Sky can be sold off to Murdoch

SKY News must be sold before Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox can get approval for a £11.7bn takeover of Sky, the Government said.

Matt Hancock, the Culture Secretary, said the news channel should be sold to a separate buyer to protect its editorial independence.

If that condition was met, Fox could be given a clear run to bid for Sky within a month, Hancock told MPs yesterday.

That would set the stage for Fox to take on Comcast, which has made a £22bn bid for the broadcaster. But if the terms of Sky News’s sale could not be agreed, Hancock said the only alternative was to block Fox’s takeover attempt entirely.

It comes after Disney, which is separately trying to takeover Fox for £39bn, offered to buy Sky News to remove the regulatory hurdle.