The language of competition law is marvellously oblique. We are, I believe, not very far from a public 15 days of frenzy as the News International/Rupert Murdoch "undertakings in lieu" about the proposed full control of BSkyB emerge from Office of Fair Trading/Ofcom review, and go to public consultation. The belief is that the undertakings set out proposals - probably both financial and editorial - to separate Sky News from the mothership, perhaps only sustained by a long-term contractual agreement on funding.
This won't satisfy the opponents of the Murdoch move, who argue that the plurality debate is about much more than news provision. If Hunt hands an acquiescent OFT/Ofcom report straight on to the Competition Commission, the takeover goes ahead. So the press pressure on Jeremy Hunt and David Cameron over the fortnight will be extraordinary - and it's a fair bet a few more stories have been stacked up in readiness.
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