Murdoch: ‘I never asked a prime minister for anything’

Rupert Murdoch rejected accusations today that he used his media empire to play puppet master to a succession of British prime ministers, electrifying a media inquiry that has shaken the government and unnerved much of the establishment.

The appearance before a judge by the world's most powerful media mogul was a defining moment in a scandal that has laid bare collusion between ministers, police and Murdoch's News Corp, reigniting long-held concerns over the close ties between big money, the media and power in Britain.

Unlike an appearance before parliament last year when Murdoch appeared at times painfully slow to answer questions, the 81-year-old remained calm and considered throughout, saying he wished to use the hearing to put some myths straight.

"I have never asked a prime minister for anything," he said.

He was also asked about his relationship with politics and British "toffs", a reference to his regular attacks on Britain's gilded establishment.

Cameron reluctantly ordered the inquiry last July as a phone-hacking scandal at Murdoch's News of the World tabloid spiraled out of control, forcing him to side against the media empire that helped propel him into power a year earlier.

He is now suffering his worst period since he took power, with Murdoch's Sun and Times papers particularly critical, and facing calls to sack a minister accused of colluding with News Corp. He told a raucous session of parliament today that politicians from all parties had become too close to the magnate.

"I think on all sides of the House there's a bit of a need for a hand on heart," he told a chamber of jeering opposition lawmakers. "We all did too much cozying up to Rupert Murdoch."

Cameron and at least two former Prime Ministers are expected to appear for questioning in the coming months.

While Murdoch denied influencing the editorial stance of his Times papers, he did admit that anyone seeking to understand his opinion should "look at the Sun". "I'm not good at holding my tongue," he added.

He also shed some light on recent British political history, saying that he had been a great admirer of Margaret Thatcher but less impressed by her successor John Major, whom he could not remember meeting.

He reserved some of his strongest comments for former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and some of his funniest for Tony Blair.

"If our flirtation is ever consummated Tony, I suspect we will end up making love like porcupines. Very, very carefully," he admitted telling Blair who ruled from 1997 to 2007.

Brown, he said, had been a friend until he threatened to "declare war" on News Corp over the Sun's decision to withdraw its support for the Labour party. "I did not think he was in a very balanced state of mind," Murdoch said.

Moving on to the current government, he was asked if as reported he had initially found Cameron to be lightweight.

"No. Not then," Murdoch replied, adding that he had not found it strange that Cameron took time out of his own private holiday to meet him on a yacht off a Greek island in 2008.

"I've explained that politicians go out of their way to impress people in the press," he said. "That's the game."

Cameron ordered senior judge Brian Leveson to conduct a media inquiry last year to examine the explosive revelations that staff at Murdoch's News of the World tabloid used widespread illegal phone hacking to generate exclusive stories.

The scandal and the hacking of sometimes vulnerable members of the public provoked a wave of public anger, prompting politicians who had previously courted the media owner to line up and condemn his involvement in Britain.