Government 'minded' to probe Sky's takeover by Fox

Culture and media secretary Karen Bradley said she was "minded" to have Sky's proposed takeover by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox investigated over public interest concerns, after the European Commission was formally notified on Friday.

In a statement Bradley said the government was "minded" to issue a European Intervention Notice "on the basis that I have concerns that there may be public interest considerations - as set out in the Enterprise Act 2002 - that are relevant to this proposed merger that warrant further investigation”.

She added: “To be clear, I have not taken a final decision on intervention at this stage.”

Bradley has 10 days to decide whether to refer the £18.5bn bid to media regulator Ofcom, which would carry out a public interest test on the deal and report back within 40 days.

Sky's board agreed to the deal in December, with Fox looking to buy the 61% of the UK broadcaster it does not already own.

Following Friday's notification, which had been expected, regulators in Brussells having up to 25 days to look at competition issues but seen as almost certain to clear the takeover as they did in 2010's ultimately abandoned bid.

A cross-party group of politicians, including Ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband, former business secretary Vince Cable and Tory peer Lady Warsi have sent a letter to the head of Ofcom, Sharon White, calling on her to investigate whether Murdoch's son James meets the test to hold a UK broadcasting licence.

A previous Ofcom investigation into News International following the phone hacking scandal found that while Murdoch Junior "repeatedly fell short of the conduct expected of him as chief executive and chairman" there was "insufficient evidence to conclude he deliberately engaged in wrongdoing".

Under the powers set out in the Enterprise Act 2002, Bradley's department is able to intervene in a quasi-judicial capacity on the basis of specified media public interest considerations, which refer to the "need for there to be a sufficient plurality of media ownership, for the availability of a wide range of high-quality broadcasting and for those with control of media enterprises to have a genuine commitment to broadcasting standards objectives".

The Secretary of State wrote to Sky and Fox on Friday informing them that "she is minded to intervene on two public interest grounds - media plurality and commitment to broadcasting standards objectives".

The department added: "This minded to letter does not constitute a final decision. The parties have been invited to make further representations following which the Secretary of State will come to a final decision on whether to intervene and will aim to do so - in line with guidance - within ten working days of the merger being formally notified."