BSkyB ownership fears - LSE protesters storm platform to quiz culture secretary Jeremy Hunt over News Corporation bid

Published: 14 January 2011
by JAMIE WELHAM

STUDENT protesters stormed the stage at a London School of Economics debate to confront culture secretary Jeremy Hunt.

About 50 protesters, most of them from LSE, had been locked out of the debate about the future of British media policy, but managed to break in through a side door to disrupt the talk for 10 minutes on Wednesday night.

They chanted “we are everywhere” and “down with Tory scum” and asked Mr Hunt questions about whether he could be a fair and impartial arbiter in News Corporation’s high-profile bid for full ownership of BSkyB.

Some of them brandished copies of the Sun newspaper to symbolise their concern over Mr Hunt’s views, which they perceive to be pro Rupert Murdoch.

The cabinet minister had briefly answered questions about the takeover and about his government’s plans to scrap the education maintenance allowance outside the Sheikh Zayed Theatre in a bid to appease the protesters.

Mr Hunt was speaking at the talk chaired by journalist Ray Snoddy before the interruption.

After the protest students said some of the audience applauded when they broke onto the stage.

Hero Austin, a sabbatical officer at LSE who got on the stage said: “We stormed the stage. We asked him lots of questions about whether he could be neutral in the bid, none of which he answered apart from at the end when he made a joke about free speech. He looked very angry. We were here to make a point. The reaction was mixed. Some people in the audience clapped and cheered and took our leaflets. Some looked like they were pretty annoyed.”

An LSE spokeswoman said: “An event featuring a speech by culture secretary Jeremy Hunt was temporarily disrupted when protestors forced their way into a lecture theatre in our New Academic Building. While this caused a short delay, the event was completed as planned.”

Mr Hunt appeared to be unshaken. Following the talk he wrote on his Twitter page: “On tube going home after LSE interview which was considerably livened up by chanting student demonstrators. Happy New Political Year…”