Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has called on Rupert Murdoch to "do the decent thing" and reconsider his BSkyB bid.
Mr Clegg's intervention came after Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he was seeking more advice on whether the media mogul's planned takeover of the broadcaster could be referred to the Competition Commission in the light of the phone hacking revelations.
In an appeal to Mr Murdoch, the Deputy Prime Minister said: "Do the decent and sensible thing, and reconsider, think again, about your bid for BSkyB."
Mr Murdoch flew into Britain on Sunday to take charge of the crisis engulfing his media empire, which led to the closure of the News of the World.
Mr Clegg said: "Rupert Murdoch is now in town in London seeking to sort things out.
"I would simply say to him, 'look how people feel about this, look how the country has reacted with revulsion to the revelations'."
The Deputy Prime Minister spoke after meeting the parents and sister of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, whose phone was allegedly hacked by the News of the World after she went missing in 2002.
Mr Clegg said: "Listening to Bob, Sally and Gemma Dowler, it reminds you that it is innocent families like them who have paid a very heavy price for truly grotesque journalistic practices, which are simply beneath contempt.
"We owe it to the Dowlers and other innocent victims of hacking to get these inquiries right, to make sure they are really strong, they can get to the bottom of what happened and make sure it never happens again."
