-mail says, but i don't remember a detailed conversation at a social dinner about the colexities of an issue such as ofcom. so it may have been precisely three minutes of me saying, can you believe that that has happened? and george osborne looking perplexed and the respond to fred michel the next day. it was a very brief conversation but it did happen. >> it didn't hppen but it's not mr. osborne looking slightly perplexed that he is totally baffled according to you. >> totally baffled in my conversaon with them. >> the conversation must've been initiated by you, mrs. brooks. you usually don't hold back on occasions, do you? >> i just got number i brought it u

i mean, literally my main focus, my main involvement in the bskyb did -- the bskyb bid if you like, nothing to do with the transaction but generally in response to the huge amount of opposition and lobbying that was going on by the anti-sky of li life. >> was the dinner must have a compass, this was a discussion about the issues letter because the e-mail makes that clear, would you agree? >> i a tree with you. that's exactly what the e-mail says, but i don't remember a detailed conversation at a social dinner about the complexities of an issue such as ofcom. so it may have been precisely three minutes of me saying, can you believe that that has happened? and george osborne looking perplexed and the respond to fred michel the next day. it was a very brief conversation but it did happen. >> it didn't happen but it's not mr. osborne looking slightly perplexed that he is totally baffled according to you. >> totally baffled in my conversation with them. >> the conversation must've been initiated by you, mrs. brooks. you usually don't hold back on occasions, do you? >> i just got number i brought

i mean, literally my main focus, my main involvement in the bskyb did -- the bskyb bid if you like, nothg to do with the transaction but generally in response to the huge amount of opposition and lobbying that was going on by the anti-sky of li life. >> was the dinner must have a compass, this was a discussion about the issues letter because the e-mail makes that clear, would you agree? >> i a tree with you. that's exactly what the e-mail says, but i don't remember detailed conversation at a social dinner about the complexities of an issue such as ofcom. so it may have been precisely three minutes of me saying, can you believe that that has happened? and george osborne looking perplexed and the respond to fred michel the next day. it was a very brief conversation but it did happen. >> it didn't happen but it's not mr. osborne looking slightly perplexed that he is totally baffled according to you. >> totally baffled in my conversation with them. >> the conversation must've been initiated by you, mrs. brooks. you usually don't hold back on occasions, do you? >> i just got number i brought i

did you does the bskyb bid with mr. hunt or mr. say si on that occasion? >> i did not, no. >> by the time the alliance against the bid had colessed, you say -- coalesced, you say based on the expert evidence of claire enders and the legal assessment of it, did can you then discuss the bskyb bid with any politician? >> um, i can't recall having done so, no. >> without remembering as it were particular occasions looking at it generally, do you think you might have done? >> um, no. because i think that it was, obviously, a very contentious issue. it's unlikely that i would have, wouldn't have got an answer that i wanted anyway or, you know, the only answer that we were possibly wanting was that there were to be a fair review of the process. i didn't really see any politicians, um, during that time other than these two meetings. and i had a very, you know, full agenda during the meeting with ed crazy and jeremy hundred. and at ha time it was vince cable who was, basically, the american who had the -- the person who had the decision, and i didn't want see him a

whether or not -- bskyb has to part company with news corp., that remains to be sane. but that is a possibility, too. -- that remains to be seen. but that is a possibility, too. >> in france, president sarkozy is fighting for his political life in advance of this weekend polls. his chances were -- for reelection or delta a new blow. marine le pen the more than 6 million votes. she has told her voters that she is not a voting for nicolas sarkozy. are europe editor has more from paris. >> the french far right leader marine le pen at the center of attention. and the first round of the elections, over 6 million people voted for her. she promised that on a day, she would visor's supporters how to vote in sunday's decisive round. whether to back president sarkozy or the socialist candidate. present sarkozy will lead many of these -- will need many of these votes from the far right. in recent days, he has been echoing many things normally associated with these of voters from the far right. despite his frequent attacks on immigration, these voters are on condense. -- not convi

