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News Corporation/BSkyB Merger

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, for those questions, and I will go through most of them. Given our debate in the House initiated by the noble Lord, Lord Puttnam, to which I replied, the Opposition's stance is no surprise, as it was clearly set out then. The noble Baroness started by voicing doubts about competition. This was settled by the EU Commission on 21 December. On bundling, there is absolutely nothing new. If Mr Murdoch had wanted to bundle he could have bundled a long time ago. He would have had an opportunity before to bundle the 39 per cent control that he has, plus the Times and other newspapers, and obviously is not interested in bundling. On the control of ownership, the basis of the undertakings is that News Corporation will not have control of Sky News; it will have only 39.1 per cent of the shares. The majority of the board, however, including the chairman, will now be independent. Should News Corporation wish to acquire more shares in Sky News following the merger, it would have to get the Secretary of State’s consent to this for a period of 10 years following the merger. The noble Baroness quite rightly raised questions about future financial worries. The 10-year carriage agreement and the brand-licensing agreement underpin the undertakings and will ensure the viability of Sky News. Both those agreements must be agreed by the Secretary of State, so their terms will be subject to additional scrutiny. The Secretary of State has made clear throughout his dealings on this that he has been committed to a fair, thorough and open process. I hope that the Statement has made clear that he has not reached a final decision and will not do so until after the consultation period when all parties have had the chance to contribute. If any questions or points of detail remain that I have not answered, I will, of course, write to the noble Baroness and put a copy of the answer in the Library with all the other documents. I am grateful for the interest that noble Lords on the Back Benches will show on this matter, and I look forward to answering any of their questions.