Peter Mandelson has already claimed that the Tories and the Sun have “effectively formed a contract”, but today Ben Bradshaw takes the insinuations even further. Here’s the relevant passage from his interview with the Guardian, with my emphasis in bold:
“Echoing the views of the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, Bradshaw says of News International and the Tories: ‘There is no doubt there’s a deal … The Tories have basically subcontracted their media and broadcasting policy to News International. It’s brazen.’ He fires off a list of Tory policies – including a commitment to TV news free from impartiality rules and Cameron’s promise to rein in the media regulator, Ofcom – to demonstrate the extent of the collusion between the two, publicly denied by members of the shadow cabinet.
Has a deal really been hammered out over a dining table in north Oxfordshire, where News International executives and members of the Tory high command occasionally socialise at weekends? ‘It’s more than one table,’ Bradshaw says.
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