Number 10 staff back Brown over phone call to Murdoch

The Cabinet Office has no record of a disputed phone call in which Rupert Murdoch claims Gordon Brown “declared war” on his empire, it emerged yesterday.

The only recorded telephone contact between the then prime minister and the media mogul in late 2009 was on November 10, when they apparently discussed Afghanistan, a Cabinet Office spokesman said.

Mr Murdoch told the Leveson Inquiry in April he had spoken to Mr Brown by phone on or soon after The Sun switched its allegiance from Labour to the Tories on September 30, 2009.

For the full story, pick up a copy of today’s Press and Journal or read our digital edition now