Leveson Inquiry: Jack Straw reveals he 'gossipped' with Rebekah Brooks on the train every week The arrangement petered out in 2009 when Mrs Brooks became chief executive of News International. Mr Straw admitted that Tony Blair's government had been too cosy with the press, blaming the fact that in opposition, links with journalists had become "very, very close, sometimes incestuous." He said Rupert Murdoch had "power" over politicians, and: "He reckoned his political influence would be greater if, as it were, his support was available in return for what he thought he could get out of it. I don't mean a deal, because I have seen no evidence of a deal. But he thought there was something in it. He went on: "I think that the perception I have got is that Mr Murdoch is enjoying the fact that he has been willing to play with political leaders in the way that the senior executives of the other papers have not. He is very interested in power for its own sake, because you do not get to that position running a huge international media empire without being interested in power. Pressed on what Mr Murdoch might have thought he would get from his influence over politicians, Mr Straw suggested he wanted to "consolidate his non-newspaper interests in this country." Mr Murdoch believed remaining available could "open more doors in government when it came to things like media regulation, licences, regulation of football and so on." The Labour MP rejected as "disingenuous" James Murdoch's efforts to play down the importance of News International's publications to the wider News Corporation empire. Although they only constituted 2% of the group's financial interests, they were far more significant to the business in other ways, he said. Asked whether Mr Murdoch wielded "power" or "influence," Mr Straw replied: "Certainly, to those on the receiving end it felt like power."