By Jean Eaglesham and Ben Fenton Published: November 11 2009 22:22 | Last updated: November 11 2009 22:22 Gordon Brown called Rupert Murdoch earlier this week to express concern at The Sun’s campaign against the government’s handling of the Afghanistan war. The prime minister’s decision to phone the News Corp chairman on Tuesday night reflects growing concern on both sides about the rapid deterioration in relations between the government and the Murdoch media empire. The Sun’s “Don’t you know there’s a bloody war on?” campaign against Mr Brown’s conduct of the Afghan campaign intensified this week, with vociferous attacks on the prime minister over his alleged spelling errors in a handwritten letter of condolence to Jacqui Janes. A poll on Wednesday suggested The Sun campaign risked backfiring. Some 65 per cent of respondents to a PoliticsHome pollcharacterised the tabloid’s coverage as “inappropriate” rather than legitimate journalism and 48 per cent said they were more inclined to defend the prime minister as a result. Government insiders claimed to have detected signs that News International, The Sun’s parent company, was “slightly rattled” by evidence of a backlash. James Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp in Europe and Asia, and Rebekah Brooks, News International’s chief executive and a former Sun editor, on Tuesday sought a meeting with a senior minister, according to one government insider. News International declined to comment. The Sun’s coverage on Wednesday appeared designed to draw a line under the hostilities, reporting Mrs Janes’s acceptance of Mr Brown’s apology under the heading “Mum ends letters row”. But any suggestion of a truce was quashed by Lord Mandelson, who used a BBC interview to launch an attack against The Sun, British Sky Broadcasting – the News Corp-controlled broadcaster – and the company itself. Lambasting The Sun’s “bad taste and crude politicking”, the business secretary claimed that the biased agenda set by the tabloid was “followed up by Sky, which then puts pressure on the BBC to follow suit”. Lord Mandelson said that this had “wider implications for the election, which, in my views, is of wider public concern”. He accused News International of having “effectively formed a contract” with the Tories, in which The Sun’s support for them was one part of the bargain. “Presumably what the Conservatives can do for News International if they are elected is the other side of that bargain,” he said. The comments echo a widely held view among senior Labour politicians that the Tories have set their media policy to woo Mr Murdoch. The Sun’s switch of allegiance to David Cameron during Labour’s party conference this autumn still rankles with Number 10. Suggestions of a deal were denied by Conservative and News International insiders. One person close to the company said it was “just paranoid” and untrue to suggest there was a deliberate attempt to undermine the government.Brown calls Murdoch over Sun treatment
Thursday 12 November 2009
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