Jeremy Hunt refers Rupert Murdoch's Sky takeover bid to Competition Commission

Jeremy Hunt has referred News Corporation's multi-billion pound bid to acquire Sky to the Competition Commission, after Rupert Murdoch withdrew an offer to spin off Sky News as a separate company.

The culture secretary told MPs that News Corp was "withdrawing its proposed undertakings [for Sky News] in lieu of reference to the Competition Commission". Establishing Sky News as a separate company had been the key requirement behind Hunt provisionally approving the Sky takeover in March.

However, in the wake of the phone hacking scandal that has blighted the Murdoch-owned News International, Hunt said that he was seeking further advice from regulators.

"I am going to refer this [bid] to the Competition Commission with immediate effect and will be writing to them this afternoon," Hunt told the House of Commons.

"Today's announcement will be an outcome that I'm sure the whole house will welcome. It will mean that the Competition Commission will be able to give further full and exhaustive consideration to this merger, taking into account all relevant recent developments."

Murdoch's bid to acquire the 61% of Sky that he does not already own will now be passed to the Competition Commission for a review, likely to take at least 24 weeks to complete.

Opponents of the takeover have claimed that the deal would enable Murdoch to gain too much control over the UK media landscape.

In a statement, News Corp said: "News Corporation today announces that it is withdrawing its proposed undertakings in lieu of reference to the Competition Commission with respect to its proposed acquisition of Sky.

"Should the secretary of state for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport decide on this basis to refer the proposed transaction to the Competition Commission for a detailed review, News Corporation is ready to engage with the Competition Commission on substance.

"News Corporation continues to believe that, taking into account the only relevant legal test, its proposed acquisition will not lead to there being insufficient plurality in news provision in the UK."