should take control of bskyb. the cultural secretary and tony blair are due to appear at the inquiry next week. the scottish party have launched their campaign for scotland to leave the united kingdom. the campaign is beginning more than two years before a referendum on the issue will be held. a billionaire is daughter has been sentenced to two years in prison for her role in last summer's riots. she was found guilty of burglary and handling stolen goods. the court in london heard she had driven looters around shops during the worst of the trouble. these are the headlines. six weeks after the cease-fire, activists said the latest fighting has left more than 50 dead. bankia has asked spain's government for 19 billion euros. mexican police have arrested a man reported to be -- the vatican police have arrested a man reported to be the pope's butler. a man was caught in possession of secret documents, but they have not confirmed the man's identity. >> for six years, paolo gabriele has been at the pope's side. now, acc

question is whether these mistakes will make it more likely that the media regulator will ruled that bskyb is unfit to hold a broadcasting licence. the news of the world scandal still making news, still shaking the sprawling media empire of james and rupert murdoch. the u.s. secretary of state is beginning a high-stakes visit to beijing. >> she will find a diplomatic storm raging at the center of which is a blind dissident. chen guangcheng managed to escape house arrest last week and is reported to be under american protection. can they keep the issue off the table? >> surrounded by chinese security, the u.s. embassy in beijing now the center of the crisis. this man, the blind lawyer chen guangcheng, is believed to be sheltering with american diplomats. after is escape from seven years of captivity. he issued a direct challenge to china's leaders to punish those responsible for illegally detaining and beating him. it is a major embarrassment for them. his wife and daughter are still being held, intimidated for years by thugs hired by local communist party chiefs. when we tried to reach his

now there's a question of whether they can hold any shares in bskyb.r is debating on whether they are fit and proper people to hold a broadcasting license in the united kingdom. this report is going to be included in their assessment and it's not good news. basically if politicians, this powerful committee, says they're not fit and proper people, possibly the regulator may agree. >> dan rivers for us this morning. thank you. still ahead on "starting point," five exotic wild animals set loose by an ohio man shortly before he committed suicide are now being returned home. some people say it's a dangerous move and could create another panic. we'll tell you why. >>> she is 4'11". and this georgia firefighter walking kind of tall after she was able to make the biggest save of her career. we'll tell you what she was able to do. here's john's playlist. haven't heard this in a long time. you're warting sta iwatching "s point." [ male announcer ] this was how my day began. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my

i think the inquirery will shed more light on the bskyb. but i think the problem is, is when those who have access to politicians are being able, are being allowed to influence government policy in order to further the commercial interest. otherwise i don't see any problem with journalists being in touch with politicians, proprietors being in touch with politicians. and if there are too many controls in that, i think society becomes too overregulated and overcontrolled where everybody is afraid to say the wrong thing, make the wrong step, make the wrong move, give the wrong interview. and then you get to a situation where brilliant people will just not want to go into those processio procession-- professions any more. think think with younger generations and politicians if you compare them with britain and to older generations of politicians, you find that less brilliant people-- politics. >> there is and certainly here in many case, there is a division between church and state, publishers are one and reporters are something else. you are b

taking full control of bskyb. adam smith said it was mr. hunt who suggested he should resign. he and tony blair are due to appear at the inquiry next week. and the campaign for scott wren to leave the united kingdom. the campaign is called yes, independence. a millionaire's daughter sentenced to two years in prison for her role in last summer's riots. she was found guilty of burglary and handling stolen goods during the disturbances in london last august. courts heard she had driven looters to shops during the worst of the trouble. hello. you are watching bbc news. these are the headlines. six weeks after the start of serious cease-fire, the latest fighting has left more than 50 dead. bankia has asked spain's government for 19 billion euros in what would be the biggest bailout in the country's history. more on the violence in syria. the president of the american- syria public affairs committee and he has been speaking to people inside syria. >> i spoke to them today multiple times. there is an ongoing massacre across the nation. every town in syria that has revolted has been m

