Rupert Murdoch has denied ever claiming to wield power over Downing Street and said he has “never asked for anything from any prime minister”.
The billionaire media mogul took issue with the line: “When I go into Downing Street, they do what I say; when I go to Brussels, they take no notice,” which he said in a letter to The Guardian newspaper, had been attributed to him “on a number of occasions”.
He added: “There is much fake news published about me, but let me make clear that I have never uttered those words.I have made it a principle all my life never to ask for anything from any prime minister.”
The quote was originally reported by journalist Anthony Hilton of the London Evening Standard in an article about the EU referendum. Mr Hilton wrote in February that Mr Murdoch had given him that answer when he asked about his opposition to the European Union.
His letter came in the week that government ministers are due to be formally notified of a bid by Mr Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox to acquire the entirety of the Sky network. The takeover may have to be referred to the regulator Ofcom before it is finalised.
Several prominent politicians, including former Labour leader Ed Miliband and former business secretary Vince Cable have called for the takeover to be blocked.
His letter appears to contradict former prime minister Sir John Major who in June 2012, claimed Mr Murdoch attempted to influence government policy during the late 1990s.
He said the mogul allegedly threatened to remove the support for the Conservative party in his newspapers, unless the party changed its policy on Europe.
Mr Hilton has yet to respond to Mr Murdoch’s letter and the allegations of inaccuracy.
