Murdoch denies seeking government favors

LONDON -- Rupert Murdoch acknowledged frequent, close contact with high-ranking British officials during a grilling at the Royal Courts of Justice yesterday, but emphatically denied ever asking for or receiving government favors for his media empire.

Testifying in an inquiry ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron into a phone-hacking scandal, Murdoch related lively anecdotes, including the time in 2008 when Cameron, then opposition leader, was flown by Murdoch's son-in-law to Santorini, Greece, to join Murdoch for drinks on either his or his daughter's yacht.

Murdoch, 81, chairman of News Corp., said he didn't remember the specifics of the meeting. Politicians of all hues, he said, "go out of their way to impress people in the press. . . . That's part of the game."

In a rare moment of levity, Murdoch laughed in recounting an off-color exchange with Tony Blair prior to Blair's becoming prime minister in 1997, but stressed - loudly banging his hand on the table - that "in 10 years of his power there, I never asked Mr. Blair for anything. Nor indeed did I receive any favors."

At one point, Murdoch appeared to lose patience with Robert Jay, the inquiry's lead lawyer, saying: "I don't know how many times I have to state to you, Mr. Jay, that I never took commercial considerations," into account with his relationships with politicians.

On Tuesday, Murdoch's son James triggered a firestorm by telling the inquiry about News Corp.'s contact with the government's culture office while the company was attempting a full takeover of Britain's largest pay-TV provider.

The inquiry published 161 pages of emails and text messages that appear to show aides to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt secretly feeding News Corp. information about the bid while Hunt was supposed to be acting in a quasi-judicial role. Following those revelations, an aide to Hunt, Adam Smith, announced yesterday that he would resign.

The elder Murdoch is chief executive of News Corp., the world's second-largest media conglomerate, whose U.S. companies include Fox Television, Fox News, the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal. About 8 percent of the company's revenue comes from the United Kingdom.