the majority of committee members, rupert murdoch is not fit to run an international company like bskyb. i personally am disappointed that some members didn't feel sufficiently convinced are confident to will the most powerful to account. they thought they could support sections 216-229 of the report. many hacking victims have still not been informed of what was done to them. and rupert murdoch has not said his last apology to the families of murdered children. let us also remember that this scandal cost many hundreds of journalists, innocent journalists their jobs. they found hard to find work. i know this because i provided references for a number of them. parliament was misled. that we now know. but there were four issues we couldn't get to the bottom of because of time constraints, decisions of the committee not to proceed, or because they fall outside. former member of the scottish parliament tommy sheridan lost his liberty on a majority verdict of the jury that was not in full possession of the facts. he received a three-year prison sentence. i believe the judgment is unsound. is

is going on in parliament, of course, there is a lot of partisan argument over for example, of the bskyb and i won't go into any detail, and that is obvious. behind, that i think that what i divine is that clear understanding by all of the parties that we got too close to the papers and that applies particularly to the two main parties. and it is not healthy for anybody, and least of all not for the press, so with luck, there will be that. continuing momentum for change and some of us can do the best to ensure that it takes place. >> i'm pleased to have asked you the question, because listening to mr. campbell the other day, i don't say it was very depressing, but it certainly creates a concern. >> i mean, i -- look, i'm not in any doubts, sir, that there is a concerted effort by some of the newspapers to argue against any form of more coherent regulation than you have today, and i think that mr. dayco has said he has a perfectly honorable view, but i don't share, about what he thinks will happen if there is a marked regulation. i hope and believe that even he recognizes that the landsca

bskyb whose main share horder, of course, is rupert murdoch's news corp. they had to withdraw a bit by the rest of the company last year following its phone-hacking scandal. >> let's tell you what's still to come on wor"worldwide excha." social unrest looms ever larger. thousands across europe joining mayday rallies. "worldwide exchange." your headlines today -- more evidence of pain in europe's manufacturing sector. pmi numbers out of germany and france show that industrial activity is at its fastest pace in years. >>> for asia the worst may be over as hsbc's final read gives more evidence of a bottoming out but they remain vulnerable to inflation risks. >>> ubs falls. analysts point to the swiss banks' stronger than expected wealth performance. >>> and in the united states, who is hiring in the private sector. investors are hoping today's adc numbers will ease concerns about friday's job report. >>> all right. we've got a lot of data out d o united kij dom as well. let's take a look at the april construction pmi numbers. 55.8 versus the march figure of 5

whether you think it's real or fake depends on -- remember, they created bskyb. >> could he put david kerry in charge and remain as chairman and everyone will think david is a puppet for rupert? >> chase carey. >> sorry. >> what andrew is getting at, a lot of people think this is a dog and phone any so ony show. but will there be real repercussions and is there a way to handicap what happens. >> the stock has reacted positively in front of these commit theities. they're built in sound bites. they come out guns blazing every time and it seems like the market has liked what they saw. this is real evidence that it wasn't working. that the fact that they didn't know that this was going on, that they didn't know how endemic it was actually isn't a type of defense that's actually going fly here with politicians where real regular election of these businesses is concerned. >> so it leads up to on you friendly the regulators are after all will? >> we should benchmark the reports that we also have coming out. only by saying this is something that every newspaper was doing. it doesn't take any

news corporation owns 30% of bskyb in the uk. now uk communication regulator is determining if news corp. is fit to hold a british broadcasting license. back to you. >> have a great day. >>> may is skin cancer awareness month. and health officials are asking hair stylists to help battle against the most common form of cabser in the united states. dr. sheryl burgess joins us to explain. hair dressers? tell us how they can help. >> well, there's an initiative to get more people involved in diagnosing or at least letting the person know that there is something going on. particularly in the scalp. and a lot of people go to hair stylists and barbers and they're the ones that see our scalp. we don't tend to see our scalp. so for the most part, being able to let us know when they see something new, something that appears new on the scalp or something that may bleed with combing or styling the hair, to alert the customer to go see the dermatologist. >> one of the most virulent cancers is skin cancer and very often, that's where you'll ha

