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 Corporation takeover bid for BSkyB launch, the campaign gained the support of suspected hacking victim, the actor Hugh Grant, who became a public spokesperson, appearing on "Question Time" and "Newsnight." In July 2011, during the News International phone hacking scandal, BSkyB shares plummeted and Hunt received well over 150,000 submissions from members of the public, driven by efforts by campaign groups Avaaz.org and 38 Degrees. Most submissions were opposed to News Corp taking full control of BSkyB. News Corp subsequently withdrew undertakings made as part of negotiations with the government, triggering an immediate referral of the proposal to the Competition Commission. Numerous analysts and commentators