Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, is seeking cross-party support for a motion in Parliament that would postpone any deal until the criminal investigation into the News of the World hacking scandal is complete.

Earlier in the week Crispin Odey, one of the company's biggest long-term investors, sold some of his 2.7pc stake in BSkyB
News Corporation fears that if the vote is successful the bid will have to be abandoned. Observers said that it would be difficult to see how the Government could “green light” the deal if Parliament has voted against it.
It is believed Labour is hopeful it can get enough support to push through the vote, scheduled for Wednesday. Mr Miliband is expected to make an official announcement this morning on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show. Meanwhile, one of BSkyB’s most significant long-term investors has bought back into the UK television company, saying that he did not want Rupert Murdoch to get it “on the cheap”.
Crispin Odey, the head of Odey Asset Management, said he believed the share price – which plunged 7.6pc on Friday – now represented good value. Earlier in the week Mr Odey, one of the company’s biggest long-term investors, sold some of his 2.7pc stake in BSkyB, but was back buying on Friday – a sign which analysts will see as a significant vote of confidence in the company even if it remains independent.
“The bid premium has come out of the share,” Mr Odey said. “I was worried that Murdoch would get a brilliant business on the cheap. What has happened over the last week benefits minority shareholders – and I am a happy holder of shares.”

He added that James Murdoch, whose position as Rupert Murdoch’s heir apparent is increasingly threatened by the phone-hacking scandal, had been successful in repositioning the company over the past few years. “James Murdoch understood how innovation can benefit the company – something his father never did,” he said.
Rupert Murdoch’s plan to buy the 60pc of BSkyB he does not already own hit another major setback yesterday, as sources close to the two companies revealed significant differences in whether they believed a deal could be done and at what price.
The Sunday Telegraph can also reveal that News Corp, which this week took the radical step of shutting the News of the World, had been considering closing the title for nearly a year. Senior figures looked at it as an option to try to halt the flood of bad publicity over hacking claims.
It was made clear on Saturday that a final decision was only made the previous week by James Murdoch after another flood of accusations that voicemail messages had been hacked.
Shares in BSkyB slumped 7.64pc to 750p on Friday, wiping more than £1bn off the broadcaster’s value, after Ofcom suggested that the broadcaster could face a “fit and proper” test to maintain its licence. Analysts put the chances of a deal happening at 50/50 but BSkyB yesterday took an even bleaker view.
One source close to the broadcaster said: “I would put the chance of a deal not happening at 70-30. The markets are clearly pricing in that risk.”
BSkyB’s independent directors are worried that Ofcom will apply its “fit and proper” test after the police investigation is completed or when it turns up something substantive, potentially wrecking the deal after it has been approved