James Murdoch called Tony Blair to lobby him on broadcasting rights, Leveson hears He said: "I think it was a normal and appropriate or legitimate bit of business advocacy. There were a number of parties who thought that a further intervention into the otherwise vibrant market for sports rights was unnecessary. Robert Jay QC, counsel to the Inquiry, suggested this was "lobbying," to which Mr Murdoch said: "Yes." Mr Jay asked: "Was the purpose of the call in any way to bring Mr Blair onside in the sense that if the European Commission did intervene, then the British government should avail BSkyB?" Mr Murdoch said: "No ... this is just to make the Prime Minister aware of these issues ... that might have adverse consequences for British football." He met Gordon Brown three times - twice for dinner in Downing Street with the men's wives, and once for a more formal meeting in Number 10. He said the two dinners, in March 2008 and Jan 2009, were social occasions, and the other meeting, in Dec 2008, "would have, you know, he would have told me lots of things about the economy and the like."