© Rex Features
Hunt made the assertion at the London School of Economics during a debate on the future of the media, which was interrupted at one stage by a protest questioning his suitability to make the decision, reports The Guardian.
The culture secretary was handed the job of arbitrating on the bid by Rupert Murdoch's media empire to acquire the 61% of Sky that it does not already own after business secretary Vince Cable was stripped of the power for telling undercover reporters that he had "declared war" on Murdoch.
However, Hunt's impartiality has been consistently questioned due to favourable comments he made about Murdoch in an interview last year, along with the revelation that he held a private meeting with News Corp representatives after the first bid for Sky was submitted last June.
Speaking to the LSE audience, Hunt said that he could not provide a "running commentary" on the quasi-judicial process, in which he must decide whether to refer the takeover for a lengthy probe at the Competition Commission.
"I can't get drawn on this, sorry. This is a decision that is likely to be judicially challenged by the side that is disappointed," Hunt said.
Despite refusing to reveal the timetable for his decision, Hunt added: "This is a very, very hot potato and I'm aware of what happens if you hold a hot potato in your hand for too long."
The LSE debate was interrupted at one stage when around 30 student demonstrators started barracking Hunt, calling him "Minister of culture, Tory vulture" and "Tory scum". However, they left the hall after around 10 minutes.
Last month, an ICM poll revealed that just one in 20 people in Britain support the controversial takeover of Sky, with opposition found across all political allegiances.
