Premiership of David Cameron Christmas with Brooks, was accused by Ed Miliband of being "out of step with public opinion" and lacking leadership on the matter due to his "close relationships" with News International. The scandal was further aggravated by the announcement he had ridden Rebekah Brooks horse on loan from the Metropolitan Police, and the implicit involvement of Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, whom had been handed jurisdiction over Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB bid after Vince Cable's supposed expression of bias, in passing confidential information to the Murdoch empire regarding the bid's progress Right-leaning political commentator Peter Oborne argued that it was no longer possible
News media phone hacking scandal illegal acquisition of information from a mobile phone as recently as 2010. In the months following "The Guardian" article regarding Milly Dowler, the fallout from the phone hacking scandal had many adverse commercial consequences for News Corporation. "News of the World" was shut down after 168 years in business and News Corp. withdrew its $12 billion bid for British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (BSkyB), reportedly the biggest reverse of Rupert Murdoch's career. News Corp. lost its contract bid with the NY State Comptroller over concerns about the phone-hacking scandal. The legal bills and settlement of suits cost News Corp. hundreds