Hunt survives Commons statement… for now
Jeremy Hunt looks set to stay in his job at least until his appearance at the Leveson inquiry, after he emerged relatively unscathed from a torrid session in the Commons.
Giving a statement immediately after PMQs, the media secretary said his special adviser had resigned in the wake of email correspondence between him and News Corp executive Frédéric Michel when the company was bidding for control of BSkyB.
"He is a man of dignity," Mr Hunt said of his special adviser, Adam Smith.
Mr Hunt has asked for the Leveson inquiry to hear from him sooner rather than later so he can give his version of events.
Both he and the prime minister said it would be inappropriate for further statements to be given while the judicial process at the inquiry is taking place. Lord Leveson alluded to the same point himself as he opened the this morning's session with Rupert Murdoch.
Speaking for the opposition, Harriet Harman demanded to know why Mr Michel had secured access to information related to the BSkyB bid before either parliament or opponents of the bid.
She also inquired why statements from Ofcom and the bid's opponents had been forwarded to the Murdoch camp, how Mr Michel was in a position to give full details of a Commons statement which would not be delivered until two days later and whether Mr Hunt had misled the House when he said all communication between his office and News Corp to do with the bid had been made public.
The deputy Labour leader added that the ministerial code says that secretaries of state are themselves responsible for the conduct of their special advisers, suggesting that Mr Smith's decision to resign will do little to quell the fires around the media secretary.
Mr Hunt branded her response "hugely disappointing" and criticised her for failing to "rise above party politics".
He looks set to argue that his special adviser over-stepped the limits of his role when acting as a communications channel between News Corp and his office and that Mr Michel then radically over-emphasised his influence to his employers at the Murdoch camp.
But even if that version of events is accepted, the media secretary will still face questions about his failure to keep control of a government office managing a highly-sensitive political and industrial process.
