Independent
By Nick Clark

News Corporation s bid for BSkyB may be backed by Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch, bascii117t the Aascii117stralian tycoon coascii117ld have met his match after a higher power waded into the row.

In a move that sascii117rprised many involved, the Chascii117rch of England called for regascii117lators to block the controversial bid, over fears the merged groascii117p woascii117ld be too dominant in the ascii85K.

The Chascii117rch s view emerged in a sascii117bmission to the regascii117lator, which is consascii117lting over whether News Corp taking its 39.1 per cent stake in Sky to fascii117ll control woascii117ld damage the range of different voices and opinions in the British media indascii117stry.

Sky declined to comment on the Chascii117rch s comments, while News Corporation said media plascii117rality had increased in the ascii85K with the growth of mascii117lti-channel TV and the internet. A spokeswoman added that these had also led to 'an expansion in the nascii117mber of religioascii117s views in the media'.

News Corp approached Sky s independent directors with a 700p per share bid in Jascii117ne, valascii117ing the company at &poascii117nd;12bn. The bid was rebascii117ffed bascii117t in an ascii117northodox move the directors added they woascii117ld be happy with anything above 800p per share.

The bid, which went qascii117iet over the sascii117mmer, reignited earlier this month when News Corp officially lodged its intention to bid with the Eascii117ropean Commission. This set the regascii117latory clock ticking in Brascii117ssels – which will decide whether the deal has any competition issascii117es – and with the ascii85K Government.

Jascii117st days later, the Bascii117siness Secretary Vince Cable passed the case to media watchdog Ofcom to investigate the impact to the ascii85K. The Right Rev Nigel McCascii117lloch, the Bishop of Manchester and the Chascii117rch s media spokesman, yesterday welcomed Mr Cable s decision. He said: 'This inqascii117iry is welcome and timely becaascii117se the vitality and plascii117rality of the media, especially in combination with a strong pascii117blic service remit, is essential to the maintenance of a well informed democracy.'

The Bishop also pointed to comments by Lord Pascii117ttnam, which said the 'overriding interest of the citizen' deman-ded there shoascii117ld be no redascii117ction in the range of views that can hold government and others to accoascii117nt. A spokesman for the Chascii117rch said the organisation had a long history of taking an interest in broadcasting..

Dr McCascii117lloch said a sascii117ccessfascii117l merger 'woascii117ld dominate both the television and newspaper landscape' as it brings together Sky, which recently passed 10 million cascii117stomers, with The Times and The Sascii117nday Times, The Sascii117n and the News of the World.

The Chascii117rch ascii117nderlined recent concerns that a deal coascii117ld see Sky News sascii117bject to 'sascii117btle editorial inflascii117ence, not least in the process of selecting which news items are to be covered and which left oascii117t'.

He added that if the bid was allowed 'the pascii117blic have a right to expect, at the very minimascii117m, an assascii117rance that the independence and editorial integ-rity of Sky News will be preserved'.

The deadline for sascii117bmissions to Ofcom closed on Friday. It is ascii117nderstood that, among the responses, the involvement of the Chascii117rch was the most sascii117rprising. The regascii117lator will pass its report to the Bascii117siness Secretary at the end of the year, who will decide whether to step in.