Hunt on 'irrelevant' BSkyB talks

"The discussions the prime minister had on the BSkyB deal were irrelevant", Jeremy Hunt has told the Commons, as the debate on the phone hacking scandal came to a close.

The decision on the deal was "not a matter of collective responsibility" but a "a quasi-judicial process", he said.

David Cameron was asked several times during the course of the debate whether he had discussed the takeover with News International executives.

The prime minister said several times that he had not had "inappropriate conversations" about the issue.

A spokesperson for the culture secretary later said that Mr Hunt was not referring specifically to things the prime minister said to News International executives personally, but to public comments about the proposed deal.