The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP

¶6.1 Mr Gove's perspective is interesting in two principal respects. First, he is both a senior

politician and a former journalist (including having been news editor for The Times). Second, in his capacity as Secretary of State for Education, he had also had some experience interacting with senior News International interests on public policy issues within the remit of his Department.

¶6.2 From the perspective of his experience in journalism, Mr Gove offered some insights into the relationship between politicians and the press. He said this:39

"I can quite understand why Lord Mandelson thought that the relationship between politicians and journalists was a purely transactional one. I prefer to think of the relationship between politicians and journalists as being nuanced and multi-layered. Sometimes it will be the case that some politicians will regard their interactions with journalists in a transactional fashion, but it can also be the case that friendships can arise and it can certainly be the case that politicians can understand the pressures that journalists face in trying to make sure that the public are informed and it can also be the case that journalists can appreciate the pressures that politicians face in trying to make sure that their policy is presented fairly. Q. Thank you. In your view, have we reached the point where the current state of relationships between journalists and politicians is poisonous or close to it? A. No, I don't believe it's poisonous. Q. Have we reached anywhere near that point? A. No, I don't believe we have. Of course there's acrimony between some journalists and some politicians as a result of wrongs or perceived wrongs, but I think that the idea that the relationship is poisonous is an overstatement. Q. Are there any aspects of the relationship, if one doesn't like the word "poisonous", one might characterise as unhealthy? A. I think it's certainly the case that there are sometimes elements of the relationship I between politicians and journalists that can be a little rough-edged. I think that's certainly true. And it is also the case that there are some politicians and some journalists who develop, over time, a close relationship, which may not altogether be in the public interest. But in my experience, most politicians and most journalists have a proper sense of the boundaries between each. Q. So a close relationship which may not altogether be in the public interest, why not altogether in the public interest?

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¶PART I | The Press and Politicians

A. It may be the case sometimes that a relationship between certain journalists and certain politicians will involve a journalist or a politician relying one upon the other for confidences which are not always shared with the public at an appropriate time."

¶6.3 Mr Gove provided his personal view of Rupert Murdoch, with whom he clearly has a close

affinity. Initially expressing himself in fairly succinct terms ("I think that he is one of the most impressive and significant figures of the last fifty years"), he broadened his insights as follows:40

"I think that the changes that he made to newspaper publishing as a result of his decision to relocate his titles to Wapping lowered the barriers to entry for newspapers and meant that like the Independent, which would never otherwise have existed, existed, and as a result more individuals have been employed in journalism. It's also the case that his investment in satellite television has also created jobs as well, and I think that it's undoubtedly the case that there are few entrepreneurs who have taken risks in the way that he has and therefore generated employment, but also controversy in the way which he has. Q. And the generation of controversy, how does that arise or how has that arisen? A. It's often the case that successful people invite criticism. He has been successful in a particular industry, where there are others who are only too happy to criticise, and they have exercised their liberty to do so. Q. You described him, consistently with the evidence you've just given, as a force of nature, a phenomenon and, I think, a great man. That's right, isn't it? A. Yes, it is. I enjoyed meeting him when I was a journalist, I subsequently enjoyed meeting him when way a politician and I would also say that as well as having been a successful businessman, I think that the position that he took on, for example, the European single currency, has been vindicated by events. Q. Have you ever expressed a view on the merits of the BSkyB bid, Mr Gove? A. Never to any of my political colleagues, no. Q. So insofar as you held a view about it, by definition it would have been a private view? A. Correct."

¶6.4 Mr Gove was taken at some length41 through documentary evidence which related to Mr

Murdoch's interest in investing in free schools and academies, and his own involvement in that project. Some commentators have seen this evidence as a legitimate cause for concern

¶I about what may have appeared to be an 'overly close' relationship between Government and

proprietors in which matters of Government policy are transacted in the context of friendly personal relationships. Although the evidence was explored in detail with a view to testing that proposition, no substantive grounds for public concern were established. Although Mr Murdoch's commercial interests were clearly engaged at one level, Mr Gove expressed a clear view that Mr Murdoch's interests, such as they were, in the free school movement were essentially philanthropic.42 In any event, nothing came of Mr Murdoch's interest; the project foundered for want of local authority funding support.43

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¶Chapter 7 | Further Political Perspectives on Relationships with the Press