News Corporation takeover bid for BSkyB early July, despite public opposition to the deal, "Government says its ready to give clearance to deal. Jeremy Hunt gives opponents one final week to raise objections. However, he has provisionally agreed to proposals that will see Sky News be spun off as an independent company to allay fears the deal would give Mr Murdoch's News Corporation too much control of the media. After the consultation ends on July 8, Mr Hunt is expected to wave the merger through once and for all. He is keen to give final confirmation by July 19 when the summer parliamentary recess begins." Several
News Corporation takeover bid for BSkyB days later, with the News of the World phone hacking scandal exploding, Ofcom intervened, saying that it has "a duty to be satisfied on an ongoing basis that the holder of a broadcasting licence is 'fit and proper'". It was in the wake of the Milly Dowler phone hacking allegations that a significant number of people, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott and other politicians, began to seriously question whether the takeover of BSkyB by News Corporation ought to be blocked. The Media Standards Trust formed the pressure group "Hacked Off," to campaign for a public inquiry. Soon after