Leveson Inquiry: Jeremy Hunt tried to intervene in Vince Cable scrutiny of News Corp bid for BSkyB Mr Hunt took over the brief for BSkyB on December 21, 2010 after Dr Cable told two undercover Daily Telegraph journalists he had "declared war on Mr Murdoch." On Nov 12 that year, Jonathan Stephens, the Permanent Secretary at the DCMS, and Adam Smith, Mr Hunt's special adviser, were sent an email by Mr Stephens's private secretary which said Mr Stephens "would like some further information on the extent to which SofS [Secretary of State] is entitled to express a view in the process." Mr Stephens wanted to know "whether there is precedent we can point to." A week later a lawyer in the department said it would be "unwise" for Mr Hunt to express his views to Dr Cable. On the same day, Mr Hunt wrote the memo to the Prime Minister in which he urged David Cameron to pave the way for the BSkyB takeover. On Dec 7, Patrick Kilgarriff, a lawyer at the DCMS, sent an email saying: "I appreciate that the advice is not what JS and possibly JH wanted to hear - but I think it amounts to "do nothing, do not try to convey your thinking to VC he must act quasi-judicially and only through formal processes." Further and in any event the clear legal advice to VC would be that you cannot hear JH on this matter. Mr Stephens told the Inquiry that when Mr Hunt took over the BSkyB brief from Dr Cable, he was asked by Downing Street whether Mr Hunt had ever said anything that might give the appearance of a conflict of interest. Mr Stephens referred No.10 to an interview with Mr Hunt in the Financial Times, in which he had said that "News Corporation do control Sky already" so he could not see a problem with the proposed takeover. Mr Kilgarriff emailed him and Ed Llewellyn, David Cameron's special adviser, to say: "When did JH say it? I assume it was shortly after News Int announced its intention to buy out the other shareholders in Sky. Therefore at a time when JH was not responsible for policy in this areas.