the majority of committee members, rupert murdoch is not fit to run an international company like bskybeskyb is a paid tv service. rupert murdoch owns almost 40% of it. murdoch's media holdings include the fox news network. that committee in britain -- the finding of that committee does not have an effect on murdoch's position at his company. however, broadcast regulators in the uk could take it into account in any decisions made in the future. >>> here's doug with a look at our weather forecast. it was raining pretty hard when i first woke up this morning. but then it kind of cleared up. >> sun came out. temperatures warmed up. the humidity levels rose a little bit out there. a lot of people enjoying the warm weather. some of you out there on my facebook and twitter pages saying, hey, a little too humid a little too early. >> so picky. >> can't make everybody happy. there it is. sunshine out there. also cloud cover. it has been a little bit on the humid side. the dewpoint made its way to 60 degrees. that was actually the low temperature out there this morn ing. the temperature this aft

is a fit and proper owner of a 39% stake in bskyb. ofcom said the committee report will be part of its assessment but its decision will be based on its own evidence. here in the u.s. we should note news corp. did trip a key limit at the fcc that places a limit over foreign stock ownership in its b shares. a person familiar with the matter told me, though, its moves to strip voting power to certain non-u.s. holders did allay that problem. it will prepare to renew licenses for its fox affiliate stationings in the mid-atlantic region. >> thank you very much. kate kelly and another ceo in trouble. chesapeake's aubrey mcclendon. kate? >> aubrey mcclendon, you're right, is in the hot seat again. this morning his board of chesapeake energy announced plans to replace him as chairman with a new chairman they will find who has no previous ties to the company. they're hoping to have that person in place for a vote by the shareholder meeting, which is in early june. but that process is under way. there's no guarantee as to how fast it will happen

the majority of committee members, report murdoch is not fit to run an international company like bskyb. i am disappointed that they felt they could not support sections 216 through 229 of the report. many of the hacking victims have still not been informed of what was done to them. report murdoch has not said his last apology to the families of murdered children. let us also remember that the scandal cost many hundreds of journalists, anacin journalists their jobs. they find it hard to find work. i know this because i have provided references for number of them. parliament was misled. that we now know. there was issues we could not get to the bottom of because of time constraints, decisions of the committee not to proceed, or because they fall out our [unintelligible] a member of the scottish parliament lost his liberty on a majority verdict of a jury that was not in full possession of the facts. he received a three-year prison sentence. i believe the judgment is on sound. if corporate rock really is sorry, he will order an urgent review of the information his company provided to the j

notreaturare you sure it would have covered bskyb b issue? >> i do not think it was a conversation. >> i would like to cover some subject matter conversations with politicians. seeking to ignore private in social matters. it is self evident this would increase the issues of the day. is that there? >> sometimes, yes. >> today also embrace issues such as media policy? >> very rarely. there are some examples when they have met with a politician particularly to discuss that. >> the role of the bbc, was that often the subject? >> not particularly. in general, it wasted money was something we would address. i never really had a conversation. >> how about issues such as self regulation to be pressed? were those ever discuss with politicians? >> probably not enough. when you ask me the question, i was reflecting on the fact that i could not remember a conversation with a politician where we did discuss bcc. the last couple of years, it has been the subject. >> the go before the index i think a couple of years is in danger of muddying the waters. i wa

graham william of bskyb. the truth is that whatever we have said in our report and however you choose to report it tomorrow, the public have made up their minds. powerful people were involved in a cover-up, and they still haven't accepted responsibility. and after all of this, the story is not yet over. it was reported at the weekend that rebecca brooks was prepared to release her personal texts and e-mails to david cameron to the leveson inquiry. i think she should. but as the prime minister said yesterday, the contacts between rupert murdoch and senior ministers crossed both sides of the house. if we really want to see how news corp. in the u.k. operates, then the current pm and chancellor, all former prime ministers including tony blair and gordon brown and former chancellors might want to consider revealing their texts and e-mails to company executives. .. more than any individual alive he is to blame. morally the deeds are his. he paid the piper and he caught the tune. it was his company, his culture, hi

