Britain's politicians and its powerful media were uncomfortably close while Tony Blair ran the country, a former UK minister said on Wednesday.
Jack Straw, who held several key posts, told an official inquiry into media ethics that journalists and Blair's Labour Party had forged 'very, very close, sometimes incestuous' ties while Blair strived for power, and that those links endured when he became prime minister in 1997. Blair served as Britain's chief for a decade, handing over to his successor Gordon Brown in 2007.
Current British Prime Minister David Cameron has already acknowledged he developed ties to the media that were 'too close' while he was opposition chief. Straw, who served as foreign secretary, home secretary, and justice secretary, said he believed that newspaper baron Rupert Murdoch, whose holdings extend to television and film, took advantage of his relationships with lawmakers to consolidate his media interests.
'The perception I have got is that Mr. Murdoch is enjoying the fact that he has been willing to play with political leaders in the way that the senior executives of the other papers have not,' Straw said.
Straw was testifying before Lord Justice Brian Leveson, who is investigating whether British politicians and newspaper proprietors traded favors, part of a wide-ranging inquiry into media ethics. The inquiry, set up after the eruption of a scandal over phone hacking and bribery at Murdoch's News of the World.
Jack Straw, who held several key posts, told an official inquiry into media ethics that journalists and Blair's Labour Party had forged 'very, very close, sometimes incestuous' ties while Blair strived for power, and that those links endured when he became prime minister in 1997. Blair served as Britain's chief for a decade, handing over to his successor Gordon Brown in 2007.
Current British Prime Minister David Cameron has already acknowledged he developed ties to the media that were 'too close' while he was opposition chief. Straw, who served as foreign secretary, home secretary, and justice secretary, said he believed that newspaper baron Rupert Murdoch, whose holdings extend to television and film, took advantage of his relationships with lawmakers to consolidate his media interests.
'The perception I have got is that Mr. Murdoch is enjoying the fact that he has been willing to play with political leaders in the way that the senior executives of the other papers have not,' Straw said.
Straw was testifying before Lord Justice Brian Leveson, who is investigating whether British politicians and newspaper proprietors traded favors, part of a wide-ranging inquiry into media ethics. The inquiry, set up after the eruption of a scandal over phone hacking and bribery at Murdoch's News of the World.