Murdoch's many friends were far too obliging When it was revealed five weeks ago that there was an unhealthily close relationship between the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and Rupert Murdoch's media empire, the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, assured Parliament that he had "strictly followed due process" when considering News Corporation's bid to take over the whole of BSkyB. He did concede that the "volume and tone" of communications between his special adviser, Adam Smith, and News Corp "were clearly not appropriate in a quasi-judicial process" and that Mr Smith had paid with his job. Following his testimony to the Leveson Inquiry yesterday, it is clear Mr Hunt was being disingenuous. He may not have broken the letter of the ministerial code by directly misleading Parliament, but he shattered its spirit. In his statement he implied that he had engaged with opponents of the merger just as readily as with News Corp. That is untrue. Alongside the efforts of Mr Smith, Mr Hunt exchanged text messages with James Murdoch himself. Opponents of the merger, in contrast, seem to have received just one communication from his department. The picture that emerged yesterday was that of a Secretary of State who was on the friendliest terms with senior figures in the Murdoch empire and made no attempt to disguise his support for the takeover. Such callow behaviour is unacceptable in a senior minister. In a rather sheepish performance, Mr Hunt even admitted texting Mr Murdoch during the bid process over which he was presiding, which makes a nonsense of the concept of a quasi-judicial relationship. He conceded that in retrospect he should not have done this, but added that he was "just being courteous." This will not do. A multi-billion-pound merger, with profound implications for the UK media, was at stake. Mr Hunt's amateurish handling of the process fell far short of what was required. But it is not just Mr Hunt who emerges in a poor light. His text and email traffic also implicates many in the Prime Minister's inner circle - George Osborne, Ed Llewellyn, the No 10 Chief of Staff, and Craig Oliver, the PM's press secretary, among them. Yesterday's evidence suggests that they also enthusiastically backed the Murdoch bid - unsurprising, perhaps, given that David Cameron was so personally intertwined with News Corp. Its former chief executive was one of his closest friends and one of its disgraced former editors worked as his spokesman. Both now face criminal charges. The Prime Minister is going to have some difficult questions to answer when he testifies to the inquiry this month.