News Corporation is gearing up for "confidential discussions" with Jeremy Hunt's government department this week about its bid to take full control of BSkyB.

Executives from Rupert Murdoch's company were due to meet MPs from the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee behind closed doors on Wednesday.

But that meeting is now off, triggering speculation that News Corp is poised to negotiate directly with Hunt's Department for Culture, Media and Sport over possible remedies to help get the £8bn bid through.

Ofcom completed a report examining whether the takeover represents a threat to UK media plurality on behalf of Hunt, the culture secretary, on the last day of 2010. That document was not made public, but last night it was confirmed that copies are already circulating.

News Corp confirmed it had received Ofcom's analysis "very recently" and that several senior executives are aware of its conclusions. Having received the document, a spokesperson said that the company wanted to concentrate on dealing with Hunt's department rather than liaise with MPs. "Clearly our focus is on doing this deal," the spokesperson added.

A note, sent out at lunchtime today to MPs on the committee, said: "News Corporation have informed us that they are now unable to brief the committee on Wednesday because they expect to be fully engaged with the Ofcom report and with confidential discussions with DCMS. There will, therefore, be no committee meeting on Wednesday."

Hunt, now that he has received Ofcom's advice, must decide whether to wave the deal through with no further regulatory scrutiny – or whether to recommend a further, six-month-long enquiry that will be conducted by the Competition Commission.

Ofcom was widely expected to recommend a further inquiry, because the regulator has already sent a substantial "statement of issues" to News Corp just before Christmas, where it gave the company a chance to answer all the questions raised by competitors. At the same time, Ofcom has only to pass a low threshold of concern to recommend a further enquiry by the Competition Commission.

Objectors to the deal – whose ranks include Guardian Media Group, publisher of the Guardian, Trinity Mirror, BT, Channel 4, and the publishers of the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph – immediately complained that News Corp was being given unfair inside access to the DCMS.

A spokesman for the group of companies opposing the deal said: "We say the deal can't and mustn't be done in the dark."

Labour also joined in the criticism over the way the process has been conducted. Ivan Lewis MP, shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, said: "Following Vince Cable's poor judgment and widespread concern about Jeremy Hunt's impartiality it is essential the Conservative-led government demonstrate maximum transparency. We will be holding them to account at every stage of the decision making process."

He argued that if News Corp were to propose any remedies in secret to Hunt, critics of the deal must be given the chance to present the minister with "substantive counter arguments" and give both sides equal access.

News Corp's £8bn bid for the 61% of BSkyB it does not own is under scrutiny over whether the deal will lead to a reduction in media plurality if the takeover went ahead. Opponents argue that the deal is against the public interest because the resulting media company will be the largest in the UK, with a cross-media power that will dwarf rivals.

A spokesman for the DCMS refused to say if News Corp was meeting Hunt to discuss remedies, or to discuss any other aspects of the regulatory process ahead of the minister's decision. "We are not providing a running commentary on the process ahead of that decision," he added.

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