"Rupert Murdoch denies influencing UK politicians: The News Corp. leader, who has had a close personal relationship with a number of British prime ministers, denied undue influence on them. Murdoch spoke in front of an inquiry Wednesday tied to the company's phone-hacking scandal.  ""It is only natural for politicians to reach out to editors and sometimes proprietors if they're available to explain what they'redoing and hoping it makes an impression,"" Murdoch said. Since 1988, Murdoch has met with the various prime ministers 75 times — 31 for Tony Blair alone."