Students ambush "Tory vulture" Hunt

A crowd of students at the London School of Economics burst in on a public interview with the Culture Secretary chanting anti-Murdoch sentiments. Yesterday evening Jeremy Hunt, was in the process of being interviewed by Raymond Snoddy on the Future of Media Policy at LSE, when the angry students flooded in.

They had disrupted a rather drab dialogue between Hunt and Snoddy as the politician had been avoiding all controversial questions with "no comment". As Snoddy began to delve into the MP's rather questionable stance towards the media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, the sound of distant chanting and stamping could be heard outside the hall.

Snoddy asked whether Hunt was "a fan" of the media tycoon after he had praised Murdoch as having "probably done more to create variety and choice in British TV than any other single person". Hunt did not respond as he is in the middle of deciding whether to refer the controversial £8 billion buyout by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation of satellite broadcaster BSkyB to the Competition Commission after recommendations in a report by media regulator Ofcom. He has until mid-January to decide.

The sensitivity of this decision period, was taken advantage of by the protesting students as they stormed through the doors, jabbing pointed fingers at the MP and shouting slogans like "Tory vulture" in unison.

Pamphlets were distributed with the title "No To Murdoch" and outlined the recent letter to the Financial Times, claiming that Rupert Murdoch's plans to take over Sky raised 'deep public interest issues". The letter was signed by Lord Fowler, former Chairman of the House of Lords communications committee, among other prominent names.

The leaflet also questioned Jeremy Hunt's impartiality after secret meetings with Murdoch and his family had emerged.

"Failure [to pass the proposed takeover to the competition commission] will once again highlight a government more concerned with the interests of big business than the people it claims to represent," it said.

The students eventually filed out, still shooting questions at the Culture Secretary through loudspeakers.

The case is so sensitive that the Conservative cabinet minister and his advisers are expected to rebuff any external lobbying, but perhaps these angry youngsters have managed to sway him slightly more towards following Ofcom's advice.

Video footage of the protest can be viewed here.