Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has rejected Labour calls for him to resign over claims that he privately supported attempts by News Corporation to take full control of the satellite broadcaster, BSkyB.

The Leveson inquiry into media standards has revealed emails which Labour say prove he acted as a "back channel" to James Murdoch and News Corporation and must go.

Lord Fowler, former Conservative party chairman, told the Today programme's Evan Davis that this shows that "you should take ministers out of the media decision process."

Damian Collins MP, Conservative member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, said that it was the right to give the decision to Jeremy Hunt and not Business Secretary Vince Cable, adding that it was "perfectly reasonable" for Mr Hunt to talk to media organisations as Culture Secretary.

He insisted that Mr Hunt took took "a broad sweep of advice from Independent Regulator (Ofcom)," and "scrupulously" followed it.

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