Culture Secretary faces inquiry into ‘undeclared media firm donations’

Parliamentary standards commissioner John Lyon initiated the probe in response to a complaint earlier this month from Labour MP Stephen McCabe.

Mr McCabe wrote to the commissioner raising concerns about a series of “networking events” involving eight creative industry organisations which Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said he and Mr Hunt had attended while in opposition.

Although Mr Vaizey recorded the events in the register of interests as donations in kind worth a total of around £27,000, Mr Hunt did not mention them in his own entry in the register, said Mr McCabe.

A spokeswoman for the Culture Secretary, who has come under fire from Labour over the closeness of his office’s links with News International during its bid for BSkyB, said he had amended his register entry since the complaint was raised.

She declined to comment on the allegations, but said Mr Hunt would co-operate with the commissioner’s inquiry.

Mr Lyon’s office confirmed that an inquiry had been launched but refused to comment further. Mr Hunt has faced repeated calls for his resignation after emails appeared to show that a News Corporation lobbyist had too much access to the Culture Secretary while he was considering News Corp’s BSkyB takeover bid.

Emails detailing the accounts of the Culture Secretary and his contacts with lobbyist Frederic Michel led to special adviser Adam Smith’s resignation last month.

Both Mr Michel and Mr Smith are due to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into Press standards on Thursday.