A lobbyist who oversaw his company's BSkyB account during Rupert Murdoch's attempt to gain control of the broadcast and telecoms firm has been appointed as a special adviser to the government minister for competitiveness.
James Wild led media operations at the lobbying firm Hanover, where he oversaw the BSkyB account. Last month, he joined the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) as an adviser to the business minister, Michael Fallon.
A second Hanover employee, Nick King, who is understood to have been briefed on details of BSkyB's lobbying operation, has been appointed as a policy adviser for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) by the culture secretary, Maria Miller, in the last month.
The moves have raised fresh questions about the closeness between the Conservative party and the Murdoch empire, just months after a DCMS special adviser resigned over an inappropriately close relationship with a News Corporation public relations employee.
The Labour MP Chris Bryant, a vocal critic of News Corp, said: "It seems the revolving door between the Conservatives and News Corp is still well oiled and in regular use. How can we be confident that these people won't be opening up yet another back channel to News Corp and News International as the government decides how to respond to the Leveson report?"
Wild's appointment was unusual because most ministers who are not secretaries of state do not take on special advisers.
A DCMS spokesperson said: "It is ridiculous to suggest the department has, or would, give any company favourable access in policy-making or decision-taking." The BIS had nothing to add on behalf of Fallon.
Wild joined Hanover as an account director in 2009 to boost growth in the firm's communications sector, such as its BSkyB and 3 mobile accounts. A press release from the time quotes him as saying: "BSkyB and 3 are incredibly exciting businesses and I was attracted to Hanover because of its excellent reputation in the comms sector."
Before moving to Hanover, Wild worked in the research department for the then shadow Tory trade and industry ministers Angela Browning and David Heathcoat-Amory.
While the DCMS is responsible for broadcasting and telecommunications, BIS has responsibility for competition, corporate governance, business law and business support.
BIS oversees the enterprise and regulatory reform bill, which includes measures to establish the Competition and Markets Authority and abolish the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading. The bill includes powers to amend the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002, as well as measures relating to copyright.
In a statement, Wild said: "While in my previous role, I never met ministers nor their officials in relation to BSkyB – indeed I stopped working on the account more than a year ago.
"In my new role I am bound by the government's code of conduct for special advisers and any relevant interests are declared in the normal way."
Wild did not respond to questions about whether he would excuse himself from competition matters due to come before Fallon that might involve BSkyB.
King joined Hanover in May and had previously worked in the research department at Conservative central office from 2009 to 2010, covering culture, media and sport issues.
A spokeswoman for King said he knew of the account "in the same way that he knew about many of Hanover's broad array of clients", but he did not lobby any politicians or civil servants on BSkyB's behalf.
"Hanover has a very wide range of clients, of which BSkyB is one," she said.