of the majority of committee members rupert murdoch is not fit to run an international company like bskyb. >> the committee also took aim at another murdoch executive, les hinton, former editor of "the wall street journal." they say he, too, was guilty of a willful cover-up. >> thank you very much. >>> secretary of state hillary clip tont is on her trial this morning for some high-level extstrategic talks. it's on the chinese activist who's believed to be in the hands of the u.s. diplomat. >> reporter: chen guangcheng is already threatening. the blind self-taught lawyer is probably hiding inside the u.s. embassy in beijing. neither country will confirm exactly where he is. chen's famous for exposing a government program which forced women to have abortions to conform to china's one-child policy. obama's administration has long pushed for his freedom. now top u.s. fishlgs are staying silent on his case. when askeden the activist, he woumtd mention his name. >> obviously i'm aware of the press reports on the situation in china, but i'm not going make a statement on the issue. >> reporter: s

investigation going on by british broadcast regulators as to the fitness of news corporation through bskyb property which is one of the most lucrative in the murdoch stable. that's a major threat to news corporation. but the fact that this report has been so political, so divided as between the parties, suggests that the effect is if not worthless as this member of parliament suggested, will at least be blunted. >> it's obvious to point out, john, as you know, that the partisanship had to do with calling mr. murdoch unfit and james murdoch. there was an agreement among the committee in terms of the lower executives and what they have done. >> oh, indeed. there was agreement about a number of things, which are highly -- highly damming, rupert murdoch and his son james. for example, the word willful blindness was used to describe their attitude towards the scandal as it emerged over the last year. so, it's not as if the unfit ruling was the only thing. the conservatives lined up with the rest of the committee on much that was highly damming of mr. murdoch, his son and of his senior executive

the majority of committee members, rupert murdoch is not fit to run an international company like bskyb. >> reporter: some conservative members of the committee disagreed with that conclusion but did endorse the view there was failure of corporate governance in the british organization and the company in new york. >> thank you very much. >>> a fight in cleveland where authorities arrested five people for allegedly trying to blow up a bridge. the fbi describes the suspects as self-proclaimed anarchists who made several plots. arrested last night after a month long fbi sting operation. fake explosives were supplied and they were not tied to international terrorism. >>> secretary of state hillary clinton is on her way to china this morning for high level economic and strategic talks. >> there is something neither clinton nor the chinese want to talk about. a report now from beijing on the chinese activist who is believed to be in the hands of u.s. diplomats. >> reporter: the fate of a single man, chen guangcheng is threatening the tense relationship between the u.s. and china. after a dram

they have had to drop their bid to take over the entirety of bskyb, the biggest satellite provider in great britain. they had been damaged by this. host: how unusual is it that david cameron would appear on monday at the request of his labor party leader? guest: very unusual. he was furious. his performance reflected the fact that he was glowing bright red. he was being dragged in front and have to answer. he was open to campaign in britain, but instead, he is being dragged into this ongoing mess which refuses to go away. host: let us go to the floor of the british house of commons. we carried this. prime minister, david cameron. [video clip] >> i am a defender of the premium of the press in this country. it is one of the central pillars of robert democracy. the relationship between politicians and the media has been too close for decades. the inquiry, which this government has set up, gives parliament and politicians of all parties the opportunity to get this right for the future. already, we have introduced transparency about what happens with the media. everyone can see which propr

are studying the panel's findings and could force murdoch to sell a controlling stake, specifically bskybo diplomatic immunity for dom meek strauss-kahn, on a civil lawsuit can move forward. the suit was filed by that hotel maid in man hat hatta hahattan him of sexual assault. his attorneys say it was consen consensu consensual. >>> dna evidence clears an arizona man wrongly convicted of a rape and murder. he actually cracked a joke after 18 years in a prison cell, 18 years, a lot for him to catch up on like computer, smart phones, texting. he says he plans to live with a pen pal sweetheart he met a year ago. the evidence points to another man who is already in prison for a similar crime. >>> a memorial for mike wallace, former colleague, friend, family member, they all gathered together in new york just a couple of blocks from the cbs offices where wallace worked. wallace died last month at the age of 93. >>> and you need to tear a house down? cranes so last year. but this 150-year-old house, this is no match for a tank. it's a tank taking this thing down. the population of casoto, minne