British Prime Minister David Cameron says he discussed News Corp.'s bid to take full control of a British broadcaster with James Murdoch, but denies promising to support the deal in return for favorable coverage from the media giant's newspapers.

A judge-led inquiry into media ethics in Britain has raised questions about the government's links to News Corp., particularly as it deliberated on whether the firm should be authorized to take full control of British Sky Broadcasting, in which it holds a 39 percent stake.

Cameron told BBC television Sunday that had chatted about the takeover bid with James Murdoch at a Christmas party, but insisted he had not brokered any tit-for-tat deal with him or his media mogul father Rupert Murdoch.