Murdochs face Sky challenge

THE Murdoch family’s bid for full control of Sky faces a legal challenge after a US campaign group said it will take the media regulator to the High Court over its finding that 21st Century Fox is a fit and proper broadcaster.

Ofcom received a formal warning that Avaaz, a Left-leaning political action group that previously targeted Rupert Murdoch over the phone hacking scandal, intends to apply for a judicial review. Avaaz said the regulator should be forced to look again at Fox’s record as a broadcaster after making “four serious errors” in its report, published at the end of June. The campaign group claimed corporate governance failings at the rolling news channel Fox News, including recent allegations of sexual harassment by senior executives, were not properly considered.

Ofcom investigated Fox’s fitness and propriety to hold broadcasting licences alongside a separate public interest review of whether the takeover will hand too much sway over the British media to the Murdoch family, or have an impact on Sky’s broadcasting standards.

Fox currently owns 39pc of Sky and has offered £11.7bn for the rest of the shares. Avaaz said Ofcom set the threshold for finding the Murdoch family improper controllers of Sky too high.