© Rex Features
According to The Guardian, executives from Rupert Murdoch's media business were initially scheduled to meet behind closed doors tomorrow with MPs from the House of Commons culture select committee.
However, that meeting has now been cancelled, leading to speculation that News Corp is preparing to deal directly with Hunt's department for culture, media and sport on its bid to acquire the 61% of Sky that it does not already own.
After receiving a report from Ofcom at the end of last year, Hunt is due to make a decision by the end of January on whether to ask the Competition Commission to run a six-month investigation into the £8 billion bid.
The minister - who was tasked with arbitrating on the takeover after business secretary Vince Cable was stripped of the power - must decide whether the deal would pose sufficient threat to media plurality in the UK.
News Corp is understood to have seen Ofcom's report and now wants to negotiate with Hunt's department directly rather than talk to MPs. "Clearly our focus is on doing this deal," a spokesperson for the firm said.
A message, sent out yesterday to MPs on the culture select committee, said: "News Corporation have informed us that they are now unable to brief the committee on Wednesday because they expect to be fully engaged with the Ofcom report and with confidential discussions with DCMS. There will, therefore, be no committee meeting on Wednesday."
Ivan Lewis, the Labour shadow culture secretary for culture, media and sport, warned that Hunt's scrutiny of the takeover bid must not be conducted behind closed doors.
He said: "Following Vince Cable's poor judgment and widespread concern about Jeremy Hunt's impartiality it is essential the Conservative-led government demonstrate maximum transparency. We will be holding them to account at every stage of the decision making process."
