Rupert Murdoch describes Brown's 'war declaration'

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch has told the Leveson Inquiry Gordon Brown was not in a "balanced state of mind" when he declared "war" on his company. Mr Murdoch, 81, said the then-prime minister called him after the Sun moved to back the Conservative Party in 2009. He quoted Mr Brown as saying: "Well, your company has declared war on my government and we have no alternative but to make war on your company." Mr Murdoch said he had frequently met Tony Blair when he was prime minister. The media mogul said he regarded Mr Blair as a personal friend and enjoyed speaking to him before, during and after his time as prime minister. In a written statement to Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into media ethics, he recalled the then-Labour leader speaking "convincingly about the ability of a new Labour Party to energise Britain" at a News Corp conference in 1995. "Mr Blair did not expressly request our support in 1995, 1997 or any other election, but he was a politician and I had no doubt that he would welcome the support of our newspapers and our readers," he said. "I want to say that I, in 10 years of his power, never asked Mr Blair for anything. "Nor indeed did I receive any favours. If you want to check that, I think you should